
PRESENT 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES 



ST. PAUL. 






m 



iii: 







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p^ 



PEOPLE'S EDITION. 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES 



Saint Paui 



THE REV. W. J. CONYBEARE, M.A., 

LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; 

AND 

THE KEY. J. S. HOWSON, D.D., 



A PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION BT 

THE EEV. LEONAKD BACON, D. D., 

PROFESSOR OF REVEALED THEOLOGY IN YALE COLLEGE. 




(Citmtraatt, (Dljin.: 
NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO, 

CHICAGO, ILL. : JONES, JUNKIN & CO. 
1869. 









j.5'* 









o 

o 



PREFACE 

3 

TO 



THE PEOPLE'S EDITION. 



/ 



np HOUGH the death of one of the writers of this book has 
-*- now thrown the sole responsibility of revision on the sur- 
vivor, the plan of a " People's Edition " was contemplated by both 
writers from the time when the first edition was published. 

The survivor, in doing his best, while his life was yet spared, 
to prepare for a wider circle of readers a book which has been 
received with remarkable favor, has found, however, the execu- 
tion of the plan beset with peculiar difficulties. The simplest 
course would have been to give the text of the work without 
the notes ; but it was soon seen that many parts of the narrative 
would thus have been left destitute of important illustration, and 
many passages of the Epistles would have embarrassed, rather 
than helped, the mere English reader. On the assumption, then, 
that some of the notes must be retained, a question arose as to 
the selection. The writer of this preface might easily have cut 
down his own notes to a very narrow compass ; but how was he 
to deal with the notes of a friend whom he could not consult ? 
<To have omitted nearly all the former, and to have retained all 
the latter, would have been to disturb the whole symmetry of 
the book. Then came the further difficulty, — that, so far as the 



VI PREFACE TO THE PEOPLE'S EDITION. 

notes were criticisms of passages in the New Testament, they 
were, in the two former editions, based on the original text. Ex- 
clusion or adaptation in all such cases was necessary for the reader 
who is presumed not to know Greek. But criticisms of this kind 
are, of course, by far the most frequent in the notes on the 
Epistles, which were not translated by the present editor : so that 
some change was most required precisely where, to him, adapta- 
tion was most difficult of execution, or where he was naturally 
most unwilling to assume the responsibility of exclusion. 

It is hoped, that, under all these circumstances, general appro- 
bation will be secured for the arrangement which has been 
adopted. Those readers have throughout been kept in view, 
who, though well educated, would not find it easy to refer to 
Greek or German books. Some few technical Greek terms are 
retained ; and here and there there is a reference to classical 
authors, which has seemed peculiarly important, or which it was 
hardly worth while to remove : but, on the whole, there are few 
citations except from books which are easily within reach. The 
references to Scripture are very frequent ; and it is believed that 
such references can hardly be too frequent.. It is presumed that 
the reader has the Authorized Version before him ; at the same 
time, it is hoped that the notes will continue to be useful to stu- 
dents of the Greek New Testament. Some criticisms must 
necessarily, however, be taken for granted ; and, in such cases, 
occasional reference has been made to the two larger editions. 1 
In Mr. Conybeare's part of the work, no alteration whatever has 
been made, except as regards the verbal adjustments requisite 
for leaving out the Greek. 2 It is impossible to know whether his 

1 The first edition, in quarto, and with course of a thorough reperusal : but, besides 

very numerous illustrations, was completed in the modifications mentioned above, the notes 

1852 : the second, with fewer illustrations, but in the narrative portion are very considerably 

after careful revision, was published in 1856. retrenched. Thus each of the three editions 

In this edition, the illustrations are still few- has a character of its own. 
er ; the text is unaltered, with the exception 2 This remark applies to the general bodj 

of slight verbal changes, suggested in the of the work. The Appendices, written by Mr 



PREFACE TO THE PEOPLE'S EDITION. vn 

translation of some phrases and his interpretation of some texts 
might have been modified if he had taken part in the revision. 
Wherever it has been thought worth while to express a difference 
of opinion, this is separately indicated. 1 Such cases are very few. 
The separate responsibilities of the whole work are clearly stated 
in the Postscript to the Introduction. 

The present writer is far from satisfied with the result of what 
he has done, in this edition, with considerable labor, and to the 
best of his judgment and ability ; but this he can say with truth, 
that, while he feels the imperfection of his own work, this last 
revision has left in his mind a higher estimate than ever of the 
parts written by his fellow-laborer and friend. 

J. S. He 

Conybeare, have been abbreviated in conformity and other retrenchments have been made here 

with the principles stated above. Such ques- in accordance with the special aim of this 

tions as the verbal peculiarities of the Pastoral edition. 

Epistles could hardly be presented with clear- J By notes in square brackets, distinguished 

ness to those who have no knowledge of Greek ; by the letter h. 



I N T E D U C T I O N. s 



THE purpose of this work is to give a living picture of St, Paul himself, and of the 
circumstances by which he was surrounded. 

The biography of the Apostle must be compiled from two sources : first, his own let- 
ters ; and, secondly, the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. The latter, after a slight 
sketch of his early history, supplies us with fuller details of his middle life ; and his Epis- 
tles afford much subsidiary information concerning his missionary labors during the same 
period. The light concentrated upon this portion of his course makes darker by contrast 
the obscurity which rests upon the remainder ; for we are left to gain what knowledge we 
can of his later years from scattered hints in a few short letters of his own, and from 
a single sentence of his disciple Clement. 

But, in order to present any thing like a living picture of St. Paul's career, much 
more is necessary than a mere transcript of the scriptural narrative, even where it is full- 
est. Every step of his course brings us into contact with some new phase of ancient life, 
unfamiliar to our modern experience, and upon which we must throw light from other 
sources, if we wish it to form a distinct image in the mind. For example, to comprehend 
the influences under which he grew to manhood, we must realize the position of a Jewish 
family in Tarsus ; we must understand the kind of education which the son of such a 
family would receive as a boy in his Hebrew home, or in the schools of his native city, 
and in his riper youth " at the feet of Gamaliel " in Jerusalem ; we must be acquainted 
with the profession for which he was to be prepared by this training, and appreciate the 
station and duties of an expounder of the Law. And, that we may be fully qualified to 
do all this, we should have a clear view of the state of the Roman Empire at the time, 
and especially of its system in the provinces ; we should also understand the political 
position of the Jews of the " Dispersion ; " we should be (so to speak) hearers in their 
synagogues ; we should be students of their Rabbinical theology. And in like manner, 
as we follow the Apostle in the different stages of his varied and adventurous career, we 
must strive continually to bring out in their true brightness the half-effaced forms and 

1 [It has been thought better to leave this Intro- lating to views and illustrations are not strictly 
duction quite untouched, though the passages re- applicable to the present edition. — H.] 

ix 



X INTKODUCTKm 

coloring of the scene in which he acts ; and while he "becomes all things to all men, that 
he might by all means save some," we must form to ourselves a living likeness of the 
things and of the men among which he moved, if we would rightly estimate his work. 
Thus we must study Christianity rising in the midst of Judaism ; we must realize the 
position of its early churches with their mixed society, to which Jews, Proselytes, and 
Heathens had each contributed a characteristic element ; we must qualify ourselves to be 
umpires (if we may so speak) in their violent internal divisions ; we must listen to the 
strife of their schismatic parties, when one said, " I am of Paul ; and another, I am of 
Apollos ; " we must study the true character of those early heresies which even denied 
the resurrection, and advocated impurity and lawlessness, claiming the right " to sin that 
grace might abound," a " defiling the mind and conscience " 2 of their followers, and mak- 
ing them " abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate ; " 3 we must 
trace the extent to which Greek philosophy, Judaizing formalism, and Eastern supersti- 
tion, blended their tainting influence with the pure fermentation of that new leaven which 
was at last to leaven the whole mass of civilized society. 

Again : to understand St. Paul's personal history as a missionary to the Heathen, we 
must know the state of the different populations which he visited ; the character of the 
Greek and Roman civilization at the epoch ; the points of intersection between the politi- 
cal history of the world and the scriptural narrative ; the social organization and grada- 
tion of ranks, for which he enjoins respect ; the position of women, to which he specially 
refers in many of his letters ; the relations between parents and children, slaves and mas- 
ters, which he not vainly sought to imbue with the loving spirit of the gospel ; the quality 
and influence, under the early Empire, of the Greek and Roman religions, whose effete 
corruptness he denounces with such indignant scorn ; the public amusements of the peo- 
ple, whence he draws topics of warning or illustration ; the operation of the Roman law, 
under which he was so frequently arraigned ; the courts in which he was tried, and the 
magistrates by whose sentence he suffered; the legionary soldiers who acted as his 
guards ; the roads by which he travelled, whether through the mountains of Lycaonia 
or the marshes of Latium ; the course of commerce by which his journeys were so often 
regulated ; and the character of that imperfect navigation by which his life was so many 
times 4 endangered. 

While thus trying to live in the life of a bygone age, and to call up the figure of the 
past from its tomb, duly robed in all its former raiment, every help is welcome which en- 
ables us to fill up the dim outline in any part of its reality. Especially we delight to look 
upon the only one of the manifold features of that past existence which still is living. 
We remember with pleasure that the earth, the sea, and the sky still combine for us in 
the same landscapes which passed before the eyes of the wayfaring Apostle. The plain 
of Cilicia ; the snowy distances of Taurus ; the cold and rapid stream of the Cydnus ; 
the broad Orontes under the shadow of its steep banks, with their thickets of jasmine and 

1 Rom. vi. 1. 4 " Thrice have I suffered shipwreck," 2 Cor. xi. 

2 Tit. i. 15. 25 ; and this was before he was wrecked upon 
8 Tit. i. 16. Melita. 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

(Meander ; the hills which " stand about Jerusalem," l the " arched fountains cold " in the 
ravines below, and those " flowery brooks beneath that wash their hallowed feet ; " the 
capes and islands of the Grecian Sea ; the craggy summit of Areopagus ; the land-locked 
harbor of Syracuse ; the towering cone of iEtna ; the voluptuous loveliness of the Cam- 
panian shore, — all these remain to us, the imperishable handiwork of Nature. We can 
still look upon the same trees and flowers which he saw clothing the mountains, giving 
color to the plains, or reflected in the rivers ; we may think of him among the palms of 
Syria, the cedars of Lebanon, the olives of Attica, the green Isthmian pines of Corinth, 
whose leaves wove those " fading garlands " which he contrasts 2 with the " incorruptible 
crown," the prize for which he fought. Nay, we can even still look upon some of the 
works of man which filled him with wonder, or moved him to indignation. The " tem- 
ples made with hands " 3 which rose before him — the very apotheosis of idolatry — on 
the Acropolis, still stand in almost undiminished majesty and beauty. The mole on which 
he landed at Puteoli still stretches its ruins into the blue waters of the bay. The remains 
of the*Baian villas, whose marble porticoes he then beheld glittering in the sunset, — his 
first specimen of Italian luxury, — still are seen along the shore. We may still enter 
Rome as he did by the same Appian Road, through the same Capenian Gate, and wander 
among the ruins of " Caesar's palace " 4 on the Palatine, while our eye rests upon the same 
aqueducts radiating over the Campagna to the unchanging hills. Those who have visited 
these spots must often have felt a thrill of recollection as they trod in the footsteps of the 
Apostle ; they must have been conscious how much the identity of the outward scene 
brought them into communion with him, while they tried to image to themselves the feel- 
ings with which he must have looked upon the objects before them. They who have ex- 
perienced this will feel how imperfect a biography of St. Paul must be without faithful 
representations of the places which he visited. It is hoped that the views 5 which are 
contained in the present work (which have been diligently collected from various sources) 
will supply this desideratum. And it is evident, that, for the purposes of such a biogra- 
phy, nothing but true and faithful representations of the real scenes will be valuable ; 
these are what is wanted, and not ideal representations, even though copied from the 
works of the greatest masters : for as it has been well said, " Nature and reality painted 
at the time, and on the spot, a nobler cartoon of St. Paul's preaching at Athens than the 
immortal Rafaelle afterwards has done." 6 

For a similar reason, maps have been given (in addition to careful geographical de- 
scriptions), exhibiting with as much accuracy as can at present be attained the physical 
features of the countries visited, and some of the ancient routes through them, together 
with plans of the most important cities, and maritime charts of the coasts and harbors 
where they were required. 

i "The hills stand about Jerusalem :" even so sentence in the text applies in strictness only to the 

" standeth the Lord round about his people." Ps. quarto edition. In the intermediate edition, it was 

exxv. 2. remarked in a note, that, even there, " most of the 

2 1 Cor. ix. 25. larger engravings were necessarily omitted, on 

3 Acts xvii. 24. * Phil. i. 13. account of their size." — h.] 

f8ee note on p. ix, and the Preface. The 6 Wordsworth's Athens and Attica, p. 76. 



XII INTEODUCTION. 

While thus endeavoring to represent faithfully the natural objects and architectural 
remains connected with the narrative, it has likewise been attempted to give such illus 
trations as were needful of the minor productions of human art as they existed in the firsi 
century. For this purpose, engravings of coins have been given in all cases where they 
seemed to throw light on the circumstances mentioned in the history ; and recourse has 
been had to the stores of Pompeii and Herculaneum, to the columns of Trajan and Anto- 
ninus, and to the collections of the Vatican, the Louvre, and especially of the British 
Museum. 

But, after all this is done, — after we have endeavored, with every help we can com- 
mand, to reproduce the picture of St. Paul's deeds and times, — how small would our knowl- 
edge of himself remain if we had no other record of him left us but the story of his adven- 
tures ! If his letters had never come down to us, we should have known indeed what he 
did and suffered ; but we should have had very little idea of what he was. 1 Even if we 
could perfectly succeed in restoring the image of the scenes and circumstances in which 
he moved ; even if we could, as in a magic mirror, behold him speaking in the school of 
Tyrannus, with his Ephesian hearers in their national costume around him, — we should 
still see very little of Paul of Tarsus. We must listen to his words, if we would learn to 
know him. If Fancy did her utmost, she could give us only his outward, not his inward 
life. " His bodily presence " (so his enemies declared) " was weak and contemptible ; " 
but " his letters " (even they allowed) " were weighty and powerful." 2 Moreover, an ef- 
fort of imagination and memory is needed to recall the past ; but, in his Epistles, St. Paul 
is present with us. " His words are not dead words ; they are living creatures with hands 
and feet,*" 3 touching in a thousand hearts at this very hour the same chord of feeling 
which vibrated to their first utterance. We, the Christians of the nineteenth century, 
can bear witness now, as fully as could a Byzantine audience fourteen hundred years ago, 
to the saying of Chrysostom, that " Paul by his letters still lives in the mouths of men 
throughout the whole world : by them not only his own converts, but all the faithful even 
unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born until Christ's coming again, 
both have been and shall be blessed." His Epistles are to his inward life what the moun- 
tains and rivers of Asia and Greece and Italy are to his outward life, — the imperishable 
part which still remains to us when all that time can ruin has passed away. 

It is in these letters, then, that we must study the true life of St. Paul, from its inmost 
depths and springs of action, which were " hidden with Christ in God," down to its most 
minute developments and peculiar individual manifestations. In them we learn (to use 
the language of Gregory Nazianzene) " what is told of Paul by Paul himself." Their 
most sacred contents, indeed, rise above all that is peculiar to the individual writer ; for 
they are the communications of God to man concerning the faith and life of Christians, 
which St. Paul declared (as he often asserts) by the immediate revelation of Christ hini- 

i For his speeches recorded in the Acts, charac- "by his Epistles, they become an important part of 

teristic as they are, would by themselves have heen his personal biography. 2 2 Cor. x. 10. 

too few and too short to add much to our knowl- 3 Luther, as quoted in Archdeacon Hare's Mis- 

edge of St. Paul; hut, illustrated as they now are sion of the Comforter, p. 449. 



INTRODUCTION. xill 

self. But his manner of teaching these eternal truths is colored by his human character, 
and peculiar to himself. And such individual features are naturally impressed much 
more upon epistles than upon any other kind of composition : for here Ave have not trea- 
tises or sermons, which may dwell in the general and abstract, but genuine letters, writ- 
ten to meet the actual wants of living men ; giving immediate answers to real questions, 
and warnings against pressing dangers ; full of the interests of the passing hour. And 
this, which must be more or less the case with all epistles addressed to particular church- 
es, is especially so with those of St. Paul. In his case, it is not too much to say that his 
letters are himself, — a portrait painted by his own hand, of which every feature may be 
" known and read of all men." 

. It is not merely that in them we see the proof of his powerful intellect, his insight into 
the foundations of natural theology x and of moral philosophy ; 2 for in such points, 
though the philosophical expression might belong to himself, the truths expressed were 
taught him of God. It is not only that we tliei*e find models of the sublimest eloquence 
when he is kindled by the vision of the glories to come, the perfect triumph of good over 
evil, the manifestation of the sons of God, and their transformation into God's likeness, 
when they shall see him no longer 3 " in a glass darkly, but face to face," — for in such strains 
as these it was not so much he that spake as the Spirit of God speaking in him, 4 — but in 
his letters, besides all this which is divine, we trace every shade, even to the faintest, of 
his human character also. Here we see that fearless independence with which he " withstood 
Peter to the face ; " 5 that impetuosity which breaks out in his apostrophe to the " foolish 
Galatians ; " 6 that earnest indignation which bids his converts " beware of dogs, beware of 
the concision," 7 and pours itself forth in the emphatic " God forbid " 8 which meets every 
Antinomian suggestion ; that fervid patriotism which makes him " wish that he were him- 
self accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Is- 
raelites ; " 9 that generosity which looked for no other reward than " to preach the Glad- 
Tidings of Christ without charge," 10 and made him feel that he would rather " die than 
that any man should make this glorying void ; " that dread of officious interference which 
led him to shrink from " building on another man's foundation ; " u that delicacy which 
shows itself in his appeal to Philemon, whom he might have commanded, " yet for love's 
sake rather beseeching him, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner 
of Jesus Christ," 12 and which is even more striking in some of his farewell greetings, as 
(for instance) when he bids the Romans " salute Rufus, and his mother, who is also mine ; " u 
that scrupulous fear of evil appearand which " would not eat any man's bread for 
nought, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that he might not be charge- 
able to any of them ; " 14 that refined courtesy which cannot bring itself to blame till it has 

1 Rom. i. 20. express the force of the original by any other Eng- 

2 Rom. ii. 14, 15. lish phrase. 

3 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 9 Rom. ix. 3. 

* Matt. x. 20. io 1 Cor. ix. 15 and 18. 
6 Gal. ii. 11. ii Rom. xv. 20. 

* Gal. iii. 1. 12 Philemon 0. 

* Phil. iii. 2. « Rom. xvi. 13. , 
' Rom. vi. 2; 1 Cor. vi. 15, &c. It is difficult to "1 Thess. ii. 9. 



XIT INTRODUCTION. 

first praised, 1 and which makes him deem it needful almost to apologize for the freedom 
of giving advice to those who were not personally known to him ; 2 that self-denying love 
which " will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest he make his brother to offend ; " ■ 
that impatience of exclusive formalism with which he overwhelms the Judaizers of Galatia, 
joined with a forbearance so gentle for the innocent weakness of scrupulous consciences ; * 
that grief for the sins of others, which moved him to tears when he spoke of the enemies 
of the cross of Christ, " of whom I tell you even weeping ; " 5 that noble freedom from jeal- 
ousy with which he speaks of t*xose, who, out of rivalry to himself, preach Christ even of 
envy and strife, supposing to add affliction to his bonds, — " What then ? notwithstanding 
every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached ; and I therein do rejoice, 
yea, and will rejoice ; " 6 that tender friendship which watches over the health of Timothy 
even with a mother's care ; 7 that intense sympathy in the joys and sorrows of his converts 
whi^h could say even to the rebellious Corinthians, " Ye are in our hearts, to die and 
live with you ; " 8 that longing desire for the intercourse of affection, and that sense of 
loneliness when it was withheld, which perhaps is the most touching feature of all, be- 
cause it approaches most nearlv to a weakness, — " When I had come to Troas to preach 
the Glad-Tidings of Christ, and a door was opened to me in the Lord, I had no rest in my 
spirit because I found not Titus my brother ; but I parted from them, and came from 
thence into Macedonia." And, " when I was come into Macedonia, my flesh had no rest, 
but I was troubled on every side : without were fightings, within were fears. But God, 
who comforts them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus." 9 " Do 
thy utmost to come to me speedily : for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this pres- 
ent world, and is departed to Thessalonica ; Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia ; only 
Luke is with me." 10 

Nor is it only in the substance, but even in the style, of these writings, that we recog- 
nize the man Paul of Tarsus. In the parenthetical constructions and broken sentences, 
we see the rapidity with which the thoughts crowded upon him, almost too fast for utter- 
ance ; we see him animated rather than weighed down by "the crowd that presses on him 
daily, and the care of all the churches," u as he pours forth his warnings or his arguments 
in a stream of eager and impetuous dictation, with which the pen of the faithful Tertius 
can hardly keep pace. 12 And, above all, we trace his presence in the postscript to every 
letter, which he adds as an authentication, in his own characteristic handwriting, 13 " which 
is a token in every epistle : thus I write." 14 Sometimes, as he takes up the pen, he is 
anoved with indignation when he thinks of the false brethren among those whom he 
addresses : " The salutation of me Paul with my own hand : if any man love not the 

1 Compare the laudatory expressions in 1 Cor. ? 1 Tim. v. 23. 
;i. 5-7, and 2 Cor. i. 6, 7, with the heavy and almost » 2 Cor. vii. 3. 
mnmingled censure conveyed in the whole suhse- 9 2 Cor. ii. 13, and vii. 5. 

.quent part of these Epistles. 10 2 Tim. iv. 9. " 2 Cor. xi. 28. 

2 Rom. xv. 14, 15. 12 Rom. xvi. 22. " I Tertius, who wrote this 

3 1 Cor. viii. 13. Epistle, salute you in the Lord." 

* 1 Cor. viii. 12, and Rom. xiv. 21. 13 Gal. vi. 11. " See the size of the characters in 

8 Phil. iii. 18. . which I write to you with my own hand." 

e Phil. i. 15. ** 2 Thess. iii. 17. 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

Lord Jesus Christ, let Mm be accursed." l Sometimes, as he raises his hand to write, he 
feels it cramped by the fetters which bind him to the soldier who guards him : 2 "I Paul 
salute you with my own hand : remember my chains." Yet he always ends with the same 
blessing, — " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you ; " to which he sometimes 
adds still further a few last words of affectionate remembrance, — " My love be with you 
all in Christ Jesus." 3 

But, although the letters of St. Paul are so essential a part of his personal biography, 
it is a difficult question to decide upon the form in which they should be given in a work 
like this. The object to be sought is, that they may really represent in English what they 
were to their Greek readers when first written. Now, this object would not be attained 
if the Authorized Version were adhered to ; and yet a departure from that whereof so 
much is interwoven with the memory and deepest feelings of every religious mind should 
be grounded on strong and sufficient cause. It is hoped that the following reasons may 
be held such : — 

1st, The Authorized Version was meant to be a standard of authority and ultimate 
appeal in controversy : hence it could not venture to depart, as an ordinary translation 
would do, from the exact words of the original, even where some amplification was abso- 
lutely required to complete the sense. It was to be the version unanimously accepted by 
all parties, and therefore must simply represent the Greek text word for word. This it 
does m' »st faithfully, so far as the critical knowledge of the sixteenth 4 century permitted. 
But the result of this method is sometimes to produce a translation unintelligible to the 
English reader. 5 Also, if the text admit of two interpretations, our version endeavors, if 
possil le, to preserve the same ambiguity, and effects this often with admirable skill ; but 
such indecision, although a merit in an authoritative version, would be a fault in a trans- 
lation which had a different object. 

2d, The imperfect knowledge existing at the time when our Bible was translated made 
it inevitable that the translators should occasionally render the original incorrectly ; and 
the same cause has made their version of many of the argumentative portions of the 
Epistles perplexed and obscure. 

3d, Such passages as are affected by the above-mentioned objections, might, it is true, 
have been recast, and the authorized translation retained in all cases where it is correct 
and clear ; but, if this had been done, a patchwork effect would have been produced like 
that of new cloth upon old garments : moreover, the devotional associations of the reader 
would have been offended ; and it would have been a rash experiment to provoke such a 
contrast between the matchless style of the Authorized Version and that of the modern 
translator, thus placed side by side. 

4th, The style adopted for the present purpose should not be antiquated ; for St. Paul 
was writing in the language used by his Hellenistic readers in every-day life. 



1 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 5 y e t, had any other course been adopted, every 

2 Coloss. iv. 18. » 1 Cor. xvi. 24. sect would have had its own Bible : as it is, tbis one 
* Being executed at the very beginning of the translation has been all but unanimously received 

seventeenth. for three centuries. 



XVI INTKODTJCTIOK 

5th, In order to give the true meaning of the original, something more than a mere 
verbal rendering is often absolutely required. St. Paul's style is extremely elliptical, and 
the gaps must be filled up. And, moreover, the great difficulty in understanding his argu- 
ment is to trace clearly the transitions * by which he passes from one step to another. 
For this purpose, something must occasionally be supplied beyond the mere literal ren- 
dering of the words. 

In fact, the meaning of an ancient writer may be rendered into a modern language in 
three ways : either, first, by a literal version ; or, secondly, by a free translation ; or, thirdly, 
by a paraphrase. A recent specimen of the first method may be found in the corrected 
edition of the Authorized Version of the Corinthians, by Prof. Stanley ; of the Galatians 
and Ephesians, by Prof. Ellicott ; and of the Thessalonians, Galatians, and Romans, by 
Prof. Jowett ; all of which have appeared since the first edition of the present work. 
The experiment of these translations (ably executed as they are) has confirmed the view 
above expressed of the unsatisfactory nature of such a literal rendering ; for it cannot be 
doubted, that though they correct the mistakes of the Authorized Version, yet they leave 
an English reader in more hopeless bewilderment as to St. Paul's meaning than that ver- 
sion itself. Of the third course (that of paraphrase), an excellent specimen is to be found 
in Prof. Stanley's paraphrases of the Corinthian Epistles. There is, perhaps, no better 
way than this of conveying the general meaning of the Epistles to an English reader ; 
but it would not be suitable for the biography of St. Paul, in which not only his general 
meaning, but his every sentence and every clause, should, so far as possible, be given 
There remains the intermediate course of a free translation, which is that adopted in the 
present work : nor does there seem any reason why a translation of St. Paul should be 
rendered inaccurate by a method which would generally be adopted in a translation of 
Thucydides. 

It has not been thought necessary to interrupt the reader by a note 2 in every instance 
where the translation varies from the Authorized Version. It has been assumed that the 
readers of the notes will have sufficient knowledge to understand the reason of such varia- 
tions in the more obvious cases. But it is hoped that no variation which presents any real 
difficulty has been passed over without explanation. 

It should further be observed, that the translation given in this work does not adhere 
to the Textus Receptus, but follows the text authorized by the best MSS. Yet, though 
the Textus Receptus has no authority in itself, it seems undesirable to depart from it 
without necessity, because it is the text familiar to English readers. Hence the translator 
has adhered to it in passages where the MSS. of highest authority are equally divided 

i In the translation of the Epistles given in the stroyed by such inattention in the Authorized Ver- 

present work, it has been the especial aim of the sionl — " Who hath believed our report ? So, then, 

translator to represent these transitions correctly. faith cometh by hearing." 

They very often depend upon a word which sug- 2 [See again note on p. ix, and the Preface. In 

gests a new thought, and are quite lost by a want this edition, no note appended to the translations has 

of attention to the verbal coincidence. Thus, for been altered in meaning. Only such changes are 

instance, in Rom. x. 16, 17, — "Who hath given made as is required by the omission of Greek 

faith to our teaching! So, then, faith cometh by words. — H,] 
teaching," — how completely is the connection de- 



INTRODUCTION. XVTI 

between its reading and some other, and also in some cases where the difference between 
it and the true text is merely verbal. 

The authorities ' consulted upon the chronology of St. Paul's life, the reasons for the 
views taken of disputed points in it, and for the dates of the Epistles, are stated (so far 
as seems needful) in the body of the work or in the Appendices, and need not be further 
referred to here. 

In conclusion, the authors would express their hope that this biography may, in its 
measure, be useful in strengthening the hearts of some against the peculiar form of unbe- 
lief most current at the present day. The more faithfully we can represent to ourselves 
the life, outward and inward, of St. Paul, in all its fulness, the more unreasonable must 
appear the theory, that Christianity had a mythical origin ; and the stronger must be our 
ground for believing his testimony to the divine nature and miraculous history of our Re- 
deemer. No reasonable man can learn to know and love the Apostle of the Gentiles 
without asking himself the question, " What was the principle by which, through such 
a life, he was animated ? What was the strength in which he labored with such immense 
results ? " Nor can the most sceptical inquirer doubt for one moment the full sincerity of 
St. Paul's belief, that " the life which he lived in the flesh, he lived by the faith of the Son 
of God, who died and gave himself for him." * " To believe in Christ crucified and risen, 
to serve him on earth, to be with him hereafter, — these, if we may trust the account of 
his own motives by any human writer whatever, were the chief if not the only thoughts 
which sustained Paul of Tarsus through all the troubles and sorrows of his twenty-years' 
conflict. His sagacity, his cheerfulness, his forethought, his impartial and clear-judging 
reason, all the natural elements of his strong character, are not, indeed, to be over- 
looked : but the more highly we exalt these in our estimate of his work, the larger share 
we attribute to them in the performance of his mission, the more are we compelled to 
believe that he spoke the words of truth and soberness when he told the Corinthians, 
that, i last of all, Christ was seen of him also ; ' 2 that ' by the grace of God he was what 
he was ; ' that, ' whilst he labored more abundantly than all, it was not he, but the grace 
of God that was in him.'" 3 

1 Gal. ii. 20. > 1 Cor. xv. 8. » Stanley's Sermons on the Apostolic Age, p 186. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



IT may be well to add, that, while Mr. Conybeare and Dr. Howson have undertaken 
the joint revision of the whole work, the translation of the Epistles and Speeches of 
St. Paul is contributed by the former ; the historical portion of the work principally, and 
the geographical portion entirely, by the latter : Dr. Howson having written Chapters I., 
H, IH., IV., V., VI., VII., Vm., IX., X., XL, XH, XIV., XVI., XX., XXI. (except the 
earlier portion), XXII. (except some of the later part), XXIII., XXIV., the latter pages of 
XVII., and the earlier pages of XXVI., with the exception of the Epistles and Speeches 
therein contained ; and Mr. Conybeare having written the Introduction and Appendices, 
and Chapters XIII., XV., XVII. (except the conclusion), XVIII., XIX., XXV., XXVI. 
(except the introductory and topographical portions), XXVII., XX VOL, the earlier 
pages of XXI., and some of the later pages of XXII. 



1 This seems the proper place for explaining 
the few abbreviations used. T. R. stands for 
Textws Receptus ; 0. T. for Old Testament; N.T. 
for New Testament; A. V. for Authorised Ver- 
sion; and LXX. (after a quotation from the Old 
Testament) means that the quotation is cited by 
•St. Paul, according to the Septuagint transla- 



tion. In such references, however, the num- 
bering of verses and chapters according to the 
Authorised Version (not according to the Sep- 
tuagint) has been retained, to avoid the causing 
of perplexity to English readers who may at- 
tempt to verify the references. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Page. 

Great Men of Great Periods. — Period of Christ's Apostles. — Jews, Greeks, and Ro- 
mans. — Religious Civilization of the Jews. — Their History, and its Relation to that of 
the World. — Heathen Preparation for the Gospel. — Character and Language ot the 
Greeks. — Alexander. — Antioch and Alexandria. — Growth and Government of the 
Roman Empire. — Misery of Italy and the Provinces. — Preparation in the Empire for 
Christianity. — Dispersion of the Jews in Asia, Africa, and Europe. — Proselytes. — 
Provinces of Cilicia and Judsea. — Their Geography and History. — Cilicia under the 
Romans. — Tarsus. — Cicero. — Political Changes in Judaea. — Herod and his Fami- 
ly. — The Roman Governors. — Conclusion 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Jewish Origin of the Church. — Sects and Parties of the Jews. — Pharisees and Sad- 
ducees. — St. Paul a Pharisee. — Hellenists and Aramaeans. — St. Paul's Family Hel- 
lenistic, but not Hellenizing. — His Infancy at Tarsus. — The Tribe of Benjamin. — 
His Father's Citizenship. — Scenery of the Place. — His Childhood. — He is sent to 
Jerusalem. — State of Judaea and Jerusalem. — Rabbinical Schools. — Gamaliel. — 
Mode of Teaching. — Synagogues. — Student-Life of St. Paul. — His early Man- 
hood. — First Aspect of the Church. — St. Stephen. — The Sanheddn. — St. Stephen 
the Forerunner of St. Paul. — His Martyrdom and Prayer . . . . . 29 

CHAPTER III. 

Funeral of St. Stephen. — Saul's continued Persecution. — Flight of the Christians. — 
Philip and the Samaritans. — Saul's Journey to Damascus. — Aretas, King of Petra. — 
Roads from Jerusalem to Damascus. — Neapolis. — History and Description of Damas- 
cus. — The Narratives of the Miracle. — It was a real Vision of Jesus Christ. — Three 
Days in Damascus. — Ananias. — Baptism and first Preaching of Saul. — He retires 
into Arabia. — Meaning of the Term " Arabia." — Petra and the Desert. — Motives to 
Conversion. — Conspiracy at Damascus. — Escape to Jerusalem. — Barnabas. — Fort- 
night with St. Peter. — Conspiracy. — Vision in the Temple. — Saul withdraws to 
Syria and Cilicia 71. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Wider Diffusion of Christianity. — Antioch. — Chronology of the Acts. — Reign of Caligu- 
la. — Claudius and Herod Agrippa I. — The Year 44. — Conversion of the Gen- 

XXI 



XXII CONTEXTS. 

tiles. — St. Peter and Cornelius. — Joppa and Csesarea. — St. Peter's Vision. — Bap- 
tism of Cornelius. — Intelligence from Antioch. — Mission of Barnabas. — Saul with 
Barnabas at Antioch. — The Name " Christian." — Description and History of Anti- 
och. — Character of its Inhabitants. — Earthquakes. — Famine. — Barnabas and Saul 
at Jerusalem. — Death of St. James and of Herod Agrippa. — Return with Mark to 
Antioch. — Providential Preparation of St. Paul. — Results of his Mission to Jerusa- 
lem .. . 101 



CHAPTER V. 

Second Part of the Acts of the Apostles. — Revelation at Antioch. — Public Devotions. — 
Departure of Barnabas and Saul. — The Orontes. — History and Description of Selu- 
cia. — Voyage to Cyprus. — Salamis. — Roman Provincial System. — Proconsuls and 
Proprietors. — Sergius Paulus. — Oriental Impostors at Rome and in the Provinces. — 
Elymas Barjesus. — History of Jewish Names. — Saul and Paul . . . . 121 

CHAPTER VI. 

Old and New Paphos. — Departure from Cyprus. — Coast of Pamphylia. — Perga. — 
Mark's Return to Jerusalem. — Mountain-Scenery of Pisidia. — Situation of Anti- 
och. — The Synagogue. — Address to the Jews. — Preaching to the Gentiles. — Perse- 
cution by the Jews. — History and Description of Iconium. — Lycaonia. — Derbe and 
Lystra. — Healing of the Cripple. — Idolatrous Worship offered to Paul and Barna- 
bas. — Address to the Gentiles. — St. Paul stoned. — Timotheus. — The Apostles re- 
trace their Journey. — Perga and Attaleia. — Return to Syria 139 

CHAPTER VII. 

Controversy in the Church. — Separation of Jews and Gentiles. — Difficulty in the Narra- 
tive. — Discontent at Jerusalem. — Intrigues of the Judaizers at Antioch. — Mission of 
Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem. — Divine Revelation to St. Paul. — Titus. — Private 
Conferences. — Public Meeting. — Speech of St. Peter. — Narrative of Barnabas and 
Paul. — Speech of St. James. — The Decree. — Public Recognition of St. Paul's Mis- 
sion to the Heathen. — St. John. — Return to Antioch with Judas, Silas, and Mark. — 
Reading of the Letter. — Weak Conduct of St. Peter at Antioch. — He is rebuked by 
St. Paul. — Personal Appearance of the two Apostles. — Their Reconciliation . 179 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Political Divisions of Asia Minor. — Difficulties of the Subject. — Provinces in the Reigns 
of Claudius and Nero. — I. ASIA. — II. BITHYNIA. — III. PAMPHYLIA. — IV. 
GALATIA. — V. PONTUS. — VI. CAPPADOCIA. — VII. CILICIA. — Visitation 
of the Churches proposed. — Quarrel and Separation of Paul and Barnabas. — Paul 
and Silas in Cilicia. — They cross the Taurus. — Lystra. — Timothy. — His Cir- 
cumcision. — Journey through Phrygia. — Sickness of St. Paul. — His Reception in 
Galatia. — Journey to the iEgcan. — Alexandria Troas. — St. Paul's Vision . . 203 



CHAPTER IX. 

Voyage by Samothrace to Neapolis. — Philippi. — Constitution of a Colony. — Lydia. — 
The Demoniac Slave. — Paul and Silas arrested. — The Prison and the Jailer. — The 
Magistrates. — Departure from Philippi. — St. Luke. — Macedonia described. — Its 



CONTENTS. XXIII 

Condition as a Province. — The Via Egnatia. — St. Paul's Journey through Amphipo- 
lis and Apollonia. — Thessalonica. — The Synagogue. — Subjects of St. Paul's Preach- 
ing. — Persecution, Tumult, and Flight. — The Jews at Beroea. — St Paul again perse- 
cuted. — Proceeds to Athens . 246 

CHAPTER X. 

Arrival on the Coast of Attica. — Scenery round Athens. — The Piraeus and the " Long 
Walls." — The Agora. — The Acropolis. — The " Painted Porch " and the " Gar- 
den." — The Apostle alone in Athens. — Greek Religion. — The unknown God. — 
Greek Philosophy, — The Stoics and Epicureans. — Later Period of the Schools. — 
St. Paul in the Agora. — The Areopagus. — Speech of St. Paul. ■ — Departure from 
Athens ...... \ 298 

CHAPTER XI. 

Letters to Thessalonica written from Corinth. — Expulsion of the Jews from Rome. — 
Aquila and Priscilla. — St. Paul's Labors. — Arrival of Timothy and Silas. — First 
Epistle to the Thessalonians. — St. Paul is opposed by the Jews, and turns to the Gen- 
tiles. — His Vision. — Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. — Continued Residence in 
Corinth 333 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Isthmus and Acrocorinthus. — Early History of Corinth. — Its Trade and Wealth. — 
Corinth under the Romans. — Province of Achaia. — Gallio the Governor. — Tumult at 
Corinth. — Cenchrea. — Voyage by Ephesus to Csesarea. — Visit to Jerusalem. — 
Antioch ... - 357 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Spiritual Gifts, Constitution, Ordinances, Divisions, and Heresies of the Primitive 

Church in the Lifetime of St. Paul . 372 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Departure from Antioch. — 'St. Paul's Companions. — Journey through Phrygia and Gala- 
tia. — Apollos at Ephesus and Corinth. — Arrival of St. Paul at Ephesus. — Disciples 
of John the Baptist. — The Synagogue. — The School of Tyrannus. — Ephesian 
Magic. — Miracles. — The Exorcists. — Burning of the Books . - . . 402 



CHAPTER XV. 

St. Paul pays a short Visit to Corinth. — Returns to Ephesus. — Writes a Letter to the 
Corinthians, which is now lost. — They reply, desiring further Explanations. — State 
of the Corinthian Church - St. Paul writes the First Epistle to the Corinthians . 418 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Description of Ephesus. — Temple of Diana : her Image and Worship. — Political Consti- 
tution of Ephesus. — The Asiarchs. — Demetrius and the Silversmiths. — Tumult in 
the Theatre. — Speech of the Town-Clerk.— St. Paul's Departure . . . . 461 



XXIV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 

St. Paul at Troas. — He passes over to Macedonia. — Causes of his Dejection. — He meets 
Titus at Philippi. — Writes the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. — Collection for the 
poor Christians in Judsea. — Liberality of the Macedonians. — Titus. — Journey by 
Illyricum to Greece ... . 478 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

St. Paul's Return to Corinth. — Contrast with his First Visit. — Bad news from Galatia. — 

He writes the Epistle to the Galatians 518 

CHAPTER XIX. 

St. Paul at Corinth. — Punishment of contumacious Offenders. — Subsequent Character of 
the Corinthian Church. — Completion of the Collection. — Phoebe's Journey to Rome. 

— She bears the Epistle to the Romans - . . . 539 

CHAPTER XX. 

Isthmian Games. — Route through Macedonia. — Voyage from Philippi. — Sunday at 
Troas. — Assos. — Voyage by Mitylene and Trogyllium to Miletus. — Speech to the 
Ephesian Presbyters. — Voyage by Cos and Rhodes to Patara. — Thence to Phoenicia. 

— Christians at Tyre. — Ptolemais. — Events at Cassarea. — Arrival at Jerusalem . 585 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Reception at Jerusalem. — Assembling of the Presbyters. — Advice given to St. Paul. — 
The Eour Nazaritcs. — St. Paul seized at the Festival. — The Temple and the Garri- 
son. — Hebrew Speech on the Stairs. — The Centurion and the Chief Captain. — St. 
Paul before the Sanhedrin. — : The Pharisees and Sadducees. — Vision in the Castle. — 
Conspiracy. — St. Paul's Nephew. — Letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix. — Night 
Journey to Antipatris. — Csesarea 620 

CHAPTER XXII. 

History of Judeea resumed. — Roman Governors. — Felix. — Troops quartered in Palestine. 

— Description of Csesarea. — St. Paul accused there. — Speech before Felix. — Con- 
tinued Imprisonment. — Accession of Festus. — Appeal to the Emperor. — Speech before 
Agrippa 652 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Ships and Navigation of the Ancients. — Roman Commerce in the Mediterranean. — Corn- 
Trade between Alexandria and Puteoli. — Travellers by Sea. — St. Paul's Voyage from 
Cassarea, by Sidon, to Myra. — From Myra, by Cnidus and Cape Salmone, to Fair 
Havens. — Phoenix. — The Storm. — Seamanship during the Gale. — St. Paul's Vision. 

— Anchoring in the Night. — Shipwreck. — Proof that it took Place in Malta. — Win- 
ter in the Island. — Objections considered. — Voyage, by Syracuse and Rhegium, to 
Puteoli 677 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Appian Way. — Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. — Entrance into Rome. — The 
Pra3torian Prefect. — Description of the City. — Its Population. — The Jews in Rome. 

— The Roman Church. — St. Paul's Interview with the Jews. — His Residence in 
Rome 726 



CONTENTS. XXV 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Delay of St. Paul's Trial. — His Occupations and Companions during his Imprisonment. — 
He writes the Epistle to Philemon, the Epistle to the Colossians, and the Epistle to the 
Ephesians (so called) 744 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Praetorium and the Palatine. — Arrival of Epaphroditus. — Political Events at Rome. 

— Octavia and Poppaea. — St. Paul writes the Epistle to the Philippians. — He makes 
Converts in the Imperial Household 779 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Authorities for St. Paul's subsequent History. — His Appeal is heard. — His Acquittal. — 
He goes from Rome to Asia Minor. — Thence to Spain, where he resides two Years. 

— He returns to Asia Minor and Macedonia. — Writes the First Epistle to Timotheus. — 
Visits Crete. — Writes the Epistle to Titus. — He winters at Nicopolis. — He is again 
imprisoned at Rome. — Progress of his Trial, -r- He writes the Second Epistle to Timo- 
theus. — His Condemnation and Death 799 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The Epistle to the Hebrews. — Its Inspiration not affected by the Doubts concerning its Au« 
thorship. — Its Original Readers. — Conflicting Testimony of the Primitive Church 
concerning its Author. — His Object in writing it. — Translation of the Epistle . 848 

APPENDICES. 

Appendix I. — (On the Chronology of Gal. ii.) 

Appendix II. — (On the Date of the Pastoral Epistles) . . . . . . . 

Appendix HI. — ( Chronological Table and Notes) . 

INDEX 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

View of Rome, Frontispiece 

View of Tarsus 21 

Ancient Bridge at Jerusalem . to face 25 

Coin of Tarsus 28 

View of Jerusalem from the N". E., to face 69 
Words on St. Stephen, from Augustine . 70 
View of Damascus . . . .81 

Coin of Aretas 100 

Statue of Antioch in Syria . to face 116 
Coin of Claudius and Agrippa I. . - 120 
Map illustrating St. Paul's Early Life 
and his First Missionary Journey, 

to precede 121 

Proconsular Coin of Cyprus . . .138 
Roman Roads near Lystra . to face 167 
Coin of Antioch in Pisidia . . .178 
Coin of Antioch in Syria . . .202 
View of Kara-Dagh, near Lystra, to face 226 

Coin of Tarsus 245 

Map of Second Missionary Journey . 246 
Inscription from Thessalonica to face 290 

The Prison Tullianum . . . .297 

Plan of Athens 303 

Mars Hill, the Spot where St. Paul stood, 324 
Coin of Athens . . . . . 332 
Coin of Thessalonica . . . .356 
View of Corinth from the South-west . 358 

Coin of Corinth 371 

Coin of Corinth 401 



Page. 

Coin of Ephesus 417 

Greek and Hebrew "Words, from 1 Corin- 
thians 460 

Inscriptions from Ephesus . to face 468 

Coin of Ephesus 477 

Map of the Third Missionary Journey . 478 
Coin of Macedonia . . • .517 

Words in Galatians, from an Uncial MS. 538 
Coin representing Cenchrea . . .584 
Posidonium at the Isthmus . to face 588 
ViewofAssos . . . to face 596 

Nautical Compass 619 

View of Ca3sarea 651 

Coin of Nero and Agrippa II. . .676 

Chart of the Voyage from Csesarea to 

Puteoli 686 

Chart of S. Coast of Crete . to face 698 
Chart of N. E. Coast of Malta . to face 7 1 5 
View of St. Paul's Bay, Malta . to face 716 

Coin of Rhegium 725 

Plan of Rome 732 

Coin representing the Harbor of Ostia . 743 

Colossas 752 

Ground-Plan of Basilica . . .778 

Colonial Coin of Philippi . . . 798 
Coin of Antioch in Pisidia . . . 847 
Inscription on Tomb, in Hebrew, Greek, 

and Latin 884 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 



IT is not because this truly great work needs any commendation from me 
that I consent to stand, as it were, for a little while between the learned 
authors and their readers, but because I have ventured to hope that what I have 
to say by way of introduction may be accepted as a humble contribution to the 
usefulness of "The People's Edition." This Life of Paul the Apostle, with 
his writings incorporated as biographical documents in a free but conscientious 
translation, was designed originally for the use of scholars conversant in some 
degree with the sources of the affluent and various learning by which the narra- 
tive is enriched and illustrated j but in a People's Edition it will find, I doubt 
not, many intelligent readers to whom the facts and considerations offered in 
these few pages may be helpful. 

Even an unbeliever, if he be at all intelligent, must admit that the Christian 
religion is, at this moment, one of the most important facts in the condition of 
the civilized world ; and that, ever since its first appearance in history, it has 
been one of the most powerful among the forces that have impelled or controlled 
the world's progress. The year which was fixed upon, fourteen hundred years 
ago, as that in which Jesus Christ was born, has become, by the general consent 
of civilized nations, the point from which all time is measured, backward to the 
dimmest antiquity, and forward into the yet unknown future. In other words, 
the importance of Christianity as a fact and a force in history is recognized 
in the recognition of the Christian era. Any other method of dating, as, for 
example, in the British Empire, from the accession of the reigning sovereign, or, 
in our country, from the Declaration of Independence, is more for form than 
for use. The attempt of revolutionary Prance to abolish the Christian era, and 
to substitute for it the era of the Kepublic, was as futile as the simultaneous 
attempt to abolish the division of time into weeks, and is already remembered 

XXVII 



XXVm PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

only as a curiosity of history. Nothing future is more certain than that, in the 
progress of civilization and of international intercourse, making the knowledge 
and the arts of Christendom a common possession for mankind, all nations will 
learn to count their years and centuries from the supposed birthday of Christ. 
So signally has this Christian religion inserted itself into the world's history. 
It is not only a marvellous fact; it is a transcendent power : its beginning is the 
one epoch from which all the centuries before and after must be measured. 

No thoughtful man, then, can fail to be deeply interested in the inquiry con- 
cerning the origin of Christianity, however he may doubt or deny its authori- 
ty as a revelation from God. When, where, and how did this religion begin ? It 
appears to-day under various forms and aspects, but always resting on the same 
basis of alleged facts. In its dogmas, in its ritual, in its external discipline, it 
has been modified from age to age ; at one time gradually corrupted by enthusi- 
asms or superstitions, at another time reformed. What was it in its beginning ? 
What were the ideas and sentiments, the faith, the expectations, the practices, 
and the character, of those who were first called Christians ? Such questions, 
surely, even if considered as historical questions only, are profoundly interesting 
to a thoughtful mind. What sources of information are there from which we 
may obtain a satisfactory answer to such questions? 

Apart from that little collection of writings which we call the New Testament, 
we have really no information concerning the origin of Christianity. The great- 
est of all revolutions in human thinking and in human affairs began, and passed 
through the earliest stage of its progress, in an obscurity beneath the notice of 
philosophers and historians. When it first comes into recognition in secular 
literature, its existence is already a mystery to be accounted for, and no light 
appears in regard to its origin. Yet that was not a barbarous age. It was just 
the age in which the old civilization had reached its highest advancement. Over 
the wide extent of the empire that called itself the world, literature and the arts 
were in their glory. Grecian culture and the Grecian spirit of speculation had 
been superinduced upon the sterner qualities of the Roman race ; and many a 
provincial city, as well as the great centre of dominion, had its literary men, and 
its institute or college, in which accomplished teachers gave instruction in philoso- 
phy and rhetoric to crowds of pupils. But the literature of that age took no 
careful notice, and made no deliberate record, of a movement, which, as we now 
see, was destined to change the history of the world. Three eminent Eoman 
authors, who lived near the close of the first century and in the beginning of 
the second, and they only, mention distinctly the fact of Christianity as a new 
religion ; but they give no intelligent report of how it came into being. 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXIX 

It happens that those three authors were related to each other as friends. 
The oldest of them, Caius Cornelius Tacitus, was born about the year 55 of 
the Christian era. Caius Plinius Cecilius Secundus, commonly called in 
English the younger Pliny, was born in 61 or 02. Caius Suetonius Tran- 
quillus was born about the year 70, or two years before the fall of Jerusalem. 
They were all eminent men, of rare talents, accomplished by the best culture 
which the time could give, personally conversant with public affairs, employed 
in various offices of great responsibility, honored with the friendship of such an 
emperor as Trajan, yet more desirous of winning celebrity with future ages by 
literary achievements than by rising to the highest honors in the forum or in the 
imperial court. Two of them were historians, recording with exquisite art, and 
with something of philosophic sagacity, the events of their own age and of the age 
immediately preceding. The other survives in a voluminous collection of 
familiar letters to his friends, — just such memorials of men and times as the stu- 
dent of history most delights in. What information, then, do these three illus- 
trious authors give us concerning that most important theme in the history of 
their century, the origin and early progress of the Christian religion ? 

The great work of Suetonius is his " Lives of the Twelve Caesars," beginning 
with Julius, and ending with Domitian. In his " Life of Claudius Caesar," whose 
reign began A.d. 42, and continued about eight years, there is one sentence 
which is commonly understood as referring to disturbances occasioned by Jewish 
hostility to the belief in Jesus as the Christ : " He [Claudius] expelled from 
Koine the Jews, who were continually raising tumults at the instigation of 
Chrestus." * That brief sentence, as the reader of this volume will have occa- 
sion to observe, describes, no doubt, the expulsion which brought the Christian 
Jew Aquila and his wife Priscilla from Italy to Corinth. 2 But at present we 
need only observe how meagre and unsatisfactory is the notice of a fact about 
which our curiosity in this nineteenth century demands full information. If 
the historian heedlessly wrote Chrestus for Christus, without inquiring what 
any person of that name had to do with the riots, then the Christian religion, 
some time after the year 42, and before the year 50, had become a subject of con- 
troversy among the Jews at Kome, and its enemies had attempted to suppress it 
by violence ; and farther this witness has nothing to say. 

But in his " Life of Nero," the successor of Claudius, there is another passage, 
more explicit. Describing summarily those things done by Nero which were 
in part blameless and in part praiseworthy, before touching upon the crimes 

i " Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultu- * Acts xviil. 2. See pp. 335, 336, of this volume, 

antes Roma expulit." — Suetonius, Claud. 25. 



XXX PEELIMI^ABT DISSERTATION. 

which have made that name forever infamous, he says, " The Christians, a sort 
of men of a new and mischievous superstition, were severely punished." * It 
seems, then, there were Christians at Eome when Nero was emperor. Their reli- 
gion was at that time new, and was considered (then, and forty or fifty years 
later, when Suetonius told the story) a mischievous superstition. They were 
severely punished for being Christians ; and, in the opinion of the historian, one 
of the good things which Nero did, or at least one of the things in that reign 
which deserve no reprehension, was the fact that Christians were thus punished. 
But why did he not tell us something more about those Christians ? Surely he 
might have told us (had he thought it worth the telling) what their new super- 
stition was, whence it came, what mischievous practice or tendency there was 
in it. Could he have had only the faintest anticipation of what was to be 
about two hundred years from the date of his writing, — a Christian Csesar in 
the place of Nero, and that " new superstition " everywhere triumphant over the 
old religion, — surely he would have taken pains to find out and to report some 
authentic particulars concerning the origin and early progress of a movement 
that was to bring about so great a change. 

Of what Tacitus wrote, much has been lost; but there is one memorable pas- 
sage in which he speaks distinctly of the Christian religion. His " Annals " gave 
the succession of leading events in the empire, from the death of Augustus, 
A.D. 14, to the death of Nero, ad. 68', and only about one-third of the great 
work has been lost. In the composition of such a work, nothing, it would seem, 
could be more natural than that he should find occasion to describe with some 
degree of minuteness, and with careful attention, the beginning and the early 
propagation of Christianity. Such an occasion occurred to him. He could not 
avoid speaking of the new religion ; but his account of it is very unsatisfactory 
to us, who know the historic importance of the facts which he ought to have 
described. Having narrated with picturesque effect the great conflagration of 
Rome in the reign of Nero, and the efforts which the emperor made to efface 
from the minds of men the suspicion that he was himself the author of that 
destruction, Tacitus says, " Therefore Nero, to get rid of the rumor, substituted 
as the criminals, and punished with most exquisite tortures, those persons, odious 
for shameful practices, whom the vulgar called Christians. Christ, the author of 
that name, was punished by the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tibe- 
rius ; and the deadly superstition, repressed for a while, broke out again not only 



1 " Afflicti suppliciis Christian!, genus hominum mediocri laude digna, in unum contuli : ut secerne- 
superstitionis novae ac malefic®." — Suet., Nero, 16. rem a probris ac sceleribus ejus, de quibus debino 
" Haec partim nulla reprehensione, partim etiam non dicam." — Ibid. 19, 



PBELIMINAEY DISSERTATION. XXXI 

through Judaea, the original seat of that evil, but through the city also, whither, 
from every side, all things horrible or shameful flow together and come into vogue. 
First, some were arrested who made confession ; then, by the information obtained 
from them, a great multitude were found guilty, not so much of burning the city 
as of a hatred of the human race. Even in their dying, they were made sport 
of, — some covered with skins of beasts, that they might be mangled to death by 
dogs ; others nailed to crosses ; others condemned to the flames, and, when the 
day went down, they were burned for illumination in the night. Nero had offered 
his own gardens for that spectacle, and gave at the same time a circus exhibition, 
going about himself among the rabble in the dress of a charioteer, or actually 
driving a chariot. The consequence was, that although the sufferers were 
wicked, and worthy of extreme punishment, commiseration was awakened, as if 
they suffered not from any consideration of the public welfare, but for the grati- 
fication of one man's cruelty." * 

Tacitus, then, making his record of public events, was compelled to take 
notice of the Christian religion as a fact in the reign of Nero. He describes 
more at length, what Suetonius mentions so briefly, the persecution of the 
Christians at Borne by that emperor. He tells us that it followed the great con- 
flagration, which is known to have been a.d. 64. From him we learn, in addition 
to what Suetonius has told us, the occasion and motive of the persecution, and 
what cruelties were inflicted on the sufferers. He even gives some information 
concerning the origin of that new religion ; that it arose in Judsea under the 
reign of Tiberius, which extended, as we know, from a.d. 14 to a.d. 37 ; that 
its name was derived from Christ, who was punished by the procurator Pilate, 
whose term of office began, as is ascertained from other sources of information, 
in the twelfth year of that reign ; that, instead of being suppressed by the pun- 
ishment inflicted on its author, it spread through Judaea, and through Rome itself. 
Yet the description which he gives of Christianity is no more satisfactory to 
our reasonable curiosity than the more compendious statement given by Suetonius. 
The great conflagration, and the torture of Christians in Nero's gardens, were 

* " Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos, et addita ludibria, ut ferarum tergis contecti laniatu 

qusesitissimis pcenis adfecit, quos per flagitia invi- canum interirent, aut crucibus affixi, aut flammandi 

sos, vulgus Christianos appellabat. Auctor nomirds atque ubi deficisset dies in usum nocturni luminis 

ejus Cbristus, Tiberio imperitante, per procuratorem urerentur. Hortos suos ei spectaculo Nero obtule- 

Pontium Pilatum, supplicio affectus erat. Repres- rat, et Circense ludicrum edebat, habitu aurigoeper- 

saque in praesens exitiabilis superstitio rursus erum- mixtus plebi, vel curriculo jnsistens. Unde qu>n- 

pebat, n»n modo per Judseam, originem ejus mali, quam adversue sontes, etnovisshnaexeropiamcritos, 

sed per urbem etiain quo cuncta undique atrocia aut miseratio oriebatur, tanquam non utilitate publica, 

pudenda confluunt, celebranturque. Igitur primum sed in saevitiam unius absumerentur." — Tacit., Ann. 

correpti, qui fatebantur, deinde, indicio eorum multi- xv. 44. — The translation which I have given is as 

tudo ingens, haud perinde in crimine incendii, quam nearly literal as the difference of the two languages 

odio human! generis convict! sunt. Et pereuntibus and the sententious brevity of the author wi'll permit. 



XXXII PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

within the reach of the historian's personal memory. As a child, he might have 
seen what he describes so vividly. Forty years had passed, and he was writing 
about Nero in the reign of Trajan; but he did not think it necessary to recon- 
sider what he had received in childhood as the common opinion about the Chris- 
tian religion. Any inquiry concerning its principles or practices seemed to him 
beneath the dignity of an historian. So, instead of telling us any thing which an 
historical inquirer at this day, tracing the greatest of revolutions to its origin, 
would be most eager to know*; he dismisses the subject with a few bitter and 
contemptuous phrases. Christianity — the very name of it was " vulgar : " per- 
sons of his rank and culture rarely had occasion to mention the " odious " thing ; 
it was a " deadly superstition." The wretches who in Nero's gardens were torn 
to pieces by dogs for the amusement of the public, or were set up on crosses 
that bystanders might enjoy the excitement of seeing so exquisite a form of 
mortal agony, or were covered with combustible matter, and burned, to give light 
as evening came on, deserved what they suffered ; though the populace held fast 
the opinion that Nero was the great incendiary, and began to pity the wicked 
sufferers, and to deem them the objects not so much of imperial justice as of 
imperial cruelty. From this historian, then, we obtain only the scantiest infor- 
mation which he could give without failing to record what he recognized as a 
significant incident in the reign of Nero. 

Not far from the time when Tacitus was writing his " Annals," and Suetonius 
his "Lives of the Caesars," Pliny, the intimate friend of both, was administering 
the government of a province on the southern coast of the Black Sea. He had 
been appointed Propraetor of Bithynia and Pontus by the Emperor Trajan, a.d. 
103, — about forty years after the persecution described by Tacitus. The last of 
the ten books of his collected epistles contains his correspondence with Trajan, 
mostly official. One of his despatches to the emperor gives some of that infor- 
mation concerning Christianity which the great historians disdained to give ; 
and it has been preserved, not because the author thought that distant genera- 
tions would desire to know what he had happened to learn about that strange 
religion, but only because he thought that the letter, like other letters of his about 
matters of slight importance, would be valued for its literary merit. It was im- 
possible for him to conceive, that, of all his epistles, the one which in after-ages 
would be most thought of, and which would make him known to millions of 
readers, who, but for that, would never hear his name, was his business-like com- 
munication to the emperor on the question, what to do with Christians. 

A close translation, with no attempt to represent the literary merit 'of the 
original, will answer the purpose of laying before the reader just what Pliny 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXIII 

reported officially to tlie emperor about Christianity in Pontus and Bithynia, 
some time within the first ten years of the second century : 1 — 

" It is my custom, sir, to refer every thing about which I am in doubt to you ; 
for who can better direct my hesitation, or remove my ignorance ? 

" I have never been present at any judicial examination of Christians, so that I 
am ignorant in what manner and to what extent it is usual to punish them or 
to examine them. I have also been quite unable to decide whether there is 
any discrimination on account of difference in age, or those who are of tender 
age are treated in the same way with the more robust; whether pardon 
is given to those who repent; or, if one has been at any time a Christian, 
it is nothing in his favor that he has ceased to be such ; whether the mere 
name is punished, or only those shameful practices which are connected with 
the name. 

" Meanwhile, in the case of those who have been accused before me of being 
Christians, I have taken this course, — I have put the question to them, whether 
they were Christians. To those who confessed I put the question again, and the 
third time, threatening them with punishment. Those who persevered in that 
confession I ordered to be taken to execution ; for I did not doubt, that, whatever 
the nature of their confession might be, the pertinacity and inflexible obstinacy 
ought to be punished. There have been some possessed with that sort of mad- 
ness, whom, because they were Roman citizens, I have set down in the list of 
persons who must be sent to Rome. 2 

" Soon, as often happens, the proceedings having caused the accusation to 
spread in all directions, there came to be many sorts of cases. 3 An anonymous 
indictment was offered containing many names. I have thought proper to dis- 
charge those who deny that they are or have been Christians, when they repeated 
after me a prayer to the gods, and offered worship, with incense and wine, to your 
statue (which, for that purpose, I had ordered to be brought with the images of 
the deities), and, besides all that, reviled Christ ; which things they who are really 
Christians cannot, it is said, be forced to do. Others, named by an informer, 4 
said that they were Christians, and immediately denied it : they said that they 
had been, but had ceased to be, Christians ; some three, some more, and a few eveu 
twenty years ago. These all venerated your statue and the images of the gods ■ 



1 Plin., Ep. x. 96. The despatch and the empe- 8 Diffundente se crimine plures species incide 
ror's reply are given at full length in the original, runt. 

accompanied with Melmoth's translation, by Dr. * "Indice,"— perhaps the same anonymous h. 

Lyman Coleman, Chr. Antiquities, pp. 26-30. former. 

2 Compare Acts xvi. 37, xxii. 25-27, xxv. 11, 12, 
21, 27. 



XXXIT PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

they also reviled Christ. But they affirmed that the sum whether of their crime 
or of their error was this, — that they used to meet on a stated day before light, 
and to sing among themselves, in turn, a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to 
bind themselves by an oath, not to any wickedness, but that they would never 
commit theft, robbery, nor adultery ; that they would never break their word ; 
that they would never deny a trust when called to give it up : and, after these 
performances, their way was to separate, and then meet again to partake 
of food, but only of an ordinary and harmless kind. 1 Even this they said they 
had given up after my edict, by which, according to your orders, I had pro- 
hibited clubs. 2 

" Having heard so much, I deemed it the more necessary to ascertain the 
truth by putting to the torture 3 two women-servants who were called dea- 
conesses j 4 but I found nothing more than a perverse and excessive superstition. 
Therefore, having postponed the investigation, I betake myself to you for advice ; 
for the affair seems to me to require such consultation, especially because of the 
number of persons implicated : for many of every age, of every rank, and of 
both sexes also, are summoned to trial, and will be summoned ; for the contagion 
of that superstition has pervaded not only cities, but villages and also farms. It 
can be, I think, resisted and corrected. At least, it is evident enough that the 
temples, which a little while ago were forsaken, have begun to be frequented, 
and sacred observances long intermitted are renewed ; and the flesh of sacrifices, 
for which, of late, a purchaser could rarely be found, is now sold everywhere. 5 
And this makes it easy to think how many might be reformed if repentance can 
gain pardon." 

The sententious reply of Trajan to this letter adds nothing to the information 
given in the letter itself. The emperor approves what Pliny has done. He 
says that no fixed rule of proceeding in such cases can be given. At the same 
time, he says that there should be no effort to find out Christians. If any are 
accused and convicted, they must be punished ; yet if any man, being accused, 



1 "Ad capienduru cibum, promiscuum tamen et for any other purpose. It will not be difficult to 
innoxium." The word " promiscuum " may signify keep watch over so few." Trajan, in reply, adverted 
that the food was distributed to all alike; yet Taci- to the factious character of the province, and espe- 
tus uses it to signify that which is ordinary. cially of its cities ; and said that organized societies 

2 This English word seems to represent fairly there, of whatever name, and for whatever object, 
the word " hetJBrias." In a former despatch (x. 42), would certainly become in a short time hetserias, or 
Pliny, having reported to the emperor a conflagra- sodalities. One characteristic of the Roman sodali- 
tion at Nicomedia, which had been very destructive ties was that they were festive clubs, or lodges, and 
for want of a competent fire-department, asked his were therefore easily perverted to political or fac- 
advice about incorporating a fire-company of at least tious uses. 

a hundred and fifty mechanics. " I will take care," 3 Compare Acts xxii. 24. 

he said, " that none but a mechanic shall be a mem- 4 " Ministrge." 

ber, and that the privilege conceded shall not be used 5 Compare 1 Cor. viii. 4-13, Acts xv. 29. 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXV 

shall deny that he is a Christian; and shall confirm his denial by worshipping 
the Roman gods, however suspected his former conduct may have been, let his 
recantation clear him. Anonymous accusations are to he disregarded. 

How much information concerning the early history of Christianity can we 
gather from this correspondence ? The question, at present, is, not what light 
Pliny's letter throws on information derived from other sources, but only how 
much we should know if the incidental revelations made in this despatch, to- 
gether with what Suetonius and Tacitus tell us, were all our knowledge on the 
subject. Suppose the statesmanship of Trajan and Pliny had extirpated that 
" perverse and excessive superstition," and this correspondence had come down 
to tell us about an extinct and forgotten religion : how much information would 
it give us ? 

1. In the tenth year of the second century, or earlier, the people called Chris- 
tians had become very numerous in Pontus and Bithynia, — so numerous, that, 
by their influence, the resort to the temples of the established religion had been 
seriously diminished. Nor had that new religion then for the first time invaded 
the region. Some persons are mentioned who had not only accepted it, but had 
afterwards apostatized from it, as far back as a.d. 90. 

2. The Christian religion was regarded and treated by the Roman Govern- 
ment as unlawful. It was a crime to be a Christian. At Rome, there had been, 
in times then recent, prosecutions and trials of persons charged with that crime ; 
for so much is very distinctly implied when Pliny says, by way of apology 
for asking advice, that he had never attended at such trials. 

3. It had become well understood that one who was really a Christian might 
be expected to die rather than to speak ill of Christ, or to comply with the estab- 
lished religion in an act of worship. No such notion could have obtained Cur- 
rency, unless the attempt had been made often and unsuccessfully to break 
down the obstinacy of Christians in that respect. In this way, it was settled by 
the good sense of Pliny, and by the approval of Trajan, that, in the case of any 
person accused of Christianity, the question whether he was guilty might be 
peremptorily decided by calling upon him to perform an act of worship to the 
gods of the established religion, and to pronounce a malediction against Christ. 

4. Ample testimony is given to the moral character of the Christians at that 
time in Pontus and Bithynia. Reluctant to punish men for a mere name, 
Pliny, when men and women were brought before him charged with being Chris- 
tians, thought it necessary to prove against them some of the shameful practices 
associated with that name in the common belief; but he could find no evidence 
to convict them of any thing shameful. He received the testimony of renegades 



XXXVI PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

who escaped punishment hy renouncing their religion ; and their testimony was, 
that the Christians were bound by a sacred covenant to do nothing wrong, and 
that, in their assemblies, there was nothing worse than innocently eating together. 
Not satisfied with this, he used his power as a magistrate to extort the truth 
from those who were supposed to be keeping it back. He selected from among 
the accused two female slaves who seemed to hold some sort of an office in the 
Christian community ; and, having never thought that slaves could have any 
rights which Bonian chivalry was bound to respect, he examined them by tor- 
ture : but they could only tell him the particulars of what he called a perverse 
and unbounded superstition. 

5. Who would not like to read, at this day, the questions which were put to 
those two slave deaconesses on the rack, and the answers which they gave ? 
History ought to know what that superstition was. Neither Suetonius nor Taci- 
tus told what it was : nor does Pliny tell us any thing more than what the rene- 
gades told him ; which was, that the Christians had a custom of meeting on a 
certain day, at a very early hour, and singing a hymn to Christ as if he were a 
god. Concerning the beliefs and tenets of the Christians, the origin of their 
superstition, the methods in which it had been propagated, and the secret of the 
tenacity with which it had maintained itself for more than forty years since 
ISTero undertook to suppress it at Koine, this correspondence gives no information. 

We have been inquiring what the contemporaneous literature of the world 
can tell us concerning the origin and early progress of the Christian religioD, and 
we have found little more than a careless recognition of Christianity as a fact 
that was beginning to attract the hostile attention of the Bonian Government 
in the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. We 
learn from one author, that, about one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight 
years ago, it had a great multitude of adherents in that part of Asia Minor 
which borders on the Black Sea ; from two others, that it was severely perse- 
cuted at Boine about forty-six years earlier; and, from one of the two, that it 
had its beginning in Judaea under the reign of Tiberius, whose officer, Pontius 
Pilate, punished its author, Christ. By vestiges so few and faint, we trace it 
back to about the thirtieth year of the Christian era, with regret that philoso- 
phers and historians who saw the fact of the new religion did not suspect how 
important the fact was. A few years only after the date of Pliny's despatch 
to Trajan, the new religion begins to make a larger figure in the literature of 
the Bonian Empire ; and at the same time it begins to have a copious literature 
of its own, from which we may ascertain, quite satisfactorily, what it then was, 
not only in its doctrines and spirit and its morals, but also in its traditions con- 
cerning its own origin. 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XXXVH 

Now, that Christian literature, commencing not long before the middle of the 
second century, is full of references to what we may call a more primitive Chris- 
tian literature, — the writings not indeed of Christ himself, but of his apostles 
and earliest disciples. Those writings were held in great veneration, as giving 
the original and authentic report of what Christ was, of what he said and did, 
of the truth which he brought into the world, of a reconciliation to be effected 
through him between human souls and God, and of the plan and hope which he 
inaugurated for the renovation of the world. We may, without any absurdity 
or contradiction, suppose those primitive writings to have been lost, and the re- 
ligion of which they were the original and authentic record to have come down 
to us in the living tradition of the Church, in formularies of doctrine or of wor- 
ship, in rules of government and discipline, and in the writings of the Christian 
fathers from about the middle of the second century. But what a loss would that 
have been ! what a loss to history ! what a loss to Christianity ! How diligent- 
ly would old libraries in Europe, and older monasteries in Arabian and Lybian 
deserts, be explored and ransacked in the hope of finding those primitive docu- 
ments of the Christian religion ! History, patiently tracing back the greatest 
of all revolutions to its origin, would say, " We can spare the lost books of Livy 
and of Tacitus ; but give us those lost books in which the l perverse, unbounded, 
deadly superstition/ as the Romans called it, portrayed itself at its beginning, 
and recorded its own earliest conflicts and victories." Earnest and inquiring 
believers would say, " Give us those lost books ; let us have our Christianity, 
not from the fathers, but from those apostles and evangelists to whose writings 
the fathers are continually referring us, not as defined and wrought into sys- 
tems by theologians, nor as formulated by councils, but as it was first received 
from Christ himself, as it was first revealed in the story of his life and of his 
death, as it was first written down by men whom he had personally taught and 
commissioned." 

Suppose now, that, as has happened in respect to other books long lost, those 
books, the primitive documents of Christianity, after having been lost for cen- 
turies, are at last recovered. Only a few years ago, an enthusiastic scholar, 
travelling in search of ancient manuscripts, was so happy as to find in a convent 
on Mount Sinai a copy of the New Testament, written, as indubitable indica- 
tions prove, full fifteen hundred years ago, — a volume so ancient, that the eyes 
of Constantine or of Athanasius might have looked upon it. If that " Sinaitic 
manuscript," when discovered, had been the only extant copy of the primitive 
Christian documents, it is not difficult to imagine what would have been tho 
importance of the discovery, both in its relation to the earliest history of Chris- 



XXXVHI PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

tianity, and in its relation to Christianity itself as a divinely revealed religion. 
Think with what carefulness the precious book would be transcribed and edited 
for scholars ! how many translations of it would be made, that Christians every- 
where might read, every man in his own language, the original and authentic 
record concerning Christ and his work and kingdom ! what treasures of learn- 
ing would be expended in the illustration of it ! what commentaries would be 
made for all sorts of readers, and for various uses, historical, doctrinal, practical, 
and devotional ! Think how the venerable writings of the fathers, from Justin 
Martyr downward, would be compared with these more venerable writings, so 
much nearer to the head-spring of the river of the water of life ! how the theo- 
logical systems of this nineteenth-century Christianity would be brought into 
comparison with what Paul and John and Peter and the Master himself taught 
concerning God and the way of life! what identities and resemblances would 
be traced out, or what contrasts would be shown, between the various fabrics of 
church polity now extant, and the societies of " holy persons in Christ Jesus, with 
the overseers and servants," when Christianity was new ! how the accepted max- 
ims of Christian morality, and the ordinary standards of Christian character, would 
be tested by comparing them with what was expected and what was demanded of 
those who were called Christians in the reigns of Claudius and of Nero ! what 
diligence would be employed to ascertain how far the Christian consciousness in 
our day, with all that believing souls now experience of the power of godliness, 
is accordant with the Christian consciousness of the apostles, and with their 
experience of what they preached as the power of God to salvation ! 

Just such is the actual value, such the use we ought to make, and are making, 
of the writings included in the New Testament; for our supposition only helps 
us to realize more freshly a very familiar fact. These writings purport to give 
us the testimony of personal witnesses concerning the origin of what is to-day 
one of the most important elements in the history and condition of the world. 
With these writings in our hands, we know how and where the Christian religion 
had its beginning ; what obstacles it encountered and overcame ; by what means, 
and by what concurrent forces in the providence of God, it was diffused through 
the civilized world ; how it happened to attract so early the attention of the 
Roman Government ; and what its relations were to the Jewish people, and to 
their immemorial and most peculiar religion. Thus the few documents contained 
in the New Testament enable us to fill up what, without them, would have been 
a mysterious and hopeless blank in the history of mankind. At the same time, 
they have for us another and greater value. They bring us historically nearer to 
the person of Christ than we can be brought by any possible help without them. 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 



XXXIX 



They give us his words as his nearest friends and daily companions caught them 
from his lips. They show us what impression his unique person made on his 
immediate disciples ; both by all that they heard from him, and by all that they 
saw in him ; what place he held in their religious consciousness, and in all their 
thinking about the reconciliation between God and men ; what place he held in 
their most reverent yet most tender affection, in their self-sacrificing zeal, in their 
immortal hope ; what they thought of him, and what they said about him, when 
he had passed away from among them. As we read these writings, we find our- 
selves brought into the circle nearest to Christ, among his earliest disciples. 
We sit among those who listened to the Sermon on the Mount. We are with 
the twelve as they learn from his parables, so slowlyj what he teaches so patiently 
concerning the kingdom of God among men. We are with them on the Lake of 
Galilee, at Jacob's Well, in the house of the sisters at Bethany, in the grand 
porches of the Temple. We sit with them on the Mount of Olives, overlooking 
the city while he foretells its destruction. We are with them in the upper 
room where he keeps his last passover ; and we go out with them, under the 
full moon, into the garden. We look through their eyes upon his cross and his 
tomb. We share in their amazement at his resurrection. We stand with them, 
gazing upward, while a cloud receives him out of their sight. Then we are with 
them in their consultations, waiting and praying, till they are summoned to their 
work so humble, and yet so august. As we follow them, we presently lose sight 
of them. The work they are doing is greater than they are : it overshadows them, 
and they disappear. It is not for their sake that the story is told, but for 
Christ's sake. It is of little moment to us that the New Testament gives no 
complete biography of any apostle, — never tells us where Paul died, or Peter, 
or John, or any of the twelve, save Judas the betrayer, and James the son of 
ISebedee ; but, what is of great moment to us, it does tell us what they thought 
of Jesus, and what the gospel was which he gave them for the world. We 
might like to know all about the apostles, where they severally labored, and how 
they died, as apocryphal legends falsely report ; but what the New Testament 
tells is far better than any thing could be which it does not tell. 

We may use a story as an illustration, without vouching for it as true. Many 
years ago, it is said, there was published in Ireland, with the design of making 
an impression on Roman-Catholic readers, a little tract purporting to be "A 
Genuine Letter from St. Peter." It was read by many, and heard by many who 
could not read, with eager and reverent curiosity. Nor was there any deception 
in the case. The little tract was just what it purported to be, " A Genuine Letter 
from St. Peter." It was simply the First Epistle of Peter, taken from the New 



XL PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

Testament ; and the reading or hearing of it was almost like sitting down with 
the holy apostle himself to hear him talk to Christians ahout Christ and salva- 
tion. Just such is the privilege which we have in reading the primitive docu- 
ments of Christianity. Would you count it a privilege to hear from John the 
apostle ? You have before you three very characteristic letters from him, one 
of them quite extended ; and, what is more, he has written down for you in his 
old age, and you have received from him, his oft-repeated stories of things which 
he remembered about Jesus, but which had not till then been written. In like 
manner, you have two letters from Peter, " epistles general," or " catholic," they 
are called, — one of them addressed, comprehensively, to the "strangers" or 
sojourners, "chosen," "sanctified," "obedient," and "sprinkled with the blood 
of Jesus Christ," who were dispersed through those northern districts of Asia 
Minor, where Pliny, forty years afterward, found so many Christians ; the other 
inscribed in yet more general terms " to them who have obtained like precious 
faith with us." We need not name all the writers whom this one little volume 
of the New Testament brings into direct communication with us ; but we can- 
not refrain from mentioning distinctly the characteristic letters of Paul, that 
great apostle, whose labors were so abundant, whose missionary journeys had so 
wide a circuit, and whose writings, whether addressed to individual friends or 
to communities of Christians, are so full of his individual life, throbbing, as it 
were, in every sentence, with the intensity of his Christian thought and feeling. 

But are these documents really what they are supposed to be ? Intelligent 
readers are aware that this question has been discussed with great learning and 
diligence on both sides, and, on the part of some writers, with great audacity of 
conjecture and assertion. A full consideration of the evidences which go to 
prove that we have in the New Testament the primitive and authentic docu- 
ments of the Christian religion, and that such documents taken together, as 
we find them, could not have come into being otherwise than contemporaneously 
with the origin of that religion, would be impracticable within the limits of this 
Preliminary Dissertation. Yet a few thoughts may be suggested which the 
•readers of " The Life and Epistles of St. Paul " will find occasion to appreciate 
and to verify. 

I. First of all, the remarkable fact, already referred to, that these documents 

do not give us the means of tracing the life of any apostle to its end, and that 

neither Paul nor any one of the original twelve (save Judas, and James the 

brother of John) is mentioned or alluded to in the New Testament as dead, 

annot but impress an unprejudiced mind. The earliest authentic Christian 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XLI 

writing, outside of the New Testament (a letter from the church at Rome to the 
church at Corinth, written by Clement, " whose name is in the book of life "), 1 
mentions the deaths of Paul and Peter in a very natural way. 2 How does it hap- 
pen that neither the death of Paul nor that of Peter is mentioned in any of the 
New-Testament writings ? We may raise a more particular question on this point. 
It has been said that the historical book called "The Acts of the Apostles" was 
not written by Luke, the companion of Paul, but was put together by some 
unknown compiler of traditions in the latter part of the second century ; and 
that the " most excellent Theophilus," to whom it is inscribed, was none other 
than Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch from a.d. 168 to a.d. 183. But, on that 
supposition, how does it happen that the book terminates abruptly, leaving Paul 
still a prisoner in his own hired house at Rome two years after his arrival there ? 
Could not the compiler of traditions, when that apostle had been dead a hundred 
years, find some tradition that would enable him to carry on the story ? What 
became of the appeal to Csesar? Did the appellant have a trial? or did he 
remain a prisoner till his death ? Surely such a termination of the story would 
have been impossible at any date subsequent to the death of Paul. But if the 
book was written, as it purports to have been, by one who was with Paul on the 
journey, and arrived with him at Kome ; and if the Gospel according to Luke, 
and then this book, its sequel, were written while the prisoner was waiting for 
his trial, — there is the best possible reason for such a breaking-off without ending 
the story ; and that is the only reason that can be conceived of without violating 
all probability. The narrative is brought down to a point very near the date at 
which the writing was ended. 

May not the fact, then, that in these collected writings the apostles disappear 
without our knowing what became of them, be taken as proof that they were, 
in their origin, contemporaneous with the apostles ? Had there been time for 
tradition concerning the apostles to grow into fable, and for a halo of myth to 
form itself around each saintly name, the story of what they did, and whither 
they went, and where and how they died, could not have been left so imperfect 
as we have it in the New Testament. 

II. The attention of biblical scholars was long ago arrested by a certain 
peculiarity of language or style, which, in one degree or another, characterizes 
all the New-Testament writings. It can hardly be denied that the entire volume 
was written by Hellenist Jews ; that is, by persons who used the Greek language 
with Hebrew idioms. Of course, then, it was written when the Christian 
community, for whose use at the first these writings were designed, con? 

1 Phil. iv. 3. 2 ciem. Rom. i. 5, 



XLII PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

largely of Jewish converts, and when its leaders especially were men of Jewish 
birth and training. Accordingly, the Hellenistic style or dialect is peculiar to 
the New Testament. If we find any thing of it in the fathers, even in the 
earliest of them, we cannot but ascribe the phenomenon to a conscious or 
unconscious imitation of what is called the biblical or scriptural style, which is 
really nothing else than the Hebrew style. 

III. Another characteristic of the New Testament is much more to our 
purpose. Its contents are an indication of its date. Some of the questions 
which the Epistles, especially, touch upon distinctly as the live questions of 
their time, are questions which, in a few years after the apostolic age, had 
ceased to be controverted or agitated among Christians. In particular, the 
question whether a Gentile could be a Christian, partaking in the privileges and 
hopes of Christ's kingdom, without first becoming a Jew, was never a contro- 
verted question in the Christian community for any considerable time after the 
fall of Jerusalem. On the contrary, when the separation of the new kingdom 
of God from the old Mosaic institutions had been visibly completed, the tables 
were turned ; and the question then was, rather, whether a Jew could be a 
Christian without renouncing his nationality. But the New Testament was 
written, as almost every page of it testifies, at a time when Christianity had not 
yet been completely detached from Judaism, but was still, in the view of Syna- 
gogue and Sanhedrin, of procurators and proconsuls, and of mobs at Philippi, 
at Ephesus, and at Jerusalem, a Jewish sect or schism. It shows upon its 
surface the slow progress of conviction on that subject in the minds of the 
apostles themselves; how, while their Master was personally teaching them, 
they never grasped the breadth of his conception ; how the day of Pentecost did 
not quite emancipate them from their Jewish narrowness ; how even Peter's 
vision at Joppa, and the interpretation forced upon him at Csesarea, did not 
perfectly enlighten them ; and how, at last, the deputation from Antioch, with 
their report of what Christianity was doing in the great city where it first 
received its name, brought them to commit themselves in the most formal way 
for the gospel of a kingdom of heaven in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile. 
That " mystery," hid from foregoing ages, but revealed at last, crops out in the 
Gospels ; for it underlies them. It gives unity to the story of the Acts of the 
Apostles; it shines forth everywhere in the Epistles of Paul, whose "false 
brethren," Jews professing to believe in Christ, and trying to make the gospel a 
monopoly for Judaism, were his most vexatious adversaries. Can any reader of 
those writings believe that the New Testament, so full of that essentially tran- 
sient question, was forged, or somehow grew, as a myth grows, after that question 
had begun to be forgotten ? 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. XLIII 

IV. We who receive these writings as not only apostolic but divinely inspired 
encounter a serious difficulty in our interpretation of them. If they are what 
they purport to be, they seem to show that the first Christians, under the 
teaching of the apostles who reported to them the words of Christ, were expect- 
ing what is now called Christ's second advent, as an event that was to take 
place before that generation should have passed away; and that, with that 
expected coming of Christ, they generally associated in their thoughts the 
resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the end of the world. Yet 
to-day, at the end of eighteen hundred years, Christ has not come again in 
manner and form as he was expected to come in the lifetime of the apostles, 
"We recognize the difficulty, though we hold, that, in one way or another, it can 
be solved without impairing our reverence for these Scriptures. There is no 
need of our pausing here to show how it can be solved; for at present we have to 
do with it as a fact rather than with the solution of it. Indeed, if the difficulty 
should even be pronounced incapable of any solution consistent with the inspi- 
ration of these Scriptures, the fact that there is such a difficulty would be only 
so much the more conclusive in its bearing on the question now before us. Are 
these collected writings, as they purport to be, the primitive records of Chris- 
tianity, contemporaneous with its origin ? If they are not, but were forged at 
some later date (even though it were only a few years later) by writers who 
thought that the pious fraud of personating the apostles was a service acceptable 
to God, how was it possible for those pious forgers, after the apostles, and, with 
them, all the men of the apostolic age, were dead, not to beware of creating such 
a difficulty ? Is it less than absurd to suppose that they deliberately put into 
the documents they were forging what was likely to pass for evidence that the 
apostles were in error about the day of the Lord? Would they not have 
distinguished more carefully between Christ's coming to judge all nations, and 
his coming in the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple ? — between the 
end of the world and the end of the Mosaic dispensation ? 

V. Any contriver of an hypothesis to account for the existence of the JSTew- 
Testament documents, without admitting their historic value as contemporaneous 
with the origin of Christianity, ought to show us where or by whom, prior to the 
beginning of the third century, such writings could have been produced. Let 
him compare them with what genuine remains we have of Christian authorship 
in the age immediately following the apostles, — the Epistle of Barnabas, the 
Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistles of Ignatius. The man who could write the 
fourth Gospel, without having been a personal disciple of Jesus, must have been 
a man of mark in his time. To fabricate that book out of loose and mythical?? 



XLIV PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

traditions must have "been a much greater achievement of genius than to write 
it from long-cherished recollections of a dear and intimate friendship with Jesus, 
though it is a wonderful hook to be produced even in that simple manner. In 
which of three or four generations next after the apostles are we to look for a 
Christian author capable of such a work ? Could a man like Ignatius, or like 
the author of the epistle which bears the name of Barnabas, or like Hermas, or 
even like the literary Justin Martyr, so personate Paul as to produce the Epistle 
to the Romans ? The man with genius enough to do that had a dramatic power 
that might have produced a play like one of Shakspeare's. Who was there in 
those three or four generations that could have written even the First Epistle of 
Peter? We might ask the same question in reference to almost every book 
of the collection. But, instead of that, let us ask, once for all, If the age which 
produced Christianity was not competent to produce these Scriptures, in what 
later generation could they have been produced ? 

In "brief, this wide difference between the primitive Christian literature which 
we find collected and canonized in the New Testament, and the Christian 
literature of the next following ages, — apostolical fathers, apostolical canons 
and constitutions, apocryphal gospels, and everything of that sort, — is little 
less than demonstration, not only that the Christians of those early ages were 
capable of distinguishing the genuine from the spurious, and were careful to 
exclude from among their Holy Scriptures every thing not authenticated, but 
also, and quite independently of their verdict, that the New Testament is what 
it purports to be. Aside from the difference in style and idiom, and in the 
bearing on questions peculiar to the apostolic age, there is a difference in tone 
and spirit, a difference in respect to plain and sturdy common sense as opposed 
to feeble sentimentalism, a difference in respect to healthiness of conscience as 
opposed to morbid scrupulousness or enthusiastic exaggerations of self-sacrifice ; 
and such differences show us convincingly, that, in the New Testament, we 
have not the work of nobody knows who in some post-apostolic age, hut the 
really primitive documents of the Christian religion. 

YI. All the foregoing suggestions will find ample illustration in the study of 
these documents, with such aids as are now more and more within the reach, 
not of privileged scholars only, hut of " the people." This excellent work on 
" The Life and Epistles of St. Paul " is eminently valuable for the light which 
it throws incidentally upon almost every topic of the evidence given by the 
New Testament itself in proof of its own authenticity. But the most copious 
illustration of that general argument is on a topic not yet mentioned ; namely, 
the coincidences between the historical and geographical references in these 



PEELIMINABY DISSERTATION. XLV 

writings, and that knowledge of facts which we are enabled to gain from other 
sources. 

One of the most charming as well as convincing books of argumentation in 
the English language, or in any other, is Paley's " Horse Paulinse." Taking 
that portion of Paul's personal history which is given in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, and comparing it with the collection of epistles bearing his name, if we 
find, at one point and another, an irreconcilable discrepancy between the two, 
we infer with great certainty that either the history is at those points false, and 
therefore is generally not worthy of confidence, or the epistles are forgeries. If 
we find a close and obviously careful coincidence at every point, we can hardly 
avoid the suspicion that either the history was compiled from the letters, or the 
letters were composed as imaginary illustrations of the history. But if the 
coincidences are of such a sort as to exclude the supposition of their having 
been contrived ; if there are seeming and obvious discrepancies, which, upon 
closer examination, are reconciled by the discovery of a latent and undesigned 
coincidence ; if a fact mentioned in the one is illustrated by some obscure allusion 
incidentally occurring in the other ; if these latent and manifestly undesigned 
coincidences are multiplied as we proceed in our study of the documents, — the 
argument accumulates in its progress, and we arrive at the firmest sort of a 
conviction that the history is true, and the letters genuine. Nor shall we be 
moved from that conviction if some apparent discrepancies remain. We may 
suppose, that, if we had one or two facts not mentioned on either side, the 
seeming disagreement would be reconciled. We may even admit, that, just there, 
the historian was mistaken, or that the writer of the letters made an inaccurate 
allusion ; but the accumulated strength of the argument for the credibility of 
the historian and the genuineness of the letters will not be seriously impaired. 

Other writers have applied the same method of examination to other portions 
of the New Testament. For example, a similar argument has been made by 
tracing out the latent coincidences between the four Gospels and the writings of 
the Jewish historian Josephus. The field of inquiry and of argument into 
which Paley introduces us is wide and fruitful j and the evidence thus obtained 
is always cumulative. Coincidences that might have been contrived, and that 
obtrude themselves upon the reader, add little to the argument ; but every 
latent and undesigned coincidence which we detect between one portion of the 
New Testament and another, or between any book of the New Testament and 
any other authentic source of information, is an additional strand twisted into 
the cable that holds us to our anchor in the trustworthiness of these documents 
as the original records of the Christian faith. 



SLVl PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 

The authors of the work, which, in this edition, is offered to u the people^" 
have not made it any part of their design to reproduce or to extend the beauti- 
ful argumentation of Paley. But the ingenuous reader cannot hut be 
impressed with the fact, that the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Paul, 
while they do by no means repeat each other, are marvellously supplementary to 
each other (the history illustrating the epistles, and the epistles illustrating 
the history); every letter, by perfectly incidental indications of time and 
locality, finding its place in the history, and the history often explaining with 
great felicity allusions in the letters which would otherwise have been obscure. 
But the argument from coincidences is not exhausted by even a complete exhibi- 
tion of these instances. The principle has a wider reach ; and the work of 
Conybeare and Hcwson is one great repository of discovered coincidences 
between the New Testament and all that we can learn from other sources con- 
cerning the age in which it purports to have been written. 

Briefly the principle of the argument is this : If the seemingly historical 
documents of the New Testament were fictions of the second century, or were 
produced, like the apocryphal gospels, by a mythical tendency in the ages fol- 
lowing the origin of Christianity, they would not be found to harmonize with 
the authentic history of the age which they pretend to represent, nor (if they 
were composed elsewhere) with the geography of the country or countries in 
which the scene is laid. Such is the fact with the apocryphal gospels, as it is 
also with the fictitious Book of Judith in the Old-Testament apocrypha. If the 
historical documents collected in the New Testament were of that sort, it would 
be impossible to make them fit into the known history of the Jewish people 
and of the Bonian Empire during the first seventy years of the Christian era. 
They could give no illustration to history, nor could history illustrate them. 
But what is the fact ? The literature of the Boinan Empire through the first 
Christian century knew nothing of Christianity, or alluded to it only with con- 
tempt. Yet what wealth of illustration is poured upon the New Testament 
from the history which that literature gives us, and even from the coins and 
monuments of the period ! How is the whole story of Paul, for example, from 
his birth and early education at Tarsus to his latest epistle from the prison in 
which he was waiting for a martyr's death at B-ome, adjusted and fitted into its 
place in the history of the Boman Empire as it then was ! The entire New 
Testament, with the account which it gives of Christ, and of the world-move- 
ment which began in his life and death, finds and fills a gap in the world's 
history, and is itself a grand coincidence. 

A. few years ago, in one of our cities, a trial for murder was in progress. The 



PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION. 



XL VII 



accused had able counsel, who had planned for him an ingenious defence. Wit- 
ness after witness had been examined and cross-examined ; and, though the 
probabilities were' accumulating against him, it was felt by the spectators, and 
it was seen in the countenances of the jury, that as yet there was no conclusive 
proof of guilt. At last, a -knife was exhibited, which had been taken from the 
prisoner's person. If that knife had been bloody, no trace of blood was left 
upon it : but there was a gap in the blade ; and to that the attention of the 
jury was directed by the prosecutor. Then was exhibited a little flake of steel, 
which the physicians who examined the murdered body had discovered in the 
fatal wound. The knife and the flake were passed to the jury, that the relation 
of the flake to the gap might be seen by them with the aid of a magnifying 
glass ; and in the awful silence, as each juror looked through that glass, the 
change in his countenance was a verdict of " guilty." Such is the nature, and 
such may be the conclusiveness, of an argument from coincidence. 



* 



THE 



LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAPTER I. 

Great Men of Great Periods. — Period of Christ's Apostles. — Jews, Greeks, and Romans. 

— Religious Civilization of the Jews. — Their History and its Relation to that of the 
World. — Heathen Preparation for the Gospel. — Character and Language of the Greeks. — 
Alexander. — Antioch and Alexandria. — Growth and Government of the Roman Empire. 

— Misery of Italy and the Provinces. — Preparation in the Empire for Christianity. — 
Dispersion of the Jews in Asia, Africa, and Europe. — Proselytes. — Provinces of Cilicia 
and Judaea. — Their Geography and History. — Cilicia under the Romans. — Tarsus. — 
Cicero. — Political Changes in Judaea. — Herod and his Family. — The Roman Governors. 

— Conclusion. 

THE life of a great man, in a great period of the world's history, is a 
subject to command the attention of every thoughtful mind. 
Alexander on his Eastern expedition, spreading the civilization of Greece 
over the Asiatic and African shores of the Mediterranean Sea, — Julius 
Caesar contending against the Gauls, and subduing the barbarism of 
Western Europe to the order and discipline of Roman government, — 
Charlemagne compressing the separating atoms of the feudal world, 
and reviving for a time the image of imperial unity, — Columbus sailing 
westward over the Atlantic to discover a new world which might receive 
the arts and religion of the old, — Napoleon on his rapid campaigns, 
shattering the ancient system of European States, and leaving a chasm 
between our present and the past : — these are the colossal figures of 
history, which stamp with the impress of their personal greatness the 
centuries in which they lived. 

The interest with which we look upon such men is natural and in- 
evitable, even when we are deeply conscious that, in their character 
and their work, evil was mixed up in large proportions with the good, 
and when we find it difficult to discover the providential design which 
drew the features of their respective epochs. But this natural feeling 
1 1 



2 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, i 

rises into something higher, if we can be assured that the period we 
contemplate was designedly prepared for great results, that the work 
we admire was a work of unmixed good, and the man whose actions we 
follow was an instrument specially prepared by the hands of God. 
Such a period was that in which the civilized world was united under 
the first Roman emperors : such a work was the first preaching of the 
Gospel : and such a man was Paul of Tarsus. 

Before we enter upon the particulars of his life and the history of his 
work, it is desirable to say something, in this introductory chapter, con- 
cerning the general features of the age which was prepared for him. 
We shall not attempt any minute delineation of the institutions and 
social habits of the period. Many of these will be brought before us 
in detail in the course of the present work. We shall only notice here 
those circumstances in the state of the world, which seem to bear the 
traces of a providential pre-arrangement. 

Casting this general view on the age of the first Roman emperors, 
which was also the age of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, we find our 
attention arrested by three great varieties of national life. The Jew, 
the Greek, and the Roman appear to divide the world between them. 
The outward condition of Jerusalem itself, at this epoch, might be 
taken as a type of the civilized world. Herod the Great, who rebuilt 
the Temple, had erected, for Greek and Roman entertainments, a theatre 
within the same walls, and an amphitheatre in the neighboring plain. 1 
His coins, and those of his grandson Agrippa, bore Greek inscriptions : 
that piece of money, which was brought to our Saviour (Matt, xxii., 
Mark xii., Luke xx.), was the silver Denarius, the "image" was that 
of the emperor, the " superscription " was in Latin : and at the same 
time when the common currency consisted of such pieces as these, — 
since coins with the images of men or with Heathen symbols would 
have been a profanation to the " Treasury," — there might be found on 
the tables of the money-changers in the Temple, shekels and half-shekels 
with Samaritan letters, minted under the Maccabees. Greek and Roman 
names were borne by multitudes of those Jews who came up to worship 
at the festivals. Greek and Latin words were current in the popular 
" Hebrew " of the day : and while this Syro-Chaldaic dialect was spoken 
by the mass of the people with the tenacious affection of old custom, 
Greek had long been well known among the upper classes in the larger 
towns, and Latin was used in the courts of law, and in the official 



1 Joseph. Ant. xv. 8, 1. War, i. 21, 8. Jewish War, will be very frequent. Oeca- 
Our reference to the two great works of sionally also we shall refer to his Life, and 
Josephus, the Jewish Antiquities, and the his discourse against Apion. 



ouap.i. JEWS, GREEKS, AND ROMANS. 3 

correspondence of magistrates. On a critical occasion of St. Paul's life, 1 
when he was standing on the stair between the Temple and the fortress, 
he first spoke to the commander of the garrison in Greek, and then 
turned round and addressed his countrymen in Hebrew ; while the letter 2 
of Claudius Lysias was written, and the oration 3 of Tertullus spoken-, 
in Latin. We are told by the historian Josephus, 4 that on a parapet of 
stone in the Temple area, where a flight of fourteen steps led up from the 
outer to the inner court, pillars were placed at equal distances, with 
notices, some in Greek and some in Latin, that no alien should enter 
the sacred enclosure of the Hebrews. And we are told by two of the 
Evangelists, 5 that when our blessed Saviour was crucified, " the super- 
scription of his accusation " was written above His cross " in letters of 
Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin." 

The condition of the world in general at that period wears a similar 
appearance to a Christian's eye. He sees the Greek and Roman ele- 
ments brought into remarkable union with the older and more sacred 
element of Judaism. He sees in the Hebrew people a divinely-laid 
foundation for the superstructure of the Church, and in the dispersion 
of the Jews a soil made ready in fitting places for the seed of the Gospel. 
He sees in the spread of the language and commerce of the Greeks, and 
in the high perfection of their poetry and philosophy, appropriate means 
for the rapid communication of Christian ideas, and for bringing them 
into close connection with the best thoughts of unassisted humanity. And 
he sees in the union of so many incoherent provinces under the law and 
government of Rome, a strong framework which might keep together for 
a sufficient period those masses of social life which the Gospel was in- 
tended to pervade. The City of God is built at the confluence of three 
civilizations. We recognize with gratitude the hand of God in the his- 
tory of His world : and we turn with devout feeling to trace the course 
of these three streams of civilized life, from their early source to the 
time of their meeting in the Apostolic age. 

We need not linger about the fountains of the national life of the Jews. 
We know that they gushed forth at first, and flowed in their appointed 
channels, at the command of God. The call of Abraham, when one 
family was chosen to keep and hand down the deposit of divine truth, 
— the series of providences which brought the ancestors of the Jews into 
Egypt, — the long captivity on the banks of the Nile, — the work of Moses, 

1 Acts xxi. xxii 8 Acts xxiv. Dean Milman (Bampton 

2 Acts xxiii. A document of this kind, Lectures, p. 185) has remarked on the peculiar- 
sent with a prisoner by a subordinate to a ly Latin character of Tertullus's address, 
superior officer, would almost certainly be in 4 War, v. 5, 2. Compare vi. 2, 4. 

Latin. 6 Luke xxiii. 38 ; John xix. 20. 



4 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i. 

whereby the bondsmen were made into a nation, — all these things are 
represented in the Old Testament as occurring under the immediate 
direction of Almighty power. The people of Israel were taken out of the 
midst of an idolatrous world, to become the depositaries of a purer knowl- 
edge of the one true God than was given to any other people. At a time 
when (humanly speaking) the world could hardly have preserved a spirit- 
ual religion in its highest purity, they received a divine revelation 
enshrined in symbols and ceremonies, whereby it might be safely kept 
till the time of its development in a purer and more heavenly form. 

The peculiarity of the Hebrew civilization did not consist in the cul- 
ture of the imagination and intellect, like that of the Greeks, nor in the 
organization of government, like that of Rome, — but its distinguishing 
feature was Religion. To say nothing of the Scriptures, the prophets, 
the miracles of the Jews, — their frequent festivals, their constant sacri- 
fices, — every thing in their collective and private life was connected with 
a revealed religion : their wars, their heroes, their poetry, had a sacred 
character, — their national code was full of the details of public worship, 
— their ordinary employments were touched at every point by divinely- 
appointed and significant ceremonies. Nor was this religion, as were the 
religions of the Heathen world, a creed which could not be the common 
property of the instructed and the ignorant. It was neither a recondite 
philosophy which might not be communicated to the masses of the peo- 
ple, nor a weak superstition, controlling the conduct of the lower classes, 
and ridiculed by the higher. The religion of Moses was for the use of 
all and the benefit of all. The poorest peasant of Galilee had the same 
part in it as the wisest Rabbi of Jerusalem. The children of all families 
were taught to claim their share in the privileges of the chosen people. 

And how different was the nature of this religion from that of the 
contemporary Gentiles ! The pious feelings of the Jew were not dissipated 
and distracted by a fantastic mythology, where a thousand different 
objects of worship, with contradictory attributes, might claim the 
attention of the devout mind. " One God," the Creator and Judge of 
the world, and the Author of all good, was the only object of adoration. 
And there" was nothing of that wide separation between religion and 
morality, which among other nations was the road to all impurity. The 
will and approbation of Jehovah was the motive and support of all holi- 
ness : faith in His word was the power which raised men above their 
natural weakness : while even the divinities of Greece and Rome were 
often the personifications of human passions, and the example and sanc- 
tion of vice. And still further : — the devotional scriptures of the Jews 
express that heartfelt sense of infirmity and sin, that peculiar spirit 
of prayer, that real communion with God, with which the Christian, in 



chap. i. RELIGIOUS CIVILIZATION OF THE JEWS. 5 

his best moments, has the truest sympathy. 1 So that, while the best 
hymns of Greece 2 are only mythological pictures, and the literature of 
Heathen Rome hardly produces any thing which can be called a prayer, 
the Hebrew psalms have passed into the devotions of the Christian 
Church. There is a light on all the mountains of Judaea which never 
shone on Olympus or Parnassus : and the " Hill of Zion," in which 
" it pleased God to dwell," is the type of " the joy of the whole 
earth," 3 while the seven hills of Rome are the symbol of tyranny 
and idolatry. " He showed His word unto Jacob, — His statutes and 
ordinances unto Israel. He dealt not so with any nation ; neither had 
the Heathen knowledge of His laws." 4 

But not only was a holy religion the characteristic of the civilization 
of the Jews, but their religious feelings were directed to something in 
the future, and all the circumstances of their national life tended to fix 
their thoughts on One that was to come. By types and by promises, 
their eyes were continually turned towards a Messiah. Their history 
was a continued prophecy. All the great stages of their national exist- 
ence were accompanied by effusions of prophetic light. Abraham was 
called from his father's house, and it was revealed that in him " all fami- 
lies of the earth should be blessed." Moses formed Abraham's descend- 
ants into a people, by giving them a law and national institutions ; but 
while so doing he spake before of Him who was hereafter to be raised up 
" a Prophet like unto himself." David reigned, and during that reign, 
which made so deep and lasting an impression on the Jewish mind, 
psalms were written which spoke of the future King. And with the 
approach of that captivity, the pathetic recollection of which became per- 
petual, the prophecies took a bolder range, and embraced within their 
widening circle the redemption both of Jews and Gentiles. Thus the 
pious Hebrew was always, as it were, in the attitude of expectation : and 
it has been well remarked that, while the golden age of the Greeks and 
Romans was the past, that of the Jews was the future. While other 
nations were growing weary of their gods, — without any thing in their 
mythology or philosophy to satisfy the deep cravings of their nature, — 
with religion operating rather as a barrier than a link between the edu- 
cated and the ignorant, — with morality divorced from theology, — the 
whole Jewish people were united in a feeling of attachment to their 

1 Neander observes that it has been justly 350 years before St. Paul was there ; } r et it 
remarked that the distinctive peculiarity of the breathes the sentiment rather of acquiescence 
Hebrew nation from the very first, was, that in the determinations of Fate, than of resigna- 
conscience was more alive among them than any tion to the goodness of Providence. See on 
other people. Acts xvii. 28. 

2 There are some exceptions, as in the hymn 8 Ps. xlviii. 2, Ixviii. 16. 
of the Stoic Cleanthes, who was born at Assos * Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20. 



6 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i. 

sacred institutions, and found in the facts of their past history a pledge 
of the fulfilment of their national hopes. 

It is true that the Jewish nation, again and again, during several cen- 
turies, fell into idolatry. It is true that their superiority to other nations 
consisted in the light which they possessed, and not in the use which they 
made of it ; and that a carnal life continually dragged them down from 
the spiritual eminence on which they might have stood. But the Divine 
purposes were not frustrated. The chosen people were subjected to the 
chastisement and discipline of severe sufferings : and they were fitted by 
a long training for the accomplishment of that work, to the conscious per- 
formance of which they did not willingly rise. They were hard pressed 
in their own country by the incursions of their idolatrous neighbors, and 
in the end they were carried into a distant captivity. From the time of 
their return from Babylon they were no longer idolaters. They presented 
to the world the example of a pure Monotheism. And in the active times 
which preceded and followed the birth of Christ, those Greeks or Romans 
who visited the Jews in their own land where they still lingered at the 
portals of the East, and those vast numbers of proselytes whom the dis- 
persed Jews had gathered round them in various countries, were made 
familiar with the worship of one God and Father of all. 1 

The influence of the Jews upon the Heathen world was exercised 
mainly through their dispersion : but this subject must be deferred for 
a few pages, till we have examined some of the developments of the 
Greek and Roman nationalities. A few words, however, may be allowed 
in passing, upon the consequences of the geographical position of Judaea. 

The situation of this little but eventful country is such, that its in- 
habitants were brought into contact successively with all the civilized na- 
tions of antiquity. Not to dwell upon its proximity to Egypt on the one 
hand, and to Assyria on the other, and the influences which those ancient 
kingdoms may thereby have exercised or received, Palestine lay in the 
road of Alexander's Eastern expedition. The Greek conqueror was 
there before he founded his mercantile metropolis in Egypt, and thence 
went to India, to return and die at Babylon. And again, when his 
empire was divided, and Greek kingdoms were erected in Europe, Asia, 
and Africa, Palestine lay between the rival monarchies of the Ptolemies 
at Alexandria and the Seleucids at Antidch, — too near to both to be 
safe from the invasion of their arms or the influence of their customs 
and their language. And finally, when the time came for the Romans to 

1 Humboldt has remarked, in the chapter of Monotheism, and portrays nature, not as 

on Poetic Descriptions of Nature (Kosmos, self-subsisting, but ever in relation to a Higher 

Sabine's Eng. trans., vol. ii. p. 44), that the Power. 
descriptive poetry of the Hebrews is a reflex 



chap. i. CHAEACTER AND LANGUAGE OF THE GREEKS. 7 

embrace the whole of the Mediterranean within the circle of their power, 
the coast-line of Judgea was the last remote portion which was needed 
to complete the fated circumference. 1 

The full effect of this geographical position of Judasa can only be 
seen by following the course of Greek and Roman life, till they were 
brought so remarkably into contact with each other, and with that of 
the Jews : and we turn to those other twc nations of antiquity, the 
steps of whose progress were successive stages in what is called in the 
Epistle to the Ephesians (i. 10) " the dispensation of the fulness of 
time.' , 

If we think of the civilization of the Greeks, we have no difficulty in 
fixing on its chief characteristics. High perfection of the intellect and 
imagination, displaying itself in all the various forms of art, poetry, lit- 
erature, and philosophy — restless activity of mind and body, finding its 
exercise in athletic games or in subtle disputations — love of the beauti- 
ful — quick perception — indefatigable inquiry — all these enter into the 
very idea of the Greek race. This is not the place to inquire how far 
these qualities were due to an innate peculiarity, or how far they grew up, 
by gradual development, amidst the natural influences of their native 
country, — the variety of their hills and plains, the clear lights and 
warm shadows of their climate, the mingled land and water of their coasts. 
We have only to do with this national character so far as, under divine 
Providence, it was made subservient to the spread of the Gospel. 

We shall see how remarkably it subserved this purpose, if we consider 
the tendency of the Greeks to trade and colonization. Their mental ac- 
tivity was accompanied with a great physical restlessness. This clever 
people always exhibited a disposition to spread themselves. Without 
aiming at universal conquest, they displayed (if we may use the word) a 
remarkable catholicity of character, and a singular power of adaptation 
to those whom they called Barbarians. 2 In this respect they were 
strongly contrasted with the Egyptians, whose immemorial civilization 
was confined to the long valley which extends from the cataracts to the 
mouths of the Nile. The Hellenic 3 tribes, on the other hand, though 
they despised foreigners, were never unwilling to visit them and to cul- 
tivate their acquaintance. At the earliest period at which history en- 

1 For reflections on the geographical posi- who does not speak Greek. See Acts xxviii. 
tion of Palestine in relation to its history, see 2, 4 ; Rom. i. 14 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 11 ; Col. iii. 11. 
Stanley's Sinai and Palestine, Kurtz's History 3 "Hellenic" and "Hellenistic," corre- 
of the Old Covenant (in Clark's "Foreign sponding respectively to the "Greek" and 
Theological Library "), and the Quarterly Re- " Grecian " of the Authorized Version, are 
view for October, 1859. words which we must often use. See p. 10, 

2 In the N. T. the word " barbarian " is n. 3. 
used in its strict classical sense, i.e. for a man 



8 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i. 

ables us to discover them, we see them moving about in their ships on 
the shores and among the islands of their native seas ; and, three or four 
centuries before the Christian era, Asia Minor, beyond which the Per- 
sians had not been permitted to advance, was bordered by a fringe of 
Greek colonies ; and Lower Italy, when the Roman republic was just 
beginning to be conscious of its strength, had received the name of 
Greece itself. 1 To all these places they carried their arts and literature, 
their philosophy, their mythology, and their amusements. They carried 
also their arms and their trade. The heroic age had passed away, and 
fabulous voyages had given place to real expeditions against Sicily and 
constant traffic with the Black Sea. They were gradually taking the 
place of the Phoenicians in the empire of the Mediterranean. They 
were, indeed, less exclusively mercantile than those old discoverers. 
Their voyages were not so long. But their influence on general civiliza- 
tion was greater and more permanent. The earliest ideas of scientific 
navigation and geography are due to the Greeks. The later Greek trav- 
ellers, Strabo and Pausanias, will be our best sources of information on 
the topography of St. Paul's journeys. 

With this view of the Hellenic character before us, we are prepared 
to appreciate the vast results of Alexander's conquests. He took up the 
meshes of the net of Greek civilization, which were lying in disorder on 
the edges of the Asiatic shore, and spread them over all the countries 
which he traversed in his wonderful campaigns. The East and the 
West were suddenly brought together. Separated tribes were united 
under a common government. New cities were built, as the centres of 
political life. New lines of communication were opened, as the channels 
of commercial activity. The new culture penetrated the mountain 
ranges of Pisidia and Lycaonia. The Tigris and Euphrates became 
Greek rivers. The language of Athens was heard among the Jewish 
colonies of Babylonia ; and a Grecian Babylon 2 was built by the con- 
queror in Egypt, and called by his name. 

The empire of Alexander was divided, but the effects of his cam- 
paigns and policy did not cease. The influence of the fresh elements 
of social life was rather increased by being brought into independent ac- 
tion within the spheres of distinct kingdoms. Our attention is particu- 
larly called to two of the monarchical lines, which descended from Alex- 
ander's generals, — the Ptolemies, or the Greek kings of Egj^pt, — and 
the Seleucids, or the Greek kings of Syria. Their respective capitals, 
Alexandria and Antioch, became the metropolitan centres of commer- 
cial and civilized life in the East. They rose suddenly ; and their very 

i Magna Graecia. 2 Alexandria. 



chap. i. ANTIOCH AND ALEXANDEIA. 9 

appearance marked them as the cities of a new epoch. Like Berlin and 
St. Petersburg, they were modern cities built by great kings at a defi- 
nite time and for a definite purpose. Their histories are no unimportant 
chapters in the history of the world. Both of them were connected 
with St. Paul : one indirectly, as the birthplace of Apollos ; the other 
directly, as the scene of some of the most important passages of the 
Apostle's own life. Both abounded in Jews from their first foundation. 
Both became the residence of Roman governors, and both afterwards 
were patriarchates of the primitive Church. But before they had re- 
ceived either the Roman discipline or the Christian doctrine, they had 
served their appointed purpose of spreading the Greek language and 
habits, of creating new lines of commercial intercourse by land and sea, 
and of centralizing in themselves the mercantile life of the Levant. 
Even the Acts of the Apostles remind us of the traffic of Antioch with 
Cyprus and the neighboring coasts, and of the sailing of Alexandrian 
corn-ships to the more distant harbors of Malta and Puteoli. 

Of all the Greek elements which the cities of Antioch and Alexandria 
were the means of circulating, the spread of the language is the most im- 
portant. Its connection with the whole system of Christian doctrine — 
with many of the controversies and divisions of the Church — is very 
momentous. That language, which is the richest and most delicate that 
the world has seen, became the language of theology. The Greek 
tongue became to the Christian more than it had been to the Roman or 
the Jew. The mother-tongue of Ignatius at Antioch, was that in which 
Philo l composed his treaties at Alexandria, and which Cicero spoke at 
Athens. It is difficult to state in a few words the important relation 
which Alexandria more especially was destined to bear to the whole 
Christian Church. In that city, the representative of the Greeks of the 
East, where the most remarkable fusion took place of the peculiarities of 
Greek, Jewish, and Oriental life, and at the time when all these had 
been brought in contact with the mind of educated Romans, — a theo- 
logical language was formed, rich in the phrases of various schools, and 
suited to convey Christian ideas to all the world. It was not an acci- 
dent that the New Testament was written in Greek, the language which 
can best express the highest thoughts and worthiest feelings of the in- 
tellect and heart, and which is adapted to be the instrument of education 
for all nations : nor was it an accident that the composition of these 
books and the promulgation of the Gospel were delayed, till the instruc- 
tion of our Lord, and the writings of His Apostles, could be expressed in 
the dialect of Alexandria. This, also, must be ascribed to the foreknowl- 

1 We shall frequently have occasion to was a contemporary of St. Paul. See 
mention this learned Alexandrian Jew. He p. 34. 



10 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap. t. 

edge of Him, who " winked at the times of ignorance," but who " made 
of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, 
and determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of theii 
habitation." l 

We do not forget that the social condition of the Greeks had been 
falling, during this period, into the lowest corruption. The disastrous 
quarrels of Alexander's generals had been continued among their suc- 
cessors. Political integrity was lost. The Greeks spent their life in 
worthless and frivolous amusements. Their religion, though beautiful 
beyond expression as giving subjects for art and poetry, was utterly 
powerless, and worse than powerless, in checking their bad propensities. 
Their philosophers were sophists ; their women might be briefly divided 
into two classes, — those who were highly educated and openly profli- 
gate on the one side, and those who lived in domestic and ignorant 
seclusion on the other. And it cannot be denied that all these causes 
of degradation spread with the diffusion of the race and the language. 
Like Sybaris and Syracuse, Antioch and Alexandria became almost 
worse than Athens and Corinth. But the very diffusion and develop- 
ment of this corruption was preparing the way, because it showed the 
necessity, for the interposition of a Gospel. The disease itself seemed 
to call for a Healer. And if the prevailing evils of the Greek popula- 
tion presented obstacles, on a large scale, to the progress of Christianity, 
— yet they showed to all future time the weakness of man's highest 
powers, if unassisted from above ; and there must have been many who 
groaned under the burden of a corruption which they could not shake 
off, and who were ready to welcome the voice of Him, who " took our 
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." 2 The " Greeks," 3 who are 
mentioned by St. John as coming to see Jesus at the feast, were, we 
trust, the types of a large class ; and we may conceive His answer to 
Andrew and Philip as expressing the fulfilment of the appointed times 
in the widest sense — "The hour is come, that the Son of Man should 
be glorified." 

Such was the civilization and corruption connected with the spread of 
the Greek language when the Roman power approached to the eastern 
parts of the Mediterranean Sea. For some centuries this irresistible 
force had been gathering strength on the western side of the Apennines. 
Gradually, but surely, and with ever-increasing rapidity, it made to 

1 Acts xvii. 30, 26. for a Hellenist, or Grecizing Jew — as in Acts 

2 Matt. viii. 17. vi. 1, ix. 29 — while the word " Greek" is used 
8 John xii. 20. It ought to be observed for one who was by birth a Gentile, and who 

here, that the word " Grecian " in the Author- might, or might not, be a proselyte to Judaism, 
ized Version of the New Testament is used or a convert to Christianity. 



chap. i. GKOWTH OF THE EOMAN EMPIKE. 11 

itself a wider space — northward into Etruria, southward into Campania. 
It passed beyond its Italian boundaries. And six hundred years after 
the building of the City, the Roman eagle had seized on Africa at the 
point of Carthage, and Greece at the Isthmus of Corinth, and had turned 
its eye towards the East. The defenceless prey was made secure, by 
craft or by war ; and before the birth of our Saviour, all those coasts, 
from Ephesus to Tarsus and Antioch, and round by the Holy Land to 
Alexandria and Cyrene, were tributary to the city of the Tiber. We 
have to describe in a few words the characteristics of this new dominion, 
and to point out its providential connection with the spread and consoli- 
dation of the Church. 

In the first place, this dominion was not a pervading influence exerted 
by a restless and intellectual people, but it was the grasping power of an 
external government. The idea of law had grown up with the growth 
of the Romans ; and wherever they went they carried it with them. 
Wherever their armies were marching or encamping, there always 
attended them, like a mysterious presence, the spirit of the City of 
Rome. Universal conquest and permanent occupation were the ends at 
which they aimed. Strength and organization were the characteristics 
of their sway. We have seen how the Greek science and commerce 
were wafted, by irregular winds, from coast to coast : and now we follow 
the advance of legions, governors, and judges along the Roman Roads, 
which pursued their undeviating course over plains and mountains, and 
bound the City to the furthest extremities of the provinces. 

There is no better way of obtaining a clear view of the features and a 
correct idea of the spirit of the Roman age, than by considering the 
material works which still remain as its imperishable monuments. 
Whether undertaken by the hands of the government, or for the osten- 
tation of private luxury, they were marked by vast extent and accom- 
plished at an enormous expenditure. The gigantic roads of the Empire 
have been unrivalled till the present century. Solid structures of all 
kinds, for utility, amusement, and worship, were erected in Italy and the 
provinces, — amphitheatres of stone, magnificent harbors, bridges, sepul- 
chres, and temples. The decoration of wealthy houses was celebrated by 
the poets of the day. The pomp of buildings in the cities was rivalled 
by astonishing villas in the country. The enormous baths, by which 
travellers are surprised, belong to a period somewhat later than that of 
St. Paul ; but the aqueducts, which still remain in the Campagna, were 
some of them new when he visited Rome. Of the metropolis itself it may 
be enough to say, that his life is exactly embraced between its two great 
times of renovation, that of Augustus on the one hand, who (to use his 
own expression) having found it a city of brick left it a city of marble, 



12 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chaim. 

and that of Nero on the other, when the great conflagration afforded an 
opportunity for a new arrangement of its streets and buildings. 

These great works may be safely taken as emblems of the magnitude, 
strength, grandeur, and solidity of the Empire ; but they are emblems, 
no less, of the tyranny and cruelty which had presided over its formation, 
and of the general suffering which pervaded it. The statues, with which 
the metropolis and the Roman houses were profusely decorated, had been 
brought from plundered provinces, and many of them had swelled the 
triumphs of conquerors on the Capitol. The amphitheatres were built 
for shows of gladiators, and were the scenes of a bloody cruelty, which 
had been quite unknown in the licentious exhibitions of the Greek thea- 
tre. The roads, baths, harbors, aqueducts, had been constructed by 
slave-labor. And the country villas, which the Italian traveller lingered 
to admire, were themselves vast establishments of slaves. 

It is easy to see how much misery followed in the train of Rome's 
advancing greatness. Cruel suffering was a characteristic feature of the 
close of the Republic. Slave wars, civil wars, wars of conquest, had left 
their disastrous results behind them. No country recovers rapidly from 
the effects of a war which has been conducted within its frontier; and 
there was no district of the Empire which had not been the scene of 
some recent campaign. None had suffered more than Italy herself. Its 
old stock of freemen, who had cultivated its fair plains and terraced vine- 
yards, was utterly worn out. The general depopulation was badly com- 
pensated by the establishment of military colonies. Inordinate wealth 
and slave factories were the prominent features of the desolate prospect. 
The words of the great historian may fill up the picture. " As regards 
the manners and mode of life of the Romans, their great object at this 
time was the acquisition and possession of money. Their moral conduct, 
which had been corrupt enough before the Social war, became still more 
so by their systematic plunder and rapine. Immense riches were accumu- 
lated and squandered upon brutal pleasures. The simplicity of the old 
manners and mode of living had been abandoned for Greek luxuries and 
frivolities, and the whole household arrangements had become altered. 
The Roman houses had formerly been quite simple, and were built either 
of bricks or peperino, but in most cases of the former material ; now, 
on the other hand, every one would live in a splendid house and be sur- 
rounded by luxuries. The condition of Italy after the Social and Civil 
wars was indescribably wretched. Samnium had become 'almost a des- 
ert ; and as late as the time of Strabo there was scarcely any town in 
that country which was not in ruins. But worse things were yet to 
come." 1 

1 Niebuhr's Lectures on the History of Rome, vol. i. pp. 421, 422. 



chap. i. M1SEEY OF ITALY AND THE PROVINCES. 13 

This disastrous condition was not confined to Italy. In some respects 
the provinces had their own peculiar sufferings. To take the case of 
Asia Minor. It had been plundered and ravaged by successive generals, 
— by Scipio in the war against Antiochus of Syria, — by Manlius in his 
Galatian campaign, — by Pompey in the struggle with Mithridates. The 
rapacity of governors and their officials followed that of generals and their 
armies. We know what Cilicia suffered under Dolabella and his agent 
Yerres: and Cicero reveals to us the oppression of his predecessor Ap- 
pius in the same province, contrasted with his own boasted clemency. 
Some portions of this beautiful and inexhaustible country revived under 
the emperors. 1 But it was only an outward prosperity. Whatever may 
have been the improvement in the external details of provincial govern- 
ment, we cannot believe that governors were gentle and forbearing, when 
Caligula was on the throne, and when Nero was seeking statues for his 
golden house. The contempt in which the Greek provincials themselves 
were held by the Romans may be learnt from the later correspondence 
of the Emperor Trajan with Pliny the governor of Bithynia. We need 
not hesitate to take it for granted, that those who were sent from Rome 
to dispense justice at Ephesus or Tarsus, were more frequently like Ap- 
pius and Verres, than Cicero 2 and Flaccus, — more like Pilate and Felix, 
than Gallio or Sergius Paulus. 

It would be a delusion to imagine that, when the world was reduced 
under one sceptre, any real principle of unity held its different parts 
together. The emperor was deified, 3 because men were enslaved. There 
was no true peace when Augustus closed the Temple of Janus. The 
Empire was only the order of external government, with a chaos both of 
opinions and morals within. The writings of Tacitus and Juvenal remain 
to attest the corruption which festered in all ranks, alike in the senate 
and the family. The old severity of manners, and the old faith in the 
better part of the Roman religion, were gone. The licentious creeds and 
practices of Greece and the East had inundated Italy and the West: 
and the Pantheon was only the monument of a compromise among a 

1 Niebuhr's Led. on Hist, of Rome, vol. i. 8 The image of the emperor was at that 
p. 406, and the note. time the object of religious reverence : he was 

2 Much of our best information concerning a deity on earth (Dis asqua potestas, Juv. iv. 
the state of the provinces is derived from 71); and the worship paid to him was a real 
Cicero's celebrated " Speeches against Verres," worship. It is a striking thought, that in 
and his own Cilici^i Correspondence, to which those times (setting aside effete forms of reli- 
we shall again have occasion to refer. His gion), the only two genuine worships in the civ- 
" Speech in Defence of Flaccus " throws much ilized world were the worship of a Tiberius or 
light on the condition of the Jews under the a Nero on the one hand, and the worship of 
Bomans. We must not place too much confi- Christ on the other. 

dence in the picture there given of this Ephe- 
sian governor. 



14 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i 

multitude of effete superstitions. It is true that a remarkable religious 
toleration was produced by this state of things : and it is probable that 
for some short time Christianity itself shared the advantage of it. But 
still the temper of the times was essentially both cruel and profane ; and 
the Apostles were soon exposed to its bitter persecution. The Roman 
Empire was destitute of that unity which the Gospel gives to mankind. 
It was a kingdom of this world ; and the human race were groaning for 
the better peace of u a kingdom not of this world." 

Thus, in the very condition of the Roman Empire, and the miserable 
state of its mixed population, we can recognize a negative preparation 
for the Gospel of Christ. This tyranny and oppression called for a Con- 
soler? as much as the moral sickness of the Greeks called for a Healer ; 
a Messiah was needed by the whole Empire as much as by the Jews, 
though not looked for with the same conscious expectation. But we 
have no difficulty in going much farther than this, and we cannot hesitate 
to discover in the circumstances of the world at this period, significant 
traces of a positive preparation for the Gospel. 

It should be remembered, in the first place, that the Romans had 
already become Greek to some considerable extent, before they were 
the political masters of those eastern countries, where the language, 
mythology, and literature of Greece had become more or less familiar. 
Bow early, how widely, and how permanently this Greek influence pre- 
vailed, and how deeply it entered into the mind of educated Romans, we 
know from their surviving writings, and from the biography of eminent 
men. Cicero, who was governor of Cilicia about half a century before 
the birth of St. Paul, speaks in strong terms of the universal spread of 
the Greek tongue among the instructed classes ; and about the time 
of the Apostle's martyrdom, Agricola, the conqueror of Britain, was receiv- 
ing a Greek education at Marseilles. Is it too much to say, that the 
general Latin conquest was providentially delayed till the Romans had 
been sufficiently imbued with the language and ideas of their predecessors, 
and had incorporated many parts of that civilization with their own ? 

And if the wisdom of the divine pre-arrangements is illustrated by 
the period of the spread of the Greek language, it is illustrated no less 
by that of the completion and maturity of the Roman government. 
When all parts of the civilized world were bound together in one empire, 



1 We may refer here to the apotheosis of contrast will be found in SchefFer's modern 

Augustus with Tiberius at his side, as repre- picture — " Christus Consolator," — where the 

sented on the " Vienna Cameo " in the midst Saviour is seated in the midst of those who 

of figures indicative of the misery and enslave- are miserable, and the eyes of all are turned to 

ment of the world. An engraving of this Him for relief. 
Cameo is given in the quarto edition. Tts best 



chap. i. DISPERSION OF THE JEWS. 15 

— when one common organization pervaded the whole — when channels 
of communication were everywhere opened — when new facilities of 
travelling were provided, — then was " the fulness of time" (Gal. iv. 4), 
then the Messiah came. The Greek language had already been prepared 
as a medium for preserving and transmitting the doctrine ; the Roman 
government was now prepared to help the progress even of that religion 
which it persecuted. The manner in which it spread through the prov- 
inces is well exemplified in the life of St. Paul ; his right of citizenship 
rescued him in Macedonia 1 and in Judssa; 2 he converted one governor 
in Cyprus, 3 was protected by another in Achaia, 4 and was sent from 
Jerusalem to Rome by a third. 6 The time was indeed approaching, when 
all the complicated weight of the central tyranny, and of the provincial 
governments, was to fall on the new and irresistible religion. But before 
this took place, it had begun to grow up in close connection with all 
departments of the Empire. When the supreme government itself 
became Christian, the ecclesiastical polity was permanently regulated in 
conformity with the actual constitution of the state. Nor was the Empire 
broken up, till the separate fragments, which have become the nations of 
modern Europe, were themselves portions of the Catholic Church. 

But in all that we have said of the condition of the Roman world, one 
important and widely diffused element of its population has not been 
mentioned. We have lost sight for some time of the Jews, and we must 
return to the subject of their dispersion, which was purposely deferred 
till we had shown how the intellectual civilization of the Greeks, and the 
organizing civilization of the Romans, had, through a long series of 
remarkable events, been brought in contact with the religious civilization 
of the Hebrews. It remains that we point out that one peculiarity of 
the Jewish people, which made this contact almost universal in every part 
of the Empire. 

Their dispersion began early ; though, early and late, their attachment 
to Judasa has always been the same. Like the Highlanders of Switzer- 
land and Scotland, they seem to have combined a tendency to foreign 
settlements with the most passionate love of their native land. The first 
scattering of the Jews was compulsory, and began with the Assyrian 
exile, when, about the time of the building of Rome, natives of Galilee 
and Samaria were carried away by the Eastern monarchs ; and this was 
followed by the Babylonian exile, when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin 
were removed at different epochs, — when Daniel was brought to Babylon, 
and Ezekiel to the river Chebar. That this earliest dispersion was not 

1 Acts xvi. 37-39. * Acts xviii. 14-17. 

2 Acts xxii. 25. 6 Acts xxv. 12, xxvii. 1. 
8 Acts xiii. 12. 



16 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST, PAUL. chap. i. 

without influential results may be inferred from these facts ; — that, about 
the time of the battles of Salamis and Marathon, a Jew was the minister, 
another Jew the cupbearer, and a Jewess the consort, of a Persian mon- 
arch. That they enjoyed many privileges in this foreign country, and 
that their condition was not always oppressive, may be gathered from 
this, — that when Cyrus gave them permission to return, the majority 
remained in their new home, in preference to their native land. Thus 
that great Jewish colony began in Babylonia, the existence of which 
may be traced in Apostolic times, 1 and which retained its influence long 
after in the Talmudical schools. These Hebrew settlements may be fol- 
lowed through various parts of the continental East, to the borders of the 
Caspian, and even to China. We however are more concerned with the 
coasts and islands of Western Asia. Jews had settled in Syria and 
Phoenicia before the time of Alexander the Great. But in treating of 
this subject, the great stress is to be laid on the policy of Seleucus, who, 
in ^bunding Antioch, raised them to the same political position with the 
other citizens. One of his successors on the throne, Antiochus the Great, 
established two thousand Jewish families in Lydia and Phrygia. From 
hence they would spread into Pamphylia and Galatia, and along the 
western coasts from Ephesus to Troas. And the ordinary channels of 
communication, in conjunction with that tendency to trade which already 
began to characterize this wonderful people, would easily bring them to 
the islands, such as Cyprus 2 and Rhodes. 

Their oldest settlement in Africa was that which took place after the 
murder of the Babylonian governor of Judaea, and which is connected 
with the name of the prophet Jeremiah. 3 But, as in the case of Antioch, 
our chief attention is called to the great metropolis of the period of the 
Greek kings. The Jewish quarter of Alexandria is well known in his- 
tory ; and the colony of Hellenistic Jews in Lower Egypt is of greater 
importance than that of their Aramaic 4 brethren in Babylonia. Alex- 
ander himself brought Jews and Samaritans to his famous city ; the first 
Ptolemy brought many more ; and many betook themselves hither of 
their free will, that they might escape from the incessant troubles which 
disturbed the peace of their fatherland. Nor was their influence con- 
fined to Egypt, but they became known on one side in ^Ethiopia, the 
country of Queen Candace, 5 and spread on the other in great numbers 
to the " parts of Libya about Cyrene." 6 

1 See 1 Pet. v. 13. 8 See 2 Kings xxv. 22-26, Jer. xliii. 

2 The farming of the copper mines in Cy- xliv. 

prus by Herod (Jos. Ant. xvi. 4, 5) may have 4 This term is explained in ttie next chap- 
attracted many Jews. There is a Cyprian ter, see p. 33, note 2. 
inscription which seems to refer to one of the 6 Acts viii. 27. 
Herods. 6 Acts ii. 10. The second book of Macca- 



chap. i. THE JEWS IN EUEOPE. 17 

Under what circumstances the Jews made their first appearance in 
Europe is unknown ; but it is natural to suppose that those islands of the 
Archipelago which, as Humboldt has said, were like a bridge for the pas- 
sage of civilization, became the means of the advance of Judaism. The 
journey of the proselyte Lydia from Thyatira to Philippi (Acts xvi. 14), 
and the voyage of Aquila and Priscilla from Corinth to Ephesus (Ibid. 
xviii. 18), are only specimens of mercantile excursions which must have 
begun at a far earlier period. Philo 1 mentions Jews in Thessaly, Bceotia, 
Macedonia, iEtolia, and Attica, in Argos and Corinth, in the other parts 
of Peloponnesus, and in the islands of Euboea and Crete : and St. Luke, 
in the Acts of the Apostles, speaks of them in Philippi, Thessalonica, and 
Bercea, in Athens, in Corinth, and in Rome. The first Jews came to 
Rome to decorate a triumph ; but they were soon set free from captivity, 
and gave the name to the " Synagogue of the Libertines " 2 in Jerusalem. 
They owed to Julius Caesar those privileges in the Western Capital which 
they had obtained from Alexander in the Eastern. They became influ- 
ential, and made proselytes. They spread into other towns of Italy ; and 
in the time of St. Paul's boyhood we find them in large numbers in the 
island of Sardinia, just as we have previously seen them established in 
that of Cyprus. 3 With regard to Gaul, we know at least that two sons of 
Herod were banished, about this same period, to the banks of the Rhone ; 
and if (as seems most probable) St. Paul accomplished that journey to 
Spain, of which he speaks in his letters, there is little doubt that he found 
there some of the scattered children of his own people. We do not seek 
to pursue them further ; but, after a few words on the proselytes, we 
must return to the earliest scenes of the Apostle's career. 

The subject of the proselytes is sufficiently important to demand a 
separate notice. Under this term we include at present all who were 
attracted in various degrees of intensity towards Judaism, — from those 
who by circumcision had obtained full access to all the privileges of the 
temple-worship, to those who only professed a general respect for the 
Mosaic religion, and attended as hearers in the synagogues. Many 
proselytes were attached to the Jewish communities wherever they were 
dispersed. 4 Even in their own country and its vicinity, the number, both 
in early and later times, was not inconsiderable. The Queen of Sheba, 

bees is the abridgment of a work written by gogues mentioned in Acts vi. 9 are discussed 

a Hellenistic Jew of Cyrene. A Jew or prose- in the next chapter. 

lyte of Cyrene bore our Saviour's cross. And 3 In the case of Sardinia, however, they 

the mention of this city occurs more than once were forcibly sent to the island, to die of the 

in the Acts of the Apostles. bad climate. 

1 See note, p. 9. 4 In illustration of this fact, it is easy to 

2 This body doubtless consisted of manu- adduce abundance of Heathen testimony. 
mitted Jewish slaves. The synagogue or syna- 

2 



18 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. I. 

in the Old Testament ; Candace, Queen of ^Ethiopia, in the New ; and 
King Izates, with his mother Helena, mentioned by Josephus, are only 
royal representatives of a large class. During the time of the Maccabees, 
some alien tribes were forcibly incorporated with the Jews. This was the 
case with the Iturseans, and probably with the Moabites, and, above all, 
with the Edomites, with whose name that of the Herodian family is his- 
torically connected. How far Judaism extended among the vague col- 
lection of tribes called Arabians, we can only conjecture from the curious 
history of the Homerites, and from the actions of such chieftains as 
Aretas (2 Cor. xi. 32). But as we travel towards the West and North, 
into countries better known, we find no lack of evidence of the moral 
effect of the synagogues, with their worship of Jehovah, and their 
prophecies of the Messiah. " Nicolas of Antioch " (Acts vi. 5) is only 
one of that " vast multitude of Greeks " who, according to Josephus, 2 
were attracted in that city to the Jewish doctrine and ritual. In Damas- 
cus, we are even told by the same authority that the great majority of the 
women were proselytes ; a fact which receives a remarkable illustration 
from what happened to Paul at Iconium (Acts hi. 50). But all further 
details may be postponed till we follow Paul himself into the synagogues, 
where he so often addressed a mingled audience of " Jews of the disper- 
sion" and " devout" strangers. 

This chapter may be suitably concluded by some notice of the provinces 
of Cilieia and Judoea. This will serve as an illustration of what has been 
said above, concerning the state of the Roman provinces generally; it 
will exemplify the mixture of Jews, Greeks, and Romans in the east of 
the Mediterranean, and it will be a fit introduction to what must imme- 
diately succeed. For these are the two provinces which require our 
attention in the early life of the Apostle Paul. 

Both these provinces were once under the sceptre of the line of the 
Seleucids, or Greek kings of Syria ; and both of them, though originally 
inhabited by a " barbarous " 2 population, received more or less of the 
influence of Greek civilization. If the map is consulted, it will be seen 
that Antioch, the capital of the Grseco-Syrian kings, is situated nearly in 
the angle where the coast-line of Cilieia, running eastwards, and that of 
Judaea, extended northwards, are brought to an abrupt meeting. It will 
be seen also, that, more or less parallel to each of these coasts, there is a 
line of mountains, not far from the sea, which are brought into contact 
with each other in heavy and confused forms, near the same angle ; the 
principal break in the continuity of either of them being the valley of 
the Orontes, which passes by Antioch. One of these mountain lines is the 

1 War, vii. 3, 3. 2 See p. 7, note. 



chap. I. CILICIA UNDER THE ROMANS. 19 

range of Mount Taurus , which is so often mentioned as a great geographi- 
cal boundary by the writers of Greece and Rome ; and Cilicia extends 
partly over the Taurus itself, and partly between it and the sea. The 
other range is that of Lebanon — a name made sacred by the scriptures 
and poetry of the Jews ; and where its towering eminences subside 
towards the south into a land of hills and valleys and level plains, there 
is Judcea, once the country of promise and possession to the chosen 
people, but a Roman province in the time of the Apostles. 

Cilicia, in the sense in which the word was used under the early Roman 
emperors, comprehended two districts, of nearly equal extent, but of very 
different character. The Western portion, or Hough Cilicia, as it was 
called, was a collection of the branches of Mount Taurus, which come 
down in large masses to the sea, and form that projection of the coast 
which divides the Bay of Issus from that of Pamphylia. The inhabitants 
of the whole of this district were notorious for their robberies : the 
northern portion, under the name of Isauria, providing innumerable 
strongholds for marauders by land ; and the southern, with its excellent 
timber, its cliffs, and small harbors, being a natural home for pirates. 
The Isaurians maintained their independence with such determined 
obstinacy, that in a later period of the Empire, the Romans were willing 
to resign all appearance of subduing them, and were content to surround 
them with a cordon of forts. The natives of the coast of Rough Cilicia 
began to extend their piracies as the strength of the kings of Syria and 
Egypt declined. They found in the progress of the Roman power, for 
some time, an encouragement rather than a hinderance ; for they were 
actively engaged in an extensive and abominable slave-trade, of which 
the island of Delos was the great market ; and the opulent families of 
Rome were in need of slaves, and were not more scrupulous than some 
Christian nations of modern times about the means of obtaining them. 
But the expeditions of these buccaneers of the Mediterranean became at 
last quite intolerable ; their fleets seemed innumerable ; their connections 
were extended far beyond their own coasts ; all commerce was paralyzed ; 
and they began to arouse that attention at Rome which the more distant 
pirates of the Eastern Archipelago not long ago excited in England. A 
vast expedition was fitted out under the command of Pompey the Great; 
thousands of piratic vessels were burnt on the coast of Cilicia, and the 
inhabitants dispersed. A perpetual service was thus done to the cause 
of civilization, and the Mediterranean was made safe for the voyages of 
merchants and Apostles. The town of Soli, on the borders of the two 
divisions of Cilicia, received the name of Pompeiopolis, 1 in honor of 4 th-e 

1 A similar case, on a small scale, is that of the French power, since the accession of 
Of Philippeville in Algeria ; and the progress Louis Philippe, in Northern Africa, is perhape 



20 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i. 

great conqueror, and the splendid remains of a colonnade which led from 
the harbor to the city may be considered a monument of this signal 
destruction of the enemies of order and peace. 

The Eastern, or Flat Cilicia, was a rich and extensive plain. Its 
prolific vegetation is praised both by the earlier and later classical 
writers, and, even under the neglectful government of the Turks, is 
still noticed by modern travellers. 1 From this circumstance, and still 
more from its peculiar physical configuration, it was a possession of great 
political importance. Walled off from the neighboring countries by a 
high barrier of mountains, which sweep irregularly round it from Pom- 
peiopolis and Rough Cilicia to the Syrian coast on the North of Antioch, 

— with one pass leading up into the interior of Asia Minor, and another 
giving access to the valley of the Orontes, — it was naturally the high 
road both of trading caravans and of military expeditions. Through this 
country Cyrus marched, to depose his brother from the Persian throne. 
It was here that the decisive victory was obtained by Alexander over 
Darius. This plain has since seen the hosts of Western Crusaders ; and, 
in our own day, has been the field of operations of hostile Mohammedan 
armies, Turkish and Egyptian. The Greek kings of Egypt endeavored, 
long ago, to tear it from the Creek kings of Syria, The Romans left it 
at first in the possession of Antiochus : but the line of Mount Taurus 
could not permanently arrest them : and the letters of Cicero remain to 
us among the most interesting, as they are among the earliest, monu- 
ments of Roman Cilicia. 

Situated near the western border of the Cilician plain, where the river 
Cydnus flows in a cold and rapid stream, from the snows of Taurus to the 
sea, was the city of Tarsus, the capital of the whole province, and " no 
mean city " (Acts xxi. 39) in the history of the ancient world. Its 
coins reveal to us its greatness through a long series of years : — alike in 
the period which intervened between Xerxes and Alexander, — and 
under the Roman sway, when it exulted in the name of Metropolis, 

— and long after Hadrian had rebuilt it, and issued his new coinage 
with the old mythological types. 2 In the intermediate period, which is 

the nearest parallel in modern times to the his- Asia Minor contains some luxuriant specimens 

tory of a Roman province. As far as regards of the modern vegetation of Tarsus ; but the 

the pirates, Lord Exmouth, in 1816, really did banana and the prickly pear were introduced 

the work of Pompey the Great. It may be into the Mediterranean long after St. Paul's 

doubted whether Marshal Bugeaud was more day. 

lenient to the Arabs, than Cicero to the Eleu- 2 The coin at the end of the chapter was 

thero-Cilicians. struck under Hadrian, and is preserved in the 

Chrysippus the Stoic, whose father was a British Museum. ' The word Metropolis is con- 
native of Tarsus, and Aratus, whom St. Paul spicuous on it. The same figures of the tion 
quotes, lived at Soli. and the Bull appear in a fine series of silver 

1 Laborde's illustrated work on Syria and coins of Tarsus, assigned by the Due do 



mm 




W. .■■;■•' 









W 



mm 



m 



chap. i. TARSUS. 21 

that of St. Paul, we have the testimony of a native of this part of Asia 
Minor, from which we may infer that Tarsus was in the Eastern basin of 
the Mediterranean, almost what Marseilles was in the Western. Strabo 
says that, in all that relates to philosophy and general education, it was 
even more illustrious than Athens and Alexandria. From his description 
it is evident that'its main character was that of a Greek city, where the 
Greek language was spoken, and Greek literature studiously cultivated. 
But we should be wrong in supposing that the general population of the 
province was of Greek origin, or spoke the Greek tongue. When Cyrus 
came with his army from the Western Coast, and still later, when Alex- 
ander penetrated into Cilicia, they found the inhabitants " Barbarians.'" 
Nor is it likely that the old race would be destroyed, or the old language 
obliterated, especially in the mountain districts, during the reign of the 
Seleucid kings. We must rather conceive of Tarsus as like Brest, in 
Brittany, or like Toulon, in Provence, — a city where the language of 
refinement is spoken and written, in the midst of a ruder population, who 
use a different language, and possess no literature of their own. 

tf we turn now to consider the position of this province and city under 
the Romans, we are led to notice two different systems of policy which 
they adopted in their subject dominions. The purpose of Rome was to 
make the world subservient to herself : but this might be accomplished 
directly or indirectly. A governor might be sent from Rome to take the 
absolute command of a province : or some native chief might have a king- 
dom, an ethnarchy, 1 or a tetrarchy assigned to him, in which he was nomi- 
nally independent, but really subservient, and often tributary. Some prov- 
inces were rich and productive, or essentially important in the military 
sense, and these were committed to Romans under the Senate or the 
Emperor. Others might be worthless or troublesome, and fit only to 
reward the services of a useful instrument, or to occupy the energies 
of a dangerous ally. Both these systems were adopted in the East and 
in the West. We have examples of both — in Spain and in Gaul — in 
Cilicia and in Judaea. In Asia Minor they were so irregularly combined, 
and the territories of the independent sovereigns were so capriciously 
granted or removed, extended or curtailed, that it is often difficult to 
ascertain what the actual boundaries of the provinces were at a given 
epoch. Not to enter into any minute history in the case of Cilicia, it 
will be enough to say, that its rich and level plain in the east was made 
a Roman province by Pompey, and so remained, while certain districts in 
the western portion were assigned, at different periods, to various native 
chieftains. Thus the territories of Amyntas, King of Galatia, were ex- 

Luynes to the period between Xerxes and 1 See note at the end of Ch. III. 

Alexander. 



22 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.i, 

tended in this direction by Antony, when he was preparing for his great 
struggle with Augustus : just as a modern Rajah may be strengthened 
on the banks of the Indus, in connection with wars against Scinde and 
the Sikhs. For some time the whole of Cilicia was a consolidated prov- 
ince under the first emperors : but again, in the reign of Claudius, we 
find a portion of the same Western district assigned to a king called 
Polemo II. It is needless to pursue the history further. In St. Paul's 
early life the political state of the inhabitants of Cilicia would be that 
of subjects of a Roman governor : and Roman officials, if not Roman 
soldiers, would be a familiar sight to the Jews who were settled in 
Tarsus. 1 

We shall have many opportunities of describing the condition of prov- 
inces under the dominion of Rome ; but it may be interesting here to 
allude to the information which may be gathered from the writings of that 
distinguished man, who was governor of Cilicia, a few years after its first 
reduction by Pompey. He was intrusted with the civil and military 
superintendence of a large district in this corner of the Mediterranean, 
comprehending not only Cilicia, but Pamphylia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, and 
the island of Cyprus ; and he has left a record of all the details of his 
policy in a long series of letters, which are a curious monument of the 
Roman procedure in the management of conquered provinces, and which 
possess a double interest to us, from their frequent allusions to the 
same places which St. Paul refers to in his Epistles. This correspond- 
ence represents to us the governor as surrounded by the adulation of 
obsequious Asiatic Greeks. He travels with an interpreter, for Latin is 
the official language; he puts down banditti, and is saluted by the 
title of Imperator; letters are written, on various subjects, to the 
governors of neighboring provinces, — for instance, Syria, Asia, and 
Bithynia ; ceremonious communications take place with the independent 
chieftains. The friendly relations of Cicero with Deiotarus, King of 
Galatia, and his son, remind us of the interview of Pilate and Herod 
in the Gospel, or of Festus and Agrippa in the Acts. Cicero's letters 
are rather too full of a boastful commendation of his own integrity ; but 
from what he says that he did, we may infer by contrast what was done 
by others who wex'e less scrupulous in the discharge of the same re- 
sponsibilities, He allowed free access to his person ; he refused expen- 
sive monuments in his honor ; he declined the proffered present of the 
pauper King of Cappadocia ; 2 he abstained from exacting the customary 
expenses from the states which he traversed on his march ; he remitted 

" l Tarsus, as a " Free City " ( Urbs Libera), 2 See Hor. 1 Ep. vi. 39. 

would have the privilege of being garrisoned 
by its own soldiers, See next chapter. 



chap. i. POLITICAL CHANGES IN JUD^A. 23 

to the treasury the moneys which were not expended on his province ; 
he would not place in official situations those who were engaged in trade ; 
he treated the local Greek magistrates with due consideration, and con- 
trived at the same time to give satisfaction to the Publicans. From all 
this it may be easily inferred with how much corruption, cruelty, and 
pride, the Romans usually governed; and how miserable must have 
been the condition of a province under a Verres or an Appius, a Pilate 
or a Felix. So far as we remember, the Jews are not mentioned in any 
of Cicero's Cilician letters ; but if we may draw conclusions from a 
speech which he made at Rome in defence of a contemporary governor 
of Asia, 1 he regarded them with much contempt, and would be likely 
to treat them with harshness and injustice. 2 

That Polemo II., who has lately been mentioned as a king in Cilicia, 
was one of those curious links which the history of those times exhibits 
between Heathenism, Judaism, and Christianity. He became a Jew to 
marry Berenice, 3 who afterwards forsook him, and whose name, after 
once appearing in Sacred History (Acts xxv., xxvi.), is lastly asso- 
ciated with that of Titus, the destroyer of Jerusalem. The name of 
Berenice will at once suggest the family of the Herods, and transport 
our thoughts to Judaea. 

The same general features may be traced in this province as in that 
which we have been attempting to describe. In some respects, indeed, 
the details of its history are different. When Cilicia was a province, it 
formed a separate jurisdiction, with a governor of its own, immediately 
responsible to Rome : but Judasa, in its provincial period, was only an 
appendage to Syria. It has been said 4 that the position of the ruler resi- 
dent at Caesarea in connection with the supreme authority at Antioch may 
be best understood by comparing it with that of the governor of Madras 
or Bombay under the governor-general who resides at Calcutta. The 
comparison is in some respects just : and British India might supply a 
further parallel. We might say that when Judaea was not strictly a prov- 
ince, but a monarchy under the protectorate of Rome, it bore the same 
relation to the contiguous province of Syria which, before the recent 
war, the territories of the king of Oude 5 bore to the presidency of Bengal. 

1 This was L. Valerius Flaccus, who had Claudius gave him part of Cilicia instead of it. 
served in Cilicia, and was afterwards made Joseph. Ant. xx. 7, 3. 

Governor of Asia, — that district with which, 4 See the introduction to Dr. Traill's Jose- 

and its capital Ephesus, we are so familiar in phus, a work which was interrupted by the 

the Acts of the Apostles. death of the translator during the Irish famine, 

2 See especially Cic. Flacc. 28 ; and for the and was continued by Mr. Isaac Taylor, 
opinion which educated Romans had of the 6 Another coincidence is, that we made the 
Jews, see Hor. 1 Sat. iv. 143, v. 100, ix. 69. Nabob of Oude a king. He had previously been 

3 He was the last King of Pontus. By Ca- hereditary Vizier of the Mogul, 
ligula he was made King of Bosphorus ; but 



24 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. JfATXL. chaim. 

Judaea was twice a monarchy ; and thus its history furnishes illustra- 
tions of the two systems pursued by the Romans, of direct and indirect 
government. 

Another important contrast must be noticed in the histories of these 
two provinces. In the Greek period of Judaea, there was a time of noble 
and vigorous independence. Antiochus Epiphanes, the eighth of the line 
of the Seleucids, in pursuance of a general system of policy, by which he 
sought to unite all his different territories through the Greek religion, 
endeavored to introduce the worship of Jupiter into Jerusalem. 1 Such 
an attempt might have been very successful in Syria or Cilicia : but in 
Judaea it kindled a flame of religious indignation, which did not cease to 
burn till the yoke of the Seleucidae was entirely thrown off: the name of 
Antiochus Epiphanes was ever afterwards held in abhorrence by the Jews, 
and a special fast was kept up in memory of the time when the " abomi- 
nation of desolation" stood in the holy place. The champions of the 
independence of the Jewish nation and the purity of the Jewish religion 
were the family of the Maccabees or Asmonaeans : and a hundred years 
before the birth of Christ the first Hyrcanus was reigning over a prosper- 
ous and independent kingdom. But in the time of the second HyrcanUs 
and his brother, the family of the Maccabees was not what it had been, 
and Judaea was ripening for the dominion of Rome. Pompey the Great, 
the same conqueror who had already subjected Cilicia, appeared in Da- 
mascus, and there judged the cause of the two brothers. All the country 
was full of his fame. In the spring of the year 63 he came down by the 
valley of the Jordan, his Roman soldiers occupied the ford where Joshua 
had crossed over, and from the Mount of Olives he looked down upon 
Jerusalem. 2 From that day Judaea was virtually under the government 
of Rome. It is true that, after a brief support given to the reigning 
family, a new native dynasty was raised to the throne. Antipater, a man 
of Idumaean birth, had been minister of the Maccabaean kings : but they 
were the Rois Faineants of Palestine, and he was the Maire du Palais. 
In the midst of the confusion of the great civil wars, the Herodian family 
succeeded to the Asmonaean, as the Carlovingian line in France succeeded 
that of Clovis. As Pepin was followed by Charlemange, so Antipater 
prepared a crown for his son Herod. 

At first Herod the Great espoused the cause of Antony ; but he con- 

1 Here we may observe that there are ex- from the religious movement alluded to in the 

tant coins of Antiochus Epiphanes, where the text. 

head of Jupiter appears on the obverse, in - 2 Pompey heard of the death of Mi thridates 

place of the portrait usual in the Alexandrian, at Jericho. His army crossed at Scythopolis, 

Seleucid, and Macedonian series. Since such by the ford immediately below the Lake of 

emblems on ancient coins have always sacred Tiberias, 
meanings, it is very probable that this arose 






CD 

P 



01 



O 
CD 



(JO. 

CD 




chap.t. HEROD AND HIS FAMILY. 25 

trived to remedy his mistake by paying a prompt visit, after the battle 
of Actium, to Augustus in the island of Rhodes. This singular inter- 
view of the Jewish prince with the Roman conqueror in a Greek island 
was the beginning of an important period for the Hebrew nation. An 
exotic civilization was systematically introduced and extended. Those 
Greek influences, which had been begun under the Seleucids, and not dis- 
continued under the Asmonaeans, were now more widely diffused : and 
the Roman customs, 1 which had hitherto been comparatively unknown, 
were now made familiar. Herod was indeed too wise, and knew the 
Jews too well, to attempt, like Antiochus, to introduce foreign institu- 
tions without any regard to their religious feelings. He endeavord to 
ingratiate himself with them by rebuilding and decorating their national 
temple ; and a part of that magnificent bridge which was connected with 
the great southern colonnade is still believed to exist, — remaining, in its 
vast proportions and Roman form, an appropriate monument of the 
Herodian period of Judaea. 2 The period when Herod was reigning at 
Jerusalem under the protectorate of Augustus was chiefly remarkable for 
great architectural works, for the promotion of commerce, the influx of 
strangers, and the increased diffusion of the two great languages of the 
heathen world. The names of places are themselves a monument of 
the spirit of the times. As Tarsus was called Juliopolis from Julius 
Caesar, and Soli Pompeiopolis from his great rival, so Samaria was called 
Sebaste after the Greek name of Augustus, and the new metropolis, which 
was built by Herod on the sea-shore, was called Caesarea in honor of the 
same Latin emperor : while Antipatris, on the road (Acts xxiii. 31) be- 
tween the old capital and the new, 3 still commemorated the name of the 
king's Idumaean father. We must not suppose that the internal change in 
the minds of the people was proportional to the magnitude of these 
outward improvements. They suffered much ; and their hatred grew 
towards Rome and towards the Herods. A parallel might be drawn 
between the state of Judasa under Herod the Great, and that of Egypt 
under Mahomet Ali, 4 where great works have been successfully accom- 

1 Antiochus Epiphanes (who was called fragment of the great Christian works con- 
Epimanes from his mad conduct) is said to structed in this southern part of the Temple- 
have made himself ridiculous by adopting Ro- area in the age of Justinian. 

man fashions, and walking about the streets 3 The tracing of the road by which St. 

of Antioch in a toga. Paul travelled on this occasion is one of the 

2 See the woodcut opposite. The arch ex- most interesting geographical questions which 
tends about fifty feet along the wall, and its will come before us. 

radius must have been about twenty feet. It 4 There are many points of resemblance 

is right to say that there is much controversy between the character and fortunes of Herod 

about its origin. Dr. Robinson assigns it to and those of Mahomet Ali : the chief differ- 

the age of Solomon : Mr. Fergusson to that ences are those of the times. Herod secured 

of Herod : Mr. Williams holds it to be a his position by the influence of Augustus ; 



26 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. i. 

plished, where the spread of ideas has been promoted, traffic made busy 
and prosperous, and communication with the civilized world wonderfully 
increased, — but where the mass of the people has continued to be mis- 
erable and degraded. 

After Herod's death, the same influences still continued to operate in 
Judaea. Archelaus persevered in his father's policy, though destitute of 
his father's energy. The same may be said of the other sons, Antipas 
and Philip, in their contiguous principalities. All the Herods were great 
builders, and eager partisans of the Roman emperors: and we are familiar' 
in the Gospels with that Ccesarea (Caesarea Philippi), which one of them 
built in the upper part of the valley of the Jordan, and named in honor 
of Augustus, — and with that Tiberias on the banks of the lake of Ge- 
nesareth, which bore the name of his wicked successor. But while 
Antipas and Philip still retained their dominions under the protectorate 
of the emperor, Archelaus had been banished, and the weight of the 
Roman power had descended still more heavily on Judgea. It was 
placed under the direct jurisdiction of a governor, residing at Caesa- 
rea by the Sea, and depending, as we have seen above, on the governor 
of Syria at Antioch. And now we are made familiar with those features 
which might be adduced as characterizing any other province at the same 
epoch, — the praetorium, 1 — the publicans, 2 — the tribute-money, 3 — sol- 
diers and centurions recruited in Italy, 4 — Caesar the only king, 5 and the 
ultimate appeal against the injustice of the governor. 6 In this period 
the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ took place, the 
first preaching of His Apostles, and the conversion of St. Paul. But 
once more a change came over the political fortunes of Judaea. Herod 
Agrippa was the friend of Caligula, as Herod the Great had been the 
friend of Augustus ; and when Tiberius died, he received the grant of 
an independent principality in the north of Palestine. 7 He was able to 
ingratiate himself with Claudius, the succeeding emperor. Judaea was 
added to his dominion, which now embraced the whole circle of the 
territory ruled- by his grandfather. By this time St. Paul was actively pur- 
suing his apostolic career. We need not, therefore, advance beyond this 

Mahomet Ali secured his by the agreement of (Acts x. 1) will come under our notice in 

the European powers. Chap. IV., and the "Augustan Band" (Ibid. 

1 Joh. xviii. 28. xxvii. 1) in Chap. XXII. 

2 Luke iii. 12, xix. 2. 5 Joh. xix. 15. 

3 Matt. xxii. 19. 6 Acts xxv. 11. 

4 Most of the soldiers quartered in Syria 7 He obtained under Caligula, first, the te- 
were recruited in the province : but the Cohort, trarchy of his uncle Philip, who died; and 
to which Cornelius belonged, probably consist- then that of his uncle Antipas, who followed 
ed of Italian volunteers. The "Italian Band " his brother Archelaus into banishment. 



chap. i. CONCLUSION. 27 

point, in a chapter which is only intended to be a general introduction 
to the Apostle's history. 

Our desire' has been to give a picture of the condition of the world at 
this particular epoch: and we have thought that no grouping would be so 
successful as that which should consist of Jews, Greeks, and Romans. 
Nor is this an artificial or unnatural arrangement : for these three 
nations were the divisions of the civilized world. And in the view of a 
religious mind they were more than this. They were " the three peoples 
of God's election ; two for things temporal, and one for things eternal. 
Yet even in the things eternal they were allowed to minister. Greek 
cultivation and Roman polity prepared men for Christianity." 1 These 
three peoples stand in the closest relation to the whole human race. The 
Christian, when he imagines himself among those spectators who stood 
round the cross, and gazes in spirit upon that " superscription," which 
the Jewish scribe, the Greek proselyte, and the Roman soldier could 
read, each in his own tongue, feels that he is among those who are 
the representatives of all humanity. 2 In the ages which precede the cru- 
cifixion, these three languages were like threads which guided us through 
the labyrinth of history. And they are still among the best guides of 
our thought, as we travel through the ages which succeed it. How great 
has been the honor of the Greek and Latin tongues ! They followed the 
fortunes of a triumphant church. Instead of Heathen languages, they 
gradually became Christian. As before they had been employed to 
express the best thoughts of unassisted humanity, so afterwards they 
became the exponents of Christian doctrine and the channels of Chris- 
tian devotion. The words of Plato and Cicero fell from the lips and pen of 
Chrysostom and Augustine. And still those two languages are associated 
together in the work of Christian education, and made the instruments for 
training the minds of the young in the greatest nations of the earth. 
And how deep and pathetic is the interest which attaches to the Hebrew! 
Here the thread seems to be broken. "Jesus, King of the Jews," in 
Hebrew characters. It is like the last word of the Jewish Scriptures, — 
the last warning of the chosen people. A cloud henceforth is upon the 

1 Dr. Arnold, in the journal of his Tour in higher sense. The Roman, powerful but not 
1840 {Life, ii. 413, 2d edit.). The passage happy — the Greek, distracted with the inqui- 
continues thus : — "As Mahometanism can ries of an unsatisfying philosophy — the Jew, 
bear witness ; for the East, when it abandoned bound hand and foot with the chain of a cere- 
Greece and Rome, could only reproduce Juda- monial law, all are together round the cross, 
ism. Mahometanism, six hundred years after Christ is crucified in the midst of them — 
Christ, proving that the Eastern man could crucified for all. The " superscription of His 
bear nothing perfect, justifies the wisdom of accusation " speaks to all the same language 
God in Judaism." of peace, pardon, and love. 

2 This is true in another, and perhaps a 



28 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



people and the language of Israel. " Blindness in part is happened unto 
Israel, till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." Once again Jesus, 
after His ascension, spake openly from Heaven "in the Hebrew tongue " 
(Acts xxvi. 14) : but the words were addressed to that Apostle who was 
called to preach the Gospel to the philosophers of Greece, and in the 
emperor's palace at Rome. 1 

1 See inscription in the three languages on a Christian tomb in the Roman Catacombs, at the 
end of the volume. 





Coin of Tarsus. Hadrian. (See p. 20, n. 2.) 



CHAPTER II. 

Tewish Origin of the Church. — Sects and Parties of the Jews. — Pharisees and Sadducees. — 
St. Paul a Pharisee. — Hellenists and Aramseans. — St. Paul's Family Hellenistic but not 
Hellenizing. — His Infancy at Tarsus. — The Tribe of Benjamin. — His Father's Citizen- 
ship. — Scenery of the Place. — His Childhood. — He is sent to Jerusalem. — State of 
Judasa and Jerusalem. — Rabbinical Schools. — Gamaliel. — Mode of Teaching. — Syna- 
gogues. — Student-Life of St. Paul. — His Early Manhood. — First Aspect of the Church. 
— St. Stephen.— The Sanhedrin. — St. Stephen the Forerunner of St. Paul. — His Martyr- 
dom and Prayer. 

C^ HRISTIANITY has been represented by some of the modern Jews as 
I a mere school of Judaism. Instead of opposing it as a system 
antagonistic and subversive of the Mosaic religion, they speak of it as a 
phase or development of that religion itself, — as simply one of the rich 
outgrowths from the fertile Jewish soil. They point out the causes which 
combined in the first century to produce this Christian development of 
Judaism. It has even been hinted that Christianity has done a good 
work in preparing the world for receiving the pure Mosaic principles 
which will, at length, be universal. 1 

We are not unwilling to accept some of these phrases as expressing a 
great and important truth. Christianity is a school of Judaism : but 
it is the school which absorbs and interprets the teaching of all others. 
It is a development ; but it is that development which was divinely 
foreknown and predetermined. It is the grain of which mere Judaism is 
now the worthless husk. It is the image of Truth in its full propor- 
tions ; and the Jewish remnants are now as the shapeless fragments 
which remain of the block of marble when the statue is completed. 
When we look back at the Apostolic age, we see that growth proceed- 
ing which separated the husk from the grain. We see the image of 
Truth coming out in clear expressiveness, and the useless fragments 
falling off like scales, under the careful work of divinely-guided hands. 
If we are to realize the earliest appearance of the Church, such as it 

1 This notion, that the doctrine of Christ Judaism : but a more powerful spell than this 

will be re-absorbed in that of Moses, is a curi- philosophy is needed to charm back the stately 

ous phase of the recent Jewish philosophy. river into the narrow, rugged, picturesque 

" We are sure," it has been well said, " that ravine, out of which centuries ago it found its 

Christianity can never disown its source in way." 



30 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ii. 

was when Paul first saw it, we must view it as arising in the midst of 
Judaism ; and if we are to comprehend all the feelings and principles 
of this Apostle, we must consider first the Jewish preparation of his 
own younger days. To these two subjects the present chapter will be 
devoted. 

We are very familiar with one division which ran through the Jewish 
nation in the first century. The Sadducees and Pharisees are frequently 
mentioned in the New Testament, and we are there informed of the 
tenets of these two prevailing parties. The belief in a future state may 
be said to have been an open question among the Jews, when our Lord 
appeared and " brought life and immortality to light." We find the 
Sadducees established in the highest office of the priesthood, and pos- 
sessed of the greatest powers in the Sanhedrin : and yet they did not 
believe in any future state, nor in any spiritual existence independent 
of the body. The Sadducees said that there was " no resurrection, 
neither Angel nor Spirit." They do not appear to have held doctrines 
which are commonly called licentious or immoral. On the contrary, 
they adhered strictly to the moral tenets of the Law, as opposed to its 
mere formal technicalities. They did not overload the Sacred Books 
with traditions, or encumber the duties of life with a multitude Of 
minute observances. They were the disciples of reason without enthusi- 
asm, — they made few proselytes, — their numbers were not great, and 
they were confined principally to the richer members of the nation. 2 The 
Pharisees, on the other hand, were the enthusiasts of the later Judaism. 
They " compassed sea and land to make one proselyte." Their power 
and influence with the mass of the people was immense. The loss of 
the national independence of the Jews, — the gradual extinction of 
their political life, directly by the Romans, and indirectly by the family 
of Herod, — caused their feelings to rally round their Law and their 
Religion, as the only centre of unity which now remained to them. 
Those, therefore, who gave their energies to the interpretation and 
exposition of the Law, not curtailing any of the doctrines which were 
virtually contained in it and which had been revealed with more or less 
clearness, but rather accumulating articles of faith, and multiplying the 
requirements of devotion ; — who themselves practised a severe and 
ostentatious religion, being liberal in alms-giving, fasting frequently, 
making long prayers, and carrying casuistical distinctions into the 
smallest details of conduct ; — who consecrated, moreover, their best 
zeal and exertions to the spread of the fame of Judaism, and to the in- 

1 Acts xxiii. 8. See Matt. xxii. 23-34. Ant. xiii. 10, 6 ; xviii. 1, 4, comparing the 

2 See what Josephus says of the Sadducees : question asked, John vii. 48. 



CHAP.n. ST. PAUL A PHAEISEE. 31 

crease of the nation's power in the only way which now was practicable, 
— could not fail to command the reverence of great numbers of the 
people. It Was no longer possible to fortify Jerusalem against the 
Heathen : but the Law could be fortified like an impregnable city. 
The place of the brave is on the walls and in the front of the battle : 
and the hopes of the nation rested on those who defended the sacred 
outworks, and made successful inroads on the territories of the Gen- 
tiles. 

Such were the Pharisees. And now, before proceeding to other 
features of Judaism and their relation to the Church, we can hardly 
help glancing at St. Paul. He was " a Pharisee, the son of a Phari- 
see," l and he was educated fey Gamaliel, 2 " a Pharisee." 3 Both his 
father and his teacher belonged to this sect. And on three distinct 
occasions he tells us that he himself was a member of it. Once when 
at his trial, before a mixed assembly of Pharisees and Sadducees, the 
words just quoted were spoken, and his connection with the Pharisees 
asserted with such effect, that the feelings of this popular party were 
immediately enlisted on his side. " And when he had so said, there 
arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees ; and the 
multitude was divided. . . . And there arose a great cry ; and the 
Scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We 
find no evil in this man." 4 The second time was, when, on a calmer 
occasion, he was pleading before Agrippa, and said to the king in the 
presence of Festus : " The Jews knew me from the beginning, if they 
would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a 
Pharisee." 5 And once more, when writing from Rome to the Philip- 
pians, he gives force to his argument against the Judaizers, by telling 
them that if any other man thought he had whereof he might trust in 
the flesh, he himself had more : — " circumcised the eighth day, of the 
stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as 
touching the Law, a Pharisee." 6 And not only was he himself a 
Pharisee, but his father also. He was " a Pharisee, the son of a Phari- 
see." This short sentence sums up nearly all we know of St. Paul's 
parents. If we think of his earliest life, we are to conceive of him as 
born in a Pharisaic family, and as brought up from his infancy in the 
" straitest sect of the Jews' religion." His childhood was nurtured 
in the strictest belief. The stories of the Old Testament, — the angelic 
appearances, — the prophetic visions, — to him were literally true. 
They needed no Sadducean explanation. The world of spirits was a 

1 Acts xxiii. 6. 8 Acts v. 34. 6 Acts xxvi. 

2 Acts xxii. 3. * Acts xxiii. 6 Philip, iii. 4. 



32 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

reality to him. The resurrection of the dead was an article of his faith. 
And to exhort him to the practices of religion, he had before him the 
example of his father, praying and walking with broad phylacteries, 
scrupulous and exact in his legal observances. He had, moreover, as 
it seems, the memory and tradition of ancestral piety ; for he tells 
us in one of his latest letters, 1 that he served God " from his fore- 
fathers." All influences combined to make him " more exceedingly 
zealous of the traditions of his fathers," 2 and " touching the righteous- 
ness which is in the Law, blameless." 3 Every thing tended to prepare 
him to be an eminent member of that theological party, to which so 
many of the Jews were looking for the preservation of their national 
life, and the extension of their national creed. 

But in this mention of the Pharisees and Sadducees, we are far from ex- 
hausting the subject of Jewish divisions, and far from enumerating all those 
phases of opinion which must have had some connection with the growth 
of rising Christianity, and all those elements which may have contributed 
to form the character of the Apostle of the Heathen. There was a sect 
in Judaea which is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but which must have 
acquired considerable influence in the time of the Apostles, as may be 
inferred from the space devoted to it by Josephus 4 and Philo. These 
were the Essenes, who retired from the theological and political distrac- 
tions of Jerusalem and the larger towns, and founded peaceful communi- 
ties in the desert or in villages, where their life was spent in contempla- 
tion, and in the practices of ascetic piety. It has been suggested that John 
the Baptist was one of them. There is no proof that this was the case : 
but we need not doubt that they did represent religious cravings which 
Christianity satisfied. Another party was that of the Zealots, 5 who were 
as politically fanatical as the Essenes were religiously contemplative, and 
whose zeal was kindled with the burning desire to throw off the Roman 
yoke from the neck of Israel. Very different from them were the Hero- 
dians, twice mentioned in the Gospels, 6 who held that the hopes of Juda- 
ism rested on the Herods, and who almost looked to that family for the 
fulfilment of the prophecies of the Messiah. And if we were simply 
enumerating the divisions and describing the sects of the Jews, it would 
be necessary to mention the Therapeutce, 1 a widely-spread community in 
Egypt, who lived even in greater seclusion than the Essenes in Judaea. 
The Samaritans also would require our attention. But we must turn 

1 2 Tim. i. 3. of the Gospel (Luke vi. 15), though the party 

2 Gal. i. 14. was hardly then matured. 

3 Phil. iii. 6. 6 Mark iii. 6; Matt. xxii. 16 : see Mark 

4 War, ii. 8. xii. 13. 

6 We have the word in the " Siraou Zelotes " 7 Described in great detail by Philo. 



chap.h. HELLENISTS AND AHAM^ANS. 33 

from these sects and parties to a wider division, which arose from that 
dispersion of the Hebrew people, to which some space has been devoted 
in the preceding chapter. 

We have seen that early colonies of the Jews were settled in Babylonia 
and Mesopotamia. Their connection with their brethren in Judaea was 
continually maintained: and they were bound to them by the link of a 
common language. The Jews of Palestine and Syria, with those who 
lived on the Tigris and Euphrates, interpreted the Scriptures through the 
Targums 1 or Chaldee paraphrases, and spoke kindred dialects of the lan- 
guage of Aram : 2 and hence they were called Aramaean Jews. We have 
also had occasion to notice that other dispersion of the nation through 
those countries where Greek was spoken. Their settlements began with 
Alexander's conquests, and were continued under the successors of those 
who partitioned his empire. Alexandria was their capital. They used 
the Septuagint translation of the Bible ; 3 and they were commonly called 
Hellenists, or Jews of the Grecian speech. 

The mere difference of language would account in some degree for the 
mutual dislike with which we know that these two sections of the Jewish 
race regarded one another. We were all aware how closely the use of an 
hereditary dialect is bound up with the warmest feelings of the heart. 
And in this case the Aramaean language was the sacred tongue of Palestine. 
It is true that the tradition of the language of the Jews had been broken, 
as the continuity of their political life had been rudely interrupted. 
The Hebrew of the time of Christ was not the oldest Hebrew of the 
Israelites ; but it was a kindred dialect, and old enough to command a 
reverent affection. Though not the language of Moses and David, it was 
that of Ezra and Nehemiah. And it is not unnatural that the Aramaeans 
should have revolted from the speech of the Greek idolaters and the 
tyrant Antiochus, 4 — a speech which they associated moreover with 
innovating doctrines and dangerous speculations. 

For the division went deeper than a mere superficial diversity of speech. 
It was not only a division, like the modern one of German and Spanish 

1 It is uncertain when the written Targums the western, which is the parent of the Syriac, 
came into use, but the practice of paraphrasing now, like the former, almost a dead language, 
orally in Chaldee must have begun soon after The first of these dialects began to supplant 
the Captivity. the older Hebrew of Judaea from the time of 

2 Aram — the " Highlands " of the Semitic the Captivity, and was the " Hebrew " of the 
tribes — comprehended the tract of country New Testament, Luke xxiii. 38; John xix. 
which extended from Taurus and Lebanon to 20 ; Acts xxi. 40, xxii. 2, xxvi. 14. Arabic, 
Mesopotamia and Arabia. There were two the most perfect of the Semitic languages, has 
main dialects of the Aramaean stock, the east- now generally overspread those regions. 

era or Babylonian, commonly called Chaldee s See p. 35, n. 2. 

(the " Syrian tongue " of 2 Kings xviii. 26 ; 4 See pp. 24, 25, and notes. 

Isai. xxxvi. 11 , Ezr. iv. 7 ; Dan. ii. 4); and 



34 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.it. 

Jews, where those who hold substantially the same doctrines have acci- 
dentally been led to speak different languages. But there was a diversity 
of religious views and opinions. This is not the place for examining that 
system of mystic interpretation called the Cabala, 1 and for determining 
how far its origin might be due to Alexandria or to Babylon. It is enough 
to say, generally, that in the Aramaean theology, Oriental elements pre- 
vailed rather than Greek, and that the subject of Babylonian influences 
has more connection with the life of St. Peter than that of St. Paul. 
The Hellenists, on the other hand, or Jews who spoke Greek, who lived 
in Greek countries, and were influenced by Greek civilization, are asso- 
ciated in the closest manner with the Apostle of the Gentiles. They are 
more than once mentioned in the Acts, where our English translation 
names them " Grecians," to distinguish them from the Heathen or prose- 
lyte " Greeks." 2 Alexandria was the metropolis of their theology. Philo 
was their great representative. He was an old man when St. Paul was 
in his maturity : his writings were probably known to the Apostles ; and 
they have descended with the inspired Epistles to our own day. The 
work of the learned Hellenists may be briefly described as this, — to ac- 
commodate Jewish doctrines to the mind of the Greeks, and to make the 
Greek language express the mind of the Jews. The Hebrew principles 
were "disengaged as much as possible from local and national conditions, 
and presented in a form adapted to the Hellenic world." All this was 
hateful to the zealous Aramaeans. The men of the East rose up against 
those of the West. The Greek learning was not more repugnant to the 
Roman Cato, than it was to the strict Hebrews. They had a saying, 
u Cursed be he who teacheth his son the learning of the Greeks." 3 We 
could imagine them using the words of the prophet Joel (iii. 6), "The 
children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the 
Grecians, that ye might remove them from their border: " and we cannot 
be surprised that, even in the deep peace and charity of the Church's 
earliest days, this inveterate division re-appeared, and that, " when the 



1 See Ch. XIII. his duty in what language he can." The fol- 

2 See Chap. I. p. 10, note. lowing saying is attributed to Rabban Simeon, 

3 This repugnance is illustrated by many the son of Gamaliel : " There were a thousand 
passages in the Talmudic writings. Rabbi boys in my father's school, of whom five hun- 
Levi Ben Chajathah, going down to Csesarea, dred learned the law, and five hundred the 

5 heard them reciting, their phylacteries in wisdom of the Greeks ; and there is not one 

| Greek, and would have forbidden them ; of the latter now alive, excepting myself here, 

which when Rabbi Jose heard, he was very and my uncle's son in Asia." We learn also 

angry, and said, " If a man doth not know from Josephus that a knowledge of Greek was 

how to recite in the holy tongue, must lightly regarded by the Jews of Palestine. 
he not recite them at all 1 Let him perform 



chap.h. HELLENISTS AND AKAM^EANS. 35 

number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of 
the Grecians against the Hebrews." 1 

It would be an interesting subject of inquiry to ascertain in what 
proportions these two parties were distributed in the different countries 
where the Jews were dispersed, in what places they came into the 
strongest collision, and how far they were fused and united together. 
In the city of Alexandria, the emporium of Greek commerce from the 
time of its foundation, where, since the earliest Ptolemies, literature, 
philosophy, and criticism had never ceased to excite the utmost in- 
tellectual activity, where the Septuagint translation of the Scripture 
had been made, 2 and where a Jewish temple and ceremonial worship 
had been established in rivalry to that in Jerusalem, 3 — there is no 
doubt that the Hellenistic element largely prevailed. But although 
(strictly speaking) the Alexandrian Jews were nearly all Hellenists, 
it does not follow that they were all Hellenizers. In other words, 
although their speech and their Scriptures were Greek, the theological 
views of many among them undoubtedly remained Hebrew. There 
must have been many who were attached to the traditions of Palestine, 
and who looked suspiciously on their more speculative brethren : and we 
have no difficulty in recognizing the picture presented in a pleasing 
German fiction, 4 which describes the debates and struggles of the two 
tendencies in this city, to be very correct. In Palestine itself, we have 
every reason to believe that the native population was entirely Aramaean, 
though there was no lack of Hellenistic synagogues 5 in Jerusalem, 
which at the seasons of the festivals would be crowded with foreign 
pilgrims, and become the scene of animated discussions. Syria was 
connected by the link of language with Palestine and Babylonia ; but 
Antioch, its metropolis, commercially and politically, resembled Alexan- 
dria : and it is probable that, when Barnabas and Saul were establish- 
ing the great Christian community in that city, 6 the majority of the 
Jews were " Grecians " rather than " Hebrews." In Asia Minor we 
should at first sight be tempted to imagine that the Grecian tendency 

1 Acts vi. 1. by Onias, from whose family the high priest- 

2 It is useless here to enter into any of the hood had been transferred to the family of the 
legends connected with the number " seventy." Maccabees, and who had fled into Egypt in the 
This translation came into existence from 300 time of Ptolemy Philopator. It remained in 
to 150 B.C. Its theological importance cannot existence till destroyed by Vespasian. See 
be exaggerated. The quotations in the N. T. Josephus, War, i. 1, 1, vii. 10, 3 ; Ant. xiii. 3. 
from the 0. T. are generally made from it. 4 Helon's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, published 
See p. 37. in German in 1820, translated into English in 

3 This temple was not in the city of Alex- 1824. 

andria, but at Leontopolis. It was built (or 6 See Acts vi. 9. 

rather it was an old Heathen temple repaired) 6 Acts xi. 25, &c. 



S6 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL, chaf.ii. 

would predominate ; but when we find that Antiochus brought 
Babylonian Jews into Lydia and Phrygia, we must not make too con- 
fident a conclusion in this direction ; and we have grounds for imagin- 
ing that many Israelitish families in the remote districts (possibly that 
of Timotheus at Lystra) * may have cherished the forms of the tradition- 
ary faith of the Eastern Jews, and lived uninfluenced by Hellenistic 
novelties. The residents in maritime and commercial towns would not 
be strangers to the Western developments of religious doctrines : and 
when Apollos came from Alexandria to Ephesus, 2 he would find himself 
in a theological atmosphere not very different from that of his native 
city. Tarsus in Cilicia will naturally be included under the same class 
of cities of the West, by those who remember Strabo's assertion that, in 
literature and philosophy, its fame exceeded that of Athens and Alexan- 
dria. At the same time, we cannot be sure that the very celebrity of 
its Heathen schools might not induce the families of Jewish residents to 
retire all the more strictly into a religious Hebrew seclusion. 

That such a seclusion of their family from Gentile influences was 
maintained by the parents of St. Paul, is highly probable. We have no 
means of knowing how long they themselves, or their ancestors, had been 
Jews of the dispersion. A tradition is mentioned by Jerome that they 
came originally from Giscala, a town in Galilee, when it was stormed by 
the Romans. The story involves an anachronism, and contradicts the 
Acts of the Apostles. 3 Yet it need not be entirely disregarded ; espe- 
cially when we find St. Paul speaking of himself as " a Hebrew of the 
Hebrews," 4 and when we remember that the word " Hebrew " is used 
for an Aramaic Jew, as opposed to a " Grecian " or " Hellenist." 5 Nor 
is it unlikely in itself that before they settled in Tarsus, the family had 
belonged to the Eastern dispersion, or to the Jews of Palestine. But, 
however this may be, St. Paul himself must be called an Hellenist; 
because the language of his infancy was that idiom of the Grecian Jews 
in which all his letters were written. Though, in conformity with the 

1 Acts xvi. 1 ; 2 Tim. i. 5, iii. 15. but an Hellenist. . . . St. Paul appeareth tome 

2 Acts xviii. 24. to have plainly intimated, that a man might be 

3 Acts xxii. 3. of the stock of Israel and of the tribe of Ben- 

4 Phil. iii. 5. Cave sees nothing more in jamin, and yet not be a Hebrew of the He- 
this phrase than that " his parents were Jews, brews ; but that, as to himself, he was, both by 
and that of the ancient stock, not entering in father and mother, a Hebrew, or of the race 
by the gate of proselytism, but originally de- of that sort of Jews which were generally most 
scended from the nation." — Life of St. Paul, esteemed by their nation." — History of the 
i. 2. Benson, on the other hand, argues, from First Planting of the Christian Religion, vol i. 
this passage and from 2 Cor. xi. 22, that p. 117. 

there was a difference between a " Hebrew " 5 Acts vi. 1. For the absurd Ebionite 

and an "Israelite." — "A person might be story that St. Paul was by birth not a Jew at 
descended from Israel, and yet not be a Hebrew, all, but a Greek, see the next chapter. 



chap.h. ST. PAUL'S INFANCY AT TAESUS. 37 

strong feeling of the Jews of all times, he might leam his earliest 
sentences from the Scripture in Hebrew, yet he was familiar with the 
Septuagint translation at an early age. For it is observed that, when 
he quotes from the Old Testament, his quotations are from that version ; 
and that, not only when he cites its very words, but when (as is often the 
case) he quotes it from memory. 1 Considering the accurate knowledge 
of the original Hebrew which he must have acquired under Gamaliel at 
Jerusalem, it has been inferred that this can only arise from his having 
been thoroughly imbued at an earlier period with the Hellenistic Scrip- 
tures. The readiness, too, with which he expressed himself in Greek, 
even before such an audience as that upon the Areopagus at Athens, 
shows a command of the language which a Jew would not, in all proba- 
bility, have attained, had not Greek been the familiar speech of his 
childhood. 2 

But still the vernacular Hebrew of Palestine would not have been a 
foreign tongue to the infant Saul ; on the contrary, he may have heard 
it spoken almost as often as the Greek. For no doubt his parents, 
proud of their Jewish origin, and living comparatively near to Palestine, 
would retain the power of conversing with their friends from thence in 
the ancient speech. Mercantile connections from the Syrian coast 
would be frequently arriving, whose discourse would be in Aramaic ; 
and in all probability there were kinsfolk still settled in Judasa, as we 
afterwards find the nephew of St. Paul in Jerusalem. 3 "We may com- 
pare the situation of such a family (so far as concerns their language) to 
that of the French Huguenots who settled in London after the revoca- 
tion of the Edict of Nantes. These French families, though they 
soon learned to use the English as the medium of their common inter- 
course and the language of their household, yet, for several generations, 
spoke French with equal familiarity and greater affection. 4 



1 See Tholuck's Essay on the early life of presents the subject under a different view, as 
St. 'Paul, Eng. Trans, p. 9. Out of eighty- follows : " Certain it is that the g-oundwork 
eight quotations from the Old Testament, of Paul's intellectual and moral training was 
Koppe gives grounds for thinking that forty- Jewish : yet he had at least some knowledge 
nine were cited from memory. And Bleek of Greek literature, whether he acquired it in 
thinks that every one of his citations without Tarsus, or in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, who 
exception is from memory. He adds, howev- himself was not altogether averse to the Hel- 
er, that the Apostle's memory reverts occasion- lenistic philosophy, or afterwards in his mis- 
ally to the Hebrew text, as well as to that of sionary journeyings and his continual inter- 
the Septuagint. See an article in the Christian course with Hellenists." — Hist, of the Christian 
Remembrancer for April, 1848, on Grinfield's Church. 

Hellenistic Ed. of the N. T. » Acts xx ii{. 1 6 . 

2 We must not, however, press these con- * St. Paul's ready use of the spoken Ara- 
siderations too far, especially when we take mate appears in his speech upon the stairs of 
Phil. iii. 5 into consideration. Dr. Schaff the Castle of Antonia at Jerusalem, " in the 



38 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. ii. 

Moreover, it may be considered as certain that the family of St. Paul, 
though Hellenistic in speech, were no Hellenizers in theology ; they were 
not at all inclined to adopt Greek habits or Greek opinions. The manner 
in which St. Paul speaks of himself, his father, and his ancestors, implies 
the most uncontaminated hereditary Judaism. " Are they Hebrews ? so 
am I. Are they Israelites ? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham ? so 
am I.".- 1 — " A Pharisee " and " the son of a Pharisee." 2 — Circumcised 
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew 
of the Hebrews." 3 

There is therefore little doubt that, though the native of a city filled 
with a Greek population and incorporated with the Roman Empire, yet 
Saul was born and spent his earliest days in the shelter of a home which 
was Hebrew, not in name only but in spirit. The Roman power did not 
press upon his infancy : the Greek ideas did not haunt his childhood : but 
he grew up an Israelitish boy, nurtured in those histories of the chosen 
people which he was destined so often to repeat in the synagogues, 4 with 
the new and wonderful commentary supplied by the life and resurrection 
of a crucified Messiah. " From a child he knew the Scriptures," which 
ultimately made him " wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ 
Jesus," as he says of Timothy in the second Epistle (iii. 15). And the 
groups around his childhood were such as that which he beautifully 
describes in another part of the same letter to that disciple, where he 
speaks of " his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice " (i. 5). 

We should be glad to know something of the mother of St. Paul. But 
though he alludes to his father, he does not mention her. He speaks of 
himself as set apart by God " from his mother's womb," that the Son of 
God should in due time be revealed in him, and by him preached to the 
Heathen. 5 But this is all. We find notices of his sister and his sister's 
son, 6 and of some more distant relatives : 7 but we know nothing of her who 
was nearer to him than all of them. He tells us of his instructor 
Gamaliel ; but of her, who, if she lived, was his earliest and best teacher, 
he tells us nothing. Did she die like Rachel, the mother of Benjamin, 
the great ancestor of his tribe ; leaving his father to mourn and set a 
monument on her grave, like Jacob, by the way of Bethlehem ? 8 Or did 
she live to grieve over her son's apostasy from the faith of the Pharisees, 

Hebrew tongue." This familiarity, however, 8 Phil. iii. 5. 

he would necessarily have acquired during his 4 Acts xiii. 16-41 ; see xvii. 2, 3, 10, 11, 

student-life at Jerusalem, if he had not pos- xxviii. 23. 

sessed it before. The difficult question of the 5 Gal. i. 15. 

" Gift of Tongues " will be discussed in Chap. 6 Acts xxiii. 16. 

XIII. 7 Rom. xvi. 7, 11,21. 

1 2 Cor. xi. 22. 8 Gen. xxxv. 16-20, xlviii. 7. 

2 Acts xxiii. 6. 



CHAP.n. ST. PAUL'S INFANCY AT TAESUS. 39 

and die herself unreconciled to the obedience of Christ? Or did she 
believe and obey the Saviour of her son ? These are questions which we 
cannot answer. If we wish to realize the earliest infancy of the Apostle, 
we must be content with a simple picture of a Jewish mother and her child. 
-Such a picture is presented to us in the short history of Elizabeth and 
John the Baptist, and what is wanting in one of the inspired Books of 
St. Luke may be supplied, in some degree, by the other. 

The same feelings which welcomed the birth and celebrated the naming 
of a son in the " hill country " of Judaea, 1 prevailed also among the Jews 
of the dispersion. As the " neighbors and cousins " of Elizabeth " heard 
how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, and rejoiced with her," — 
so it would be in the household at Tarsus, when Saul was born. In a 
nation to which the birth of a Messiah was promised, and at a period 
when the aspirations after the fulfilment of the promise were continually 
becoming more conscious and more urgent, the birth of a son was the 
fulfilment of a mother's highest happiness : and to the father also (if we 
may thus invert the words of Jeremiah) " blessed was the man who 
brought tidings, saying, A man child is born unto thee ; making him 
glad." 2 On the eighth day the child was circumcised and named. In 
the case of John the Baptist, " they sought to call him Zacharias, after 
the name of his father. But his mother answered, and said, Not so ; but 
he shall be called John." And when the appeal was made to his father, 
he signified his assent, in obedience to the vision. It was not unusual, on 
the one hand, to call a Jewish child after the name of his father ; and, on 
the other hand, it was a common practice, in all ages of Jewish history, 
even without a prophetic intimation, to adopt a name expressive of reli- 
gious feelings. When the infant at Tarsus received the name of Saul, it 
might be " after the name of his father ; " and it was a name of tradi- 
tional celebrity in the tribe of Benjamin, for it was that of the first king 
anointed by Samuel. 3 Or, when his father said " his name is Saul," it 
may have been intended to denote (in conformity with the Hebrew deriva- 
tion of the word) that he was a son who had long been desired, the first 
born of his parents, the child of prayer, who was thenceforth, like Samuel, 
to be consecrated to God. 4 " For this child I prayed," said the wife of 
Elkanah ; " and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of 
Him : therefore also I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he liveth he 
shall be lent unto the Lord." 5 

1 Luke i. 39. were wont to give their children this name 

2 Jer. xx. 15. at their circumcision." — Cave, i. 3; but he 

3 ■ * A name frequent and common in the gives no proof. 

tribe of Benjamin ever since the first King 4 This is suggested by Neander. 

of Israel, who was of that name, was chosen 6 1 Sam. i. 27, 28. 

out of that tribe; in memory whereof they 



40 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

Admitted into covenant with God by circumcision, the Jewish child had 
thenceforward a full claim to all the privileges of the chosen people. His 
was the benediction of the 128th Psalm : — " The Lord shall bless thee out 
of Zion : thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life." 
From that time, whoever it might be who watched over Saul's infancy, 
whether, like king Lemuel, 1 he learnt " the prophecy that his mother 
taught him," or whether he was under the care of others, like those who 
were with the sons of king David and king Ahab, 2 — we are at no loss to 
learn what the first ideas were, with which his early thought was made 
familiar. The rules respecting the diligent education of children, which 
were laid down by Moses in the 6th and 11th chapters of Deuteronomy, 
were doubtless carefully observed : and he was trained in that peculiarly 
historical instruction, spoken of in the 78th Psalm, which implies the 
continuance of a chosen people, with glorious recollections of the past, and 
great anticipations for the future : " The Lord made a covenant with 
Jacob, and gave Israel a law, which He commanded our forefathers to 
teach their children ; that their posterity might know it, and the children 
which were yet unborn ; to the intent that when they came up, they might 
show their children the same : that they might put their trust in God, and 
not to forget the works of the Lord, but to keep his commandments." 
(ver. 5-7.) The histories of Abraham and Isaac, of Jacob and his 
twelve sons, of Moses among the bulrushes, of Joshua and Samuel, Elijah, 
Daniel, and the Maccabees, were the stories of his childhood. The de- 
struction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, the thunders of Mount Sinai, the 
dreary journeys in the wilderness, the land that flowed with milk and 
honey, — this was the, earliest imagery presented to his opening mind. 
The triumphant hymns of Zion, the lamentations by the waters of Babylon, 
the prophetic praises of the Messiah, were the songs around his cradle. 

Above all, he would be familiar with the destinies of his own illustrious 
tribe. 3 The life of the timid Patriarch, the father of the twelve ; the sad 
death of Uachel near the city where the Messiah was to be born ; the 
loneliness of Jacob, who sought to comfort himself in Benoni " the son of 

1 Prov. xxxi. 1 . Cf. Susanna, 3 ; 2 Tim. which the genealogies were kept, and when we 
iii. 15, with 1 Tim. i. 5. find the tribe of Barnabas specified (Acts iv. 

2 1 Chron. xxvii. 32 ; 2 Kings x. 1, 5. Cf. 36), and also of Anna the prophetess (Luke ii. 
Joseph. Life, 76; Ant. xvi. 8, 3. 36), and when we find St. Paul alluding in a 

3 It may be thought that here, and helow, pointed manner to his tribe (see Eom. xi. 1, 
p. 50, too much prominence has been given to Phil. iii. 5, and compare Acts xiii. 21, and also 
the attachment of a Jew in the Apostolic age xxxvi. 7), it does not seem unnatural tohelieve 
to his own particular tribe. It is difficult to that pious families of so famous a stock as that 
ascertain how far the tribe-feeling of early of Benjamin should retain the hereditary en- 
times lingered on in combination with the thusiasm of their sacred clanship. See, more- 
national feeling, which grew up after the Cap- over. Matt. xix. 28 ; Rev. v. 5, vii. 4-8. 
tivity, But when we consider the care with 



chap. n. THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN, 41 

her sorrow," by calling him Benjamin * " the son of his right hand ; " and 
then the youthful days of £his youngest of the twelve brethren, the famine, 
and the journeys into Egypt, the severity of Joseph, and the wonderful 
story of the silver cup in the mouth of the sack ; — these are the narratives 
to which he listened with intense and eager interest. How little was it 
imagined that, as Benjamin was the youngest and most honored of the 
Patriarchs, so this listening child of Benjamin should be associated with 
the twelve servants of the Messiah of God, the last and most illustrious of 
the Apostles ! But many years of ignorance were yet to pass away, before 
that mysterious Providence, which brought Benjamin to Joseph in Egypt, 
should bring his descendant to the knowledge and love of Jesus, the Son 
of Mary. Some of the early Christian writers 2 see in the dying benediction 
of Jacob, when he said that " Benjamin should raven as a wolf, in the 
morning devour the prey, and at night divide the spoil," a prophetic inti- 
mation of him who, in the morning of his life, should tear the sheep of 
God, and in its evening feed them, as the teacher of the nations. 3 When 
St. Paul was a child and learnt the words of this saying, no Christian 
thoughts were associated with it, or with that other more peaceful prophecy 
of Moses, when he said of Benjamin, " The beloved of the Lord shall dwell 
in safety by Him : and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he 
shall dwell between His shoulders." 4 But he was familiar with the 
prophetical words, and could follow in imagination the fortunes of the 
sons of Benjamin, and knew how they went through the wilderness with 
Rachel's other children, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, forming 
with them the third of the four companies on the march, and reposing with 
them at night on the west of the encampment. 5 He heard how their lands 
were assigned to them in the promised country along the borders of 
Judah : 6 and how Saul, whose name he bore, was chosen from the tribe 
which was the smallest, 7 when u little Benjamin " 8 became the " ruler " of 
Israel. He knew that when the ten tribes revolted, Benjamin was faith- 
ful : 9 and he learnt to follow its honorable history even into the dismal 
years of the Babylonian Captivity, when Mordecai, " a Benjamite who had 
been carried away," 10 saved the nation : and when, instead of destruction, 
" the Jews," through him, " had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor: 
and in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's com- 
mandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast 
and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews ; for 
the fear of the Jews fell upon them." ll 

1 Gen. xxxv. 18. 7 1 Sam. ix. 21. 

2 Gen. xlix. 27. 8 Ps. lxviii. 27. 

8 e.g. Tertullian. 9 2 Chron. xi. : see 1 Kings xii. 

* Deut. xxxiii. 12. 10 Esther ii. 5, 6. 

6 Numb, ii. 18-24; x. 22-24. u Esther viii. 16, 17. 

6 Joshua xviii. 11. 



42 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

Such were the influences which cradled the infancy of St. Paul ; and 
such was the early teaching under which his mind gradually rose to the 
realization of his position as a Hebrew child in a city of Gentiles. Of 
the exact period of his birth we possess no authentic information. 1 From 
a passage in a sermon attributed to St. Chrysostom, it has been inferred 2 
that he was born in the year 2 B.C. of our era. The date is not improba- 
ble ; but the genuineness of the sermon is suspected ; and if it was the 
undoubted work of the eloquent Father, we have no reason to believe 
that he possessed any certain means of ascertaining the fact. Nor need 
we be -anxious to possess the information. We have a better chronology 
than that which reckons by years and months. We know that St. Paul 
was a young man at the time of St. Stephen's martyrdom, 3 and therefore 
we know what were the features of the period, and what the circumstan- 
ces of the world, at the beginning of his eventful life. He must have 
been born in the later years of Herod, or the earlier of his son Archelaus. 
It was the strongest and most flourishing time of the reign of Augustus. 
The world was at peace ; the pirates of the Levant were dispersed ; and 
Cilicia was lying at rest, or in stupor, with other provinces, under the 
wide shadow of the Roman power. Many governors had ruled there 
since the days of Cicero. Athenodorus, the emperor's tutor, had been 
one of them. It was about the time when Horace and Maecenas died, 
with others whose names will never be forgotten ; and it was about the 
time when Caligula was born, with others who were destined to make 
the world miserable. Thus is the epoch fixed in the manner in which 
the imagination most easily apprehends it. During this pause in the 
world's history St. Paul was born. 

It was a pause, too, in the history of the sufferings of the Jews. That 
lenient treatment which had been begun by Julius Caesar was continued 
by Augustus ; * and the days of severity were not yet come, when Tibe- 
rius and Claudius drove them into banishment, and Caligula oppressed 
them with every mark of contumely and scorn. We have good reason 
to believe that at the period of the Apostle's birth the Jews were unmo- 
lested at Tarsus, where his father lived and enjoyed the rights of a Roman 
citizen. It is a mistake to suppose that this citizenship was a privilege 
which belonged to the members of the family, as being natives of this 
city. 5 Tarsus was not a municipium, nor was it a colonic/,, like Philippi in 

1 As regards the chronology of St. Paul's * Caesar, like Alexander, treated the Jews 
life, it is enough to refer to Ch. IV. and es- with much consideration. Suetonius speaks in 
pecially to Appendix III. strong terms of their grief at his death. Au- 

2 This is on the supposition that he died gustus permitted the largess, when it fell on a 
A.D. 66, at the age of 68. Sabbath, to be put off till the next day. 

3 Acts vii. 58. It must be remembered, 6 Some of the older biographers of St. 
however, that the term veaviag was applied to Paul assume this without any hesitation : and 
all men under 40. 



chap.h. CITIZENSHIP OF ST. PAUL'S FATHER. 43 

Macedonia, 1 or Antioch in Pisidia ; but it was a " free city " 2 (urbs libera), 
like the Syrian Antioch and its neighbor-city, Seleucia on the sea. Such 
a city had the privilege of being governed by its own magistrates, and 
was exempted from the occupation of a Roman garrison, but its citizens 
did not necessarily possess the civitas of Rome. Tarsus had received 
great benefits both from Julius Csesar and from Augustus, but the father 
of St. Paul was not on that account a Roman citizen. This privilege had 
been granted to him, or had descended to him, as an individual right ; he 
might have purchased it for a u large sum" of money; 3 but it is more 
probable that it came to him as a reward of services rendered, during the 
civil wars, to some influential Roman. 4 We should not be in serious 
error, if we were to say, in language suggested by the narrative of St. 
Stephen's martyrdom (Acts vi. 9), that St. Paul's father was a Cilician 
Libertinus. 5 That Jews were not unfrequently Roman citizens, we learn 
from Josephus, who mentions in the " Jewish War " 6 some even of the 
equestrian order who were illegally scourged and crucified by Florus at 
Jerusalem ; and (what is more to our present point) enumerates cer- 
tain of his countrymen who possessed the Roman franchise at Ephesus, in 
that important series of decrees relating to the Jews, which were issued 
in the time of Julius Caesar, and are preserved in the second book of the 
" Antiquities." 7 The family of St. Paul were in the same position at 
Tarsus as those who were Jews of Asia Minor and yet citizens of Rome 
at Ephesus ; and thus it came to pass, that, while many of his contempo- 
raries were willing to expend " a large sum " in the purchase of " this 
freedom," the Apostle himself was " free-born." 

The question of the double name of " Saul " and " Paul" will require 
our attention hereafter, when we come in the course of our narrative to 
that interview with Sergius Paulus in Cyprus, coincidently with which 
the appellation in the Acts of the Apostles is suddenly changed. Many 
opinions have been held on this subject, both by ancient and modern 

the mistake is very frequent still. It is enough pose that the Apostle, with other Cilician Jews, 

to notice that the Tribune (Acts xxi. 39, xxii. may have been, like Horace, libertinopatrenatus. 

24) knew that St. Paul was a Tarsian, without (Sat. i. vi. 45.) 
being aware that he was a citizen. 5 This suggestion is due to Wieseler, who 



•»&- 



1 Acts xvi. 12. translates the verse which describes Stephen's 

2 It appears that Antony gave Tarsus the great opponents, so as to mean " Libertines " 
privileges of an Urbs libera, though it had pre- from " Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia." 
viously taken the side of Augustus, and been We think, as is observed below (p. 56, note), 
named Juliopolis. that another view is more natural : but at 

3 Acts xxii. 28. least we should observe that we find Saul, a 

4 Great numbers of Jews were made slaves Roman citizen, actively co-operating in persecu- 
in the Civil Wars, and then manumitted. A tion with those who are called Liberiini. 
slave manumitted with due formalities became 6 War, ii. 14, 6. 

a Roman citizen. Thus it is natural to sup- 7 Ant xiv. 10, 13. 



44 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

theologians. 1 At present it will be enough to say, that, though we can- 
not overlook the coincidence, or believe it accidental, yet it is most prob- 
able that both names were borne by him in his childhood, that " Saul " 
was the name of his Hebrew home, and " Paul " that by which he was 
known -among the Gentiles. It will be observed that "Paulus" the 
name by which he is always mentioned after his departure from Cyprus, 
and by which he always designates himself in his Epistles, is a Roman, 
not a Greek, word. And it will be remembered, that, among those 
whom he calls his "kinsmen" in the Epistle to the Romans, two of the 
number, Junta and Lucius, have Roman names, while the others are 
Greek. 2 All this may point to a strong Roman connection. These 
names may have something to do with that honorable citizenship 
which was an heirloom in the household ; and the appellation "Paulus" 
may be due to some such feelings as those which induced the historian 
Josephus to call himself " Flavius," in honor of Vespasian and the Fla- 
vian family. 

If we turn now to consider the social position of the Apostle's father 
and family, we cannot on the one hand confidently argue, from the pos- 
session of the citizenship, that they were in the enjoyment of affluence 
and outward distinction. The civitas of Rome, though at that time it 
could not be purchased without heavy expense, did not depend upon any 
conditions of wealth, where it was bestowed by authority. On the other 
hand, it is certain that the manual trade, which we know that St. Paul 
exercised, cannot be adduced as an argument to prove that his circum- 
stances were narrow and mean ; still less, as some have imagined, that he 
lived in absolute poverty. It was a custom among the Jews that all boys 
should learn a trade. " What is commanded of a father towards his 
son ? " asks a Talmudic writer. " To circumcise him, to teach him the 
law, to teach him a trade." Rabbi Judah saith, "He that teacheth not 
his son a trade, doth the same as if he taught him to be a thief;" and 
Rabban Gamaliel saith, "He that hath a trade in his hand, to what is he 
like? he is like a vineyard that is fenced." And if, in compliance with 
this good and useful custom of the Jews, the father of the young Cilician 
sought to make choice of a trade, which might fortify his son against idle- 
ness or against adversity, none would occur to him more naturally than 
the profitable occupation of the making of tents, the material of which 
was hair-cloth, supplied by the goats of his native province, and sold in 

1 Origen says that he had both names from Peter, at his ordination in Antioch. Bede, 

the first; that he nsed one among the Jews, that he did not receive it till the Proconsul was 

and the other afterwards. Augustine, that he converted ; and Jerome, that it was meant to 

took the name when he began to preach. commemorate that victory. 
Chrysostom, that he received a new title, like 2 Rom. xvi. 7, 11, 21. 



chap. ii. SCENERY OF TARSUS. 45 

the markets of the Levant by the well-known name of cilicium} The 
most reasonable conjecture is that his father's business was concerned with 
these markets, and that, like many of his scattered countrymen, he was 
actively occupied in the traffic of the Mediterranean coasts : and the 
remote dispersion of those relations, whom he mentions in his letter from 
Corinth to Rome, is favorable to this opinion. But whatever might be 
the station and employment of his father or his kinsmen, whether they 
were elevated by wealth above, or depressed by poverty below, the aver- 
age of the Jews of Asia Minor and Italy, we are disposed to believe that 
this family were possessed of that highest respectability which is worthy 
of deliberate esteem. The words of Scripture seem to claim for them 
the tradition of a good and religious reputation. The strict piety of 
St. Paul's ancestors has already been remarked ; some of his kinsmen 
embraced Christianity before the Apostle himself, 2 and the excellent 
discretion of his nephew will be the subject of our admiration, when we 
come to consider the dangerous circumstances which led to the nocturnal 
journey from Jerusalem to Caesarea. 3 

But, though a cloud rests on the actual year of St. Paul's birth, and 
the circumstances of his father's household must be left to imagination, 
we have the great satisfaction of knowing the exact features of the 
scenery in the midst of which his childhood was spent. The plain, the 
mountains, the river, and the sea still remain to us. The rich har- 
vests of corn still grow luxuriantly after rains in spring. The same 
tents of goat's hair are still seen covering the plains in the busy harvest. 4 
There is the same solitude and silence in the intolerable heat and dust of 
the summer. Then, as now, the mothers and children of Tarsus went 
out in the cool evenings, and looked from the gardens round the city, or 
from their terraced roofs, upon the heights of Taurus. The same sunset 
lingered on the pointed summits. The same shadows gathered in the 
deep ravines. The river Cydnus has suffered some changes in the course 
of 1800 years. Instead of rushing, as in the time of Xenophon, like the 
Rhone at Geneva, in a stream of two hundred feet broad through the 
city, it now flows idly past it on the east. The Channel, which floated 
the ships of Antony and Cleopatra, is now filled up ; and wide unhealthy 
lagoons occupy the place of the ancient docks. 5 But its upper waters 

1 Hair-cloth of this kind is manufactured at 4 " The plain presented the appearance of 
the present day in Asia Minor, and the word an immense sheet of corn-stubble, dotted with 
is still retained in French, Spanish, and Italian. small camps of tents : these tents are made of 

2 " Salute Andronicus and Junias, my hair-cloth, and the peasantry reside in them at 
kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of this season, while the harvest is reaping and 
note among the Apostles, who also were in the corn treading out/' — Beaufort's Karama- 
Christ before me." — Rom. xvi. 7. nia, p. 273. 

3 Acts xxiii. 5 In Strabo's day there was an inconvenient 



46 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

still flow, as formerly, cold and clear from the snows of Taurus : and its 
waterfalls still break over the same rocks, when the snows are melting, 
like the Rhine at Schaffhausen. We find a pleasure in thinking that the 
footsteps of the young Apostle often wandered by the side of this stream, 
and that his eyes often looked on these falls. We can hardly believe that 
he who spoke to the Lystrians of the " rain from heaven," and the " fruit- 
ful seasons," and of the "living God who made heaven and earth and the 
sea," 1 could have looked with indifference on beautiful and impressive 
scenery. Gamaliel was celebrated for his love of nature : and the young 
Jew, who was destined to be his most famous pupil, spent his early days 
in the close neighborhood of much that was well adapted to foster such 
a taste. Or if it be thought that in attributing such feelings to him we 
are writing in the spirit of modern times ; and if it be contended that he 
would be more influenced by the realities of human life than by the im- 
pressions of nature, — then let the youthful Saul be imagined on the banks 
of the Cydnus, where it flowed through the city in a stream less clear 
and fresh, where the wharves were covered with merchandise, in the 
midst of groups of men in various costumes, speaking various dialects. 
St. Basil says, that in his day Tarsus was a point of union for Syrians, 
CilicianSjIsaurians, and Cappadocians. To these we must add the Greek 
merchant, and the agent of Roman luxury. And one more must be 
added, — the Jew, — even then the pilgrim of Commerce, trading with 
every nation, and blending with none. In this mixed company Saul, at 
an early age, might become familiar with the activities of life and the 
diversities of human character, and even in his childhood make some 
acquaintance with those various races, which in his manhood he was 
destined to influence. 

We have seen what his infancy was ; we must now glance at his boy- 
hood. It is usually the case that the features of a strong character 
display themselves early. His impetuous fiery disposition would some- 
times need control. Flashes of indignation would reveal his impatience 
and his honesty. 2 The affectionate tenderness of his nature would not 
be without an object of attachment, if that sister, who was afterwards 
married, 3 was his playmate at Tarsus. The work of tent-making, rather 
an amusement than a trade, might sometimes occupy those young 
hands, which were marked with the toil of years when he held them to 

"bar" at the mouth of the Cydnus. Here (as edition of this book, which contains views of 

in the case of the Pyramus and other rivers on Tarsus and of the falls of the Cydnus. 

that coast) the land has since that time en- 1 Acts xiv. 17, 15. 

croached on the sea. The unhealthiness of the 2 See Acts ix. 1, 2, xxiii. 1-5; and com- 

sea-coast near the Gulf of Scanderoon is noto- pare Acts xiii. 13, xv. 38, with 2 Tim. iv, 

rious, as can be testified by more than one of 11. 

those who contributed drawings to the quarto 3 Acts xxiii. 16. 



chap.h. ST. PAUL'S BOYHOOD. 47 

the view of the Elders at Miletus. 1 His education was conducted at 
home rather than at school : for, though Tarsus was celebrated for its 
learning, the' Hebrew boy would not lightly be exposed to the influence 
of Gentile teaching. Or, if he went to a school, it was not a Greek 
school, but rather to some room connected with the synagogue, where a 
noisy class of Jewish children received the rudiments of instruction, 
seated on the ground with their teacher, after the manner of Mohamme- 
dan children in the East, who may be seen or heard at their lessons near 
the mosque. 2 At such a school, it may be, he learnt to read and to 
write, going and returning under the care of some attendant, according 
to that custom which he afterwards used as an illustration in the Epistle 
to the Galatians 3 (and perhaps he remembered his own early days while 
he wrote the passage) when he spoke of the Law as the Slave who 
conducts us to the School of Christ. His religious knowledge, as his 
years advanced, was obtained from hearing the Law read in the syna- 
gogue, from listening to the arguments and discussions of learned 
doctors, and from that habit of questioning and answering, which was 
permitted even to the children among the Jews. Familiar with the 
pathetic history of the Jewish sufferings, he would feel his heart filled 
with that love to his own people which breaks out in the Epistle to the 
Eomans (ix. 4, 5) — to that people " whose were the adoption and the 
glory and the covenants, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ 
was to come," — a love not then, as it was afterwards, blended with 
love towards all mankind, " to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile," 
— but rather united with a bitter hatred to the Gentile children whom 
he saw around him. His idea of the Messiah, so far as it was distinct, 
would be the carnal notion of a temporal prince — a " Christ known 
after the flesh," 4 — and he looked forward with the hope of a Hebrew 
to the restoration of " the kingdom to Israel." 5 He would be known 



1 Acts xx. 34. " Ye yourselves know that sound of voices was unceasing. For pictures 
these hands have ministered to my necessities, of an Egyptian and a Turkish school, see the 
and to them that were with me." Compare Bible Cyclopcedia, 1841 ; and the Cyclopaedia 
xviii. 3; 1 Cor. iv. 12; 1 Thess. ii. 9 ; 2 of Biblical Literature, 1847 . 

Thess. iii. 8. 8 Gal. iii. 24, where the word inaccurately 

2 This is written from the recollection of a rendered " Schoolmaster " denotes the attend- 
Mohammedan school at Bildah in Algeria, ant slave who accompanied the child to the 
where the mosques can now he entered with im- school. A Jewish illustration of a custom 
punity. The children, with the teacher, were well known among the Greeks and Romans is 
on a kind of upper story like a shelf, within given by Buxtorf. He describes the child as 
the mosque. All were seated on this floor, in taken to the preceptor under the skirt of a 
the way described by Maimonides below (p. Rabbi's cloak, and as provided with honey and 
57). The children wrote on boards, and re- honey-cakes, symbolizing such passages as 
cited what they wrote; the master addressed Deut. xxxii. 13, Cant. iv. 11, Ps. xix. 10. 
them in rapid succession; and the confused 4 2 Cor. v. 16. 5 Acts i. 6. 



48 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

at Tarsus as a child of promise, and as one likely to uphold the honor 
of the Law against the half-infidel teaching of the day. But the time 
was drawing near, when his training was to become more exact and 
systematic. He was destined for the school of Jerusalem. The educa- 
tional maxim of the Jews, at a later period, was as follows : — "At five 
years of age, let children begin the Scripture ; at ten, the Mishna ; at 
thirteen, let them be subjects of the Law." l There is no reason to 
suppose that the general practice was very different before the floating 
maxims of the great doctors were brought together in the Mishna. 
It may therefore be concluded, with a strong degree of probability, that 
Saul was sent to the Holy City 2 between the ages of ten and thirteen. 
Had it been later than the age of thirteen, he could hardly have said 
that he had been " brought up " in Jerusalem. 

The first time any one leaves the land of his birth to visit a foreign 
and distant country, is an important epoch in his life. In the case of 
one who has taken this first journey at an early age, and whose character 
is enthusiastic and susceptible of lively impressions from without, this 
epoch is usually remembered with peculiar distinctness. But when the 
country which is thus visited has furnished the imagery for the dreams 
of childhood, and is felt to be more truly the young traveller's home 
than the land he is leaving, then the journey assumes the sacred charac- 
ter of a pilgrimage. The nearest parallel which can be found to the 
visits of the scattered Jews to Jerusalem, is in the periodical expedition 
of the Mohammedan pilgrims to the sanctuary at Mecca. Nor is there 
any thing which ought to shock the mind in such a comparison ; for that 
localizing spirit was the same thing to the Jews under the highest sanc- 
tion, which it is to the 'Mohammedans through the memory of a prophet 
who was the enemy and not the forerunner of Christ. As the disciples 
of Islam may be seen, at stated seasons, flocking towards Cairo or Da- 
mascus, the meeting-places of the African and Asiatic caravans, — so 
Saul had often seen the Hebrew pilgrims from the interior of Asia Minor 
come down through the passes of the mountains, and join others at 
Tarsus who were bound for Jerusalem. They returned when the 
festivals were over ; and he heard them talk of the Holy City, of Herod 
and the New Temple, and of the great teachers and doctors of the Law. 
And at length Saul himself was to go, — to see the land of promise and 

1 "We learn from Buxtorf that at 13 there 2 That he came from Tarsus at an early 

•was a ceremony something like Christian con- age is implied in Acts xxvi. 4. — " My manner 

firmation. The hoy was then called a " Child of life from my youth, which was at the first 

of the Law ; " and the father declared in the among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know 

presence of the Jews that his son fully under- all the Jews, which knew me from the begin- 

stood the Law, and was fully responsible for ning." 
his sins. 



chap.h. HE IS SENT TO JERUSALEM. 49 

the City of David, and grow up a learned Rabbi ." at the feet of 
Gamaliel." 

With his father, or under the care of some other friend. older than 
himself, he left Tarsus and went to Jerusalem. It is not probable that 
they travelled by the long and 'laborious land-journey which leads from 
the Cilician plain through the denies of Mount Amanus to Antioch, and 
thence along the rugged Phoenician shore through Tyre and Sidon to 
Judaea. The Jews, when they went to the festivals, or to carry contri- 
butions, like the Mohammedans of modern days, would follow the lines of 
natural traffic : * and now that the Eastern Sea had been cleared of its 
pirates, the obvious course* would be to travel by water. The Jews, 
though merchants, were not seamen. We may imagine Saul, therefore, 
setting sail from the Cydnus on his first voyage, in a Phoenician trader, 
under the patronage of the gods of Tyre ; or in company with Greek 
mariners in a vessel adorned with some mythological emblem, like that 
Alexandrian corn-ship which subsequently brought him to Italy, " whose 
sign was Castor and Pollux." 2 Gradually they lost sight of Taurus, and 
the heights of Lebanon came into view. The one had sheltered his 
early home, but the other had been a familiar form to his Jewish fore- 
fathers. How histories would crowd into his mind as the vessel moved 
on over the waves, and he gazed upon the furrowed flanks of the great 
Hebrew mountain ! Had the voyage been taken fifty years earlier, the 
vessel would probably have been bound for Ptolemais, which still bore 
the name of the Greek kings of Egypt ; 3 but in the reign of Augustus 
or Tiberius, it is more likely that she sailed round the headland of 
Carmel, and came to anchor in the new harbor of Csesarea, — the hand- 
some city which Herod had rebuilt, and named in honor of the Emperor. 

To imagine incidents when none are recorded, and confidently to lay 
down a route without any authority, would be inexcusable in writing on 
this subject. But to imagine the feelings of a Hebrew boy on his first 
visit to the Holy Land, is neither difficult nor blamable. During this 
journey Saul had around him a different scenery and different cultiva- 
tion from what he had been accustomed to, — not a river and a wide 
plain covered with harvests of corn, but a succession of hills and valleys, 
with terraced vineyards watered by artificial irrigation. If it was the 
time of a festival, many pilgrims were moving in the same direction, 
with music and the songs of Zion. The ordinary road would probably 

1 In 1820, Abd-el-Kader'went with his father Ptolemais was still a busy seaport in St. Paul's 
on board a French brig to Alexandria, on their day, though Ca?sarea had become the most im- 
way to Mecca. portant harbor, and indeed (politically) the 

2 Acts xxviii. 11. most important city, in Palestine. See Acts 
8 See, for instance, 1 Maccab v. 15, x. 1. xxi. 7. 

4 



50 . THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

be that mentioned in the Acts, which led from Caesarea through the 
town of Antipatris 1 (Acts xxiii. 31). But neither of these places would 
possess much interest for a " Hebrew of the Hebrews." The one was 
associated with the thoughts of the Romans and of modern times ; the 
other had been built by Herod in memory of Antipater, his Idumaean 
father. But objects were not wanting of the deepest interest to a child 
of Benjamin. Those far hill-tops on the left were close upon Mount 
Gilboa, even if the very place could not be seen where " the Philistines 
fought against Israel . . . and the battle went sore against Saul . . . 
and he fell on his sword . . . and died, and his three sons, and his 
armor-bearer, and all his men, that same day together." 2 After passing 
through the lots of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, the traveller 
from Cassarea came to the borders of Benjamin. The children of 
Rachel were together in Canaan as they had been in the desert. The 
lot of Benjamin was entered near Bethel, memorable for the piety of 
Jacob, the songs of Deborah, the sin of Jeroboam, and the zeal of 
Josiah. 3 Onward a short distance was Gibeah, the home of Saul when 
he was anointed King, 4 and the scene of the crime and desolation of the 
tribe, which made it the smallest of the tribes of Israel. 5 Might it not 
be too truly said concerning the Israelites even of that period : " They 
have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah : therefore 
the Lord will remember their iniquity, He will visit their sins " ? 6 At a 
later stage of his life, such thoughts of the unbelief and iniquity of 
Israel accompanied St. Paul wherever he went. At the early age of 
twelve years, all his enthusiasm could find an adequate object in the 
earthly Jerusalem ; the first view of which would be descried about this 
part of the journey. From the time when the line of the city wall was 
>seen, all else was forgotten. The further border of Benjamin was- almost 
reached. The Rabbis said that the boundary-line of Benjamin and 
Judah, the two faithful tribes, passed through the Temple. And this 
City and Temple was the common sanctuary of all Israelites. " Thither 
the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord : to testify unto Israel, to 
give thanks unto the name of the Lord. There is little Benjamin their 
ruler, and the princes of Judah their council, the princes of Zebulon 
and the princes of Naphtali : for there is the seat of judgment, even 
the seat of the house of David." And now the Temple's glittering 
roof was seen, with the buildings of Zion crowning the eminence 
above it, and the ridge of the Mount of Olives rising high over all. 
And now the city gate was passed, with that thrill of the heart which 

1 See p. 25, n. 3. 2 1 Sam. xxxi. 1-6. * 1 Sara. x. 26, xv. 34 

8 Gen. xxviii. 19 ; Judg. iv. 5; 1 Kings xii. 6 Judges xx. 43, &c 

••29 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 15. 6 Hosea ix. 9. 



chap. n. STATE OF JUDAEA. 51 

none but a Jew could knew. " Our feet stand within thy gates. Jeru- 
salem. Oh, pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that 
love thee. Peace be within thy walls, ,and plenteousness within thy 
palaces. God, wonderful art thou in thy holy places : even the God 
of Israel. He will give strength and power unto His people. Blessed 
be God." 1 

And now that this young enthusiastic Jew is come into the land of his 
forefathers, and is about to receive his education in the schools of the 
Holy City, we may pause to give some description of the state of Judaea 
and Jerusalem. We have seen that it is impossible to fix the exact date 
of his arrival, but we know the general features of the period ; and we 
can easily form to ourselves some idea of the political and religious con- 
dition of Palestine. 

Herod was now dead. The tyrant had been called to his last account ; 
and that eventful reign, which had destroyed the nationality of the Jews, 
while it maintained their apparent independence, was over. It is most 
likely that Archelaus also had ceased to govern, and was already in exile. 
His accession to power had been attended with dreadful fighting in the 
streets, with bloodshed at sacred festivals, and with wholesale crucifix- 
ions ; his reign of ten years was one continued season of disorder and dis- 
content ; and, at last, he was banished to Vienna on the Rhone, that Judaea 
might be formally constituted into a Roman province. 2 We suppose Saul 
to have come from Tarsus to Jerusalem when one of the four governors, 
who preceded Pontius Pilate, was in power, — either Coponius, or Marcus 
Ambivius, or Annius Rufus, or Valerius Gratus. The governor resided 
in the town of Caesarea. Soldiers were quartered there and at Jerusalem, 
and throughout Judaea, wherever the turbulence of the people made gar- 
risons necessary. Centurions were in the country towns; 3 soldiers on 
the banks of the Jordan. 4 There was no longer even the show of inde- 
pendence. The revolution, of which Herod had sown the seeds, now 
came to maturity. The only change since his death in the appearance 
of the country was that every thing became more Roman than before. 
Roman money was current in the markets. Roman words were incorpo- 
rated in the popular language. Roman buildings were conspicuous in all 
the towns. Even those two independent principalities which two sons of 
Herod governed, between the provinces of Judaea and Syria, exhibited 

1 See Ps. Ixviii. and exxii. The Herodian family, after their father's death, 

2 While the question of succession was had gone to Rome, where Augustus received 
pending, the Roman soldiers under Sabinus them in the Temple of Apollo. Archelaus had 
had a desperate conflict with the Jews. Fight- never the title of king, though his father had 
ing and sacrificing went on together. Varus, desired it. 

the governor of Syria, marched from Antioch 8 Luke vii. 1-10. 

to Jerusalem, and 2,000 Jews were crucified. * Luke iii. 14. 



52 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. ii. 

all the general character of the epoch. Philip, the tetrarch of Gaulonitis, 
called Bethsaida, on the north of the lake of Genesareth, by the name 
of Julias, in honor of the family who reigned at Rome. Antipas, the 
tetrarch of Galilee, built Tiberias on the south of the same lake, in honor 
of the emperor who about this time (a.d. 14) succeeded his illustrious 
step-father. 

These political changes had been attended with a gradual alteration 
in the national feelings of the Jews with regard to their religion. That 
the sentiment of political nationality was not extinguished was proved 
too well by all the horrors of Vespasian's and Hadrian's reigns ; but 
there was a growing tendency to cling rather to their Law and Religion 
as the centre of their unity. The great conquests of the Heathen pow- 
ers may have been intended by Divine Providence to prepare this change 
in the Jewish mind. Even under the Maccabees, the idea of the state 
began to give place, in some degree, to the idea of religious life. Under 
Herod, the old unity was utterly broken to pieces. The high priests were 
set up and put down at his caprice ; and the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin 
was invaded by the most arbitrary interference. Under the governors, the 
power of the Sanhedrin was still more abridged ; and high priests were 
raised and deposed, as the Christian patriarchs of Constantinople have for 
some ages been raised and deposed by the Sultan : so that it is often 
a matter of great difficulty to ascertain who was high priest at Jerusalem 
in any given year at this period. 1 Thus the hearts of the Jews turned 
more and more towards the fulfilment of Prophecy, — to the practice of 
Religion, — to the interpretation of the Law. All else was now hopeless. 
The Pharisees, the Scribes, and the Lawyers were growing into a more 
important body even than the Priests and the Levites ; 2 and that system 
of " Rabbinism " was beginning, " which, supplanting the original religion 
of the Jews, became, after the ruin of the Temple and the extinction of 
the public worship, a new bond of national union, the great distinctive 
feature in the character of modern Judaism." 3 

The Apostolic age was remarkable for the growth of learned Rabbinical 
schools ; but of these the most eminent were the rival schools of Hillel 
and Schammai. These sages of the law were spoken of by the Jews, 
and their proverbs quoted, as the seven wise men were quoted by the 
Greeks. Their traditional systems run through all the Talmudical writ- 
ings, as the doctrines of the Scotists and Thomists run through the Mid- 

1 See Acts xxiii. 5. these schools, some were Levites, as Samuel; 

2 In earlier periods of Jewish history, the some belonged to the other tribes, as Saul and 
prophets seem often to have been a more influ- David. 

ential body than the priests. It is remarkable 3 Milman's History of the Jews, vol. lit 

that we do not read of " Schools of the p. 100. 
I.'rophets " in any of the Levitical cities. In 



chap. ii. GAMALIEL, 53 

die Ages. 1 Both were Pharisaic schools : but the former upheld the honor 
of traditi m as even superior to the law ; the latter despised the tradition- 
ists when they 'clashed with Moses. The antagonism between them was 
so great, that it was said that even " Elijah the Tishbite would never be 
able to reconcile the disciples of Hillel and Schammai." 

Of these two schools, that of Hillel was by far the most influential in 
its own day, and its decisions have been held authoritative by the greater 
number of later Rabbis. The most eminent ornament of this school was 
Gamaliel, whose fame is celebrated in the Talmud. Hillel was the father 
of Simeon, and Simeon the father of Gamaliel. It has been imagined 
by some that Simeon was the same old man who took the infant Saviour 
in his arms, and pronounced the Nunc Dimittis. 2 It is difficult to give a 
conclusive proof of this ; but there is no doubt that this Gamaliel was the 
same who wisely pleaded the cause of St. Peter and the other Apostles. 3 
and who had previously educated the future Apostle St. Paul. 4 His 
learning was so eminent, and his character so revered, that he is one of 
the seven who alone among Jewish doctors have been honored with the 
title of " Rabban." 5 As Aquinas, among the schoolmen, was called Doctor 
Angelicus, and Bonaventura Doctor Seraphicus, so Gamaliel was called 
the "Beauty of the Law ; " and it is a saying of the Talmud, that "since 
Rabban Gamaliel died, the glory of the Law has ceased." He was a 
Pharisee; but anecdotes 6 are told of him, which show that he was not 
trammelled by the narrow bigotry of the sect. He had no antipathy to 
the Greek learning. He rose above the prejudices of his party. Our 
impulse is to class him with the best of the Pharisees, like Nicodemus and 
Joseph of Arimathaea. Candor and wisdom seem to have been features 
of his character; and this agrees with what we read of him in the Acts 
of the Apostles, 7 that he was " had in reputation of all the people," and 
with his honest and intelligent argument when Peter was brought before 
the Council. It has been imagined by some that he became a Christian : 
and why he did not become so is known only to Him who understands 
the secrets of the human heart. But he lived and died a Jew ; and a 
well-known prayer against Christian heretics was composed or sanctioned 

1 See Prideaux's Connection, part II. pref. cile this with the Jewish law, he replied, that 
p. 12, and beginning of book viii. the bath was there before the statue ; that the 

2 Luke ii. 25-35. bath was not made for the goddess, but the 
8 Acts v. 34-40. statue for the bath. Tholuck, Eng. transl. p. 17. 

4 Acts xxii. 3. 7 A c t s v . 34. Yet Nicodemus and Joseph 

5 This title is the same as " Rabboni " ad- declared themselves the friends of Christ, 
dressed to our Lord by Mary Magdalene. which Gamaliel never did. And wc should 

6 He bathed once at Ptolemais in an apart- hardly expect to find a violent persecutor 
ment where a statue was erected to a Heathen among the pupils of a really candid and un- 
goddess ; and being asked how he could recon- prejudiced man. 



54 THE LIFE AND -EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. it. 

by him. 1 He died eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem, 2 
about the time of St. Paul's shipwreck at Malta, and was buried with 
great honor. Another of his pupils, Onkelos, the author of the cele- 
brated Targum, raised to him such a funeral-pile of rich materials as had 
never before been known, except at the burial of a king. 

If we were briefly to specify the three effects which the teaching and 
example of Gamaliel may be supposed to have produced' on the mind of 
St. Paul, they would be as follows: — candor and honesty of judgment, 
— a willingness to study and make use of Greek authors, — and a keen 
and watchful enthusiasm for the Jewish law. We shall see these traits 
of character soon exemplified in his life. But it is time that we should 
inquire into the manner of communicating instruction, and learn some- 
thing concerning the places where instruction was communicated, in the 
schools of Jerusalem. 

Until the formation of the later Rabbinical colleges, which flourished 
after the Jews were driven from Jerusalem, the instruction in the divinity 
schools seems to have been chiefly oral. There was a prejudice against 
the use of any book except the Sacred Writings. The system was one of 
Scriptural Exegesis. Josephus remarks, at the close of his " Antiqui- 
ties," 3 that the one thing most prized by his countrymen was power in 
the exposition of Scripture. " They give to that man," he says, " the 
testimony of being a wise man, who is fully acquainted with our laws, 
and is able to interpret their meaning." So far as we are able to learn 
from our sources of information, the method of instruction was some- 
thing of this kind. 4 At the meetings of learned men, some passage of the 
Old Testament was taken as a text, or some topic for discussion pro- 
pounded in Hebrew, translated into the vernacular tongue by means of a 
Chaldee paraphrase, and made the subject of commentary : various inter- 
pretations were given: aphorisms we're propounded: allegories suggested: 
and the opinions of ancient doctors quoted and discussed. At these dis- 
cussions the younger students were present, to listen or to inquire, — or, 
in the sacred words of St. Luke, " both hearing them and asking them 
questions :" for it was a peculiarity of the Jewish schools, that the pupil 
was encouraged to catechise the teacher. Contradictory opinions were 
expressed with the utmost freedom. This is evident from a cursory ex- 

1 The prayer is given in Mr. Home's Intro- destroyest the wicked, and bringest down the 

duct ion to the Scriptures, 8th ed. vol. iii. p. 261, proud." 

as follows : " Let there be no hope to them 2 His son Simeon, who succeeded him as 

who apostatize from the true religion ; and let president of the Council, perished in the ruins 

heretics, how many soever they be, all perish of the city, 
as in a moment. And let the kingdom of 8 Ant. xx. 11,2. 

pride be speedily rooted out and broken in our 4 See Dr. Kitto's Cyclopcedia of Biblical 

days. Blessed art thou, Lord our God, who Literatwe, art. " Schools and Synagogues." 



chaimi. EABBLtflCAL SCHOOLS. 55 

amination of the Talmud, which gives us the best notions of the scholastic 
disputes of the Jews. This remarkable body of Rabbinical jurisprudence 
has been compared to the Roman body of civil law : but in one respect 
it might suggest a better comparison with our own English common law, 
in that it is a vast accumulation of various and often inconsistent prece- 
dents. The arguments and opinions which it contains, show very plainly 
that the Jewish doctors must often have been occupied with the most 
frivolous questions; — that the " mint, anise, and cumin" were eagerly 
discussed, while the "weightier matters of the law" were neglected: — • 
but we should not be justified in passing a hasty judgment on ancient 
volumes, which are full of acknowledged difficulties. What we read of 
the system of the Cabala has often the appearance of an unintelligible 
jargon : but in all ages it has been true that " the words of the wise are 
as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies." 1 If we 
could look back upon the assemblies of the Rabbis of Jerusalem, with 
Gamaliel in the midst, and Saul among the younger speakers, it is pos- 
sible that the scene would be as strange and as different from a place 
of modern education, as the schools now seen by travellers in the East 
differ from contemporary schools in England. But the same might be 
said of the walks of Plato in the Academy, or the lectures of Aristotle 
in the Lyceum. It is certain that these free and public discussions of 
the Jews tended to create a high degree of general intelligence among the 
people; that the students were trained there in a system of excellent 
dialectics; that they learnt to express themselves in a rapid and senten- 
tious style, often with much poetic feeling ; and acquired an admirable 
acquaintance with the words of the ancient Scriptures. 2 

These " Assemblies of the Wise" were possibly a continuation of the 
" Schools of the Prophets," which are mentioned in the historical books 
of the Old Testament. 3 Wherever the earlier meetings were held, whether 
at the gate of the city, or in some more secluded place, we read of no 
buildings for purposes of worship or instruction before the Captivity. 
During that melancholy period, when the Jews mourned over their sep- 
aration from the Temple, the necessity of assemblies must have been 
deeply felt, for united prayer and mutual exhortation, for the singing of 
the " Songs of Zion," and for remembering the " Word of the Lord." 
When they returned, the public reading of the law became a practice of 
universal interest : and from this period we must date the erection of 

1 Eccles. xii. 11. the punishments were, confinement, flogging,. 

2 It seems that half-yearly examinations and excommunication. 

were held on four sabbaths of the months Adar 3 1 Sam. x. 5, 6, xix. 20 ; 2 Kings ii. 3, 5,, 

and Elul (February and August), when the iv. 35. 
scholars made recitations and were promoted : 



56 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n . 

Synagogues l in the different towns of Palestine. So that St. James could 
say, in the council at Jerusalem : " Moses of old time hath in every city 
them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." 2 
To this later period the 74th Psalm may be referred, which laments over 
" the burning of all the synagogues of God in the land." 3 — These build- 
ings are not mentioned by Josephus in any of the earlier passages of his 
history. But in the time of the Apostles we have the fullest evidence 
that they existed in all the small towns in Judasa, and in all the principal 
cities where the Jews were dispersed abroad. It seems that the synagogues 
often consisted of two apartments, one for prayer, preaching, and the 
offices of public worship ; the other for the meetings of learned men, for 
discussions concerning questions of religion and discipline, and for purposes 
of education. 4 Thus the Synagogues and the Schools cannot be con- 
sidered as two separate subjects. No doubt a distinction must be drawn 
between the smaller schools of the country villages, and the great divinity 
schools of Jerusalem. The synagogue which was built by the Centurion 
at Capernaum 5 was unquestionably a far less important place than those 
synagogues in the Holy City, where " the Libertines, and Cyrenians, 6 and 
Alexandrians, with those of Asia and Cilicia," rose up as one man, and 
disputed against St. Stephen. 7 We have here five groups of foreign Jews, 
— two from Africa, two from Western Asia, and one from Europe ; and 
there is no doubt that the Israelites of Syria, Babylonia, and the East were 
similarly represented. The Rabbinical writers say that there were 480 
synagogues in Jerusalem ; and though this must be an exaggeration, yet 
no doubt all shades of Hellenistic and Aramaic opinions found a home in 
the common metropolis. It is easy to see that an eager and enthusiastic 
student could have had no lack of excitements to stimulate his religious 

1 Basnage assigns the erection of synagogues 7 Acts vi. 9. It is difficult to classify with 
to the time of the Maccabees. Meuschen says confidence the synagogues mentioned in this 
that schools were established by Ezra ; but he passage. According to Wieseler's view, men- 
gives no proof. It is probable that they were tioned above, only one synagogue is intended, 
nearly contemporaneous. belonging to Ubertini of certain districts in 

2 Acts xv. 21. Northern Africa and Western Asia. Others 

3 Ps. xxiv. 8. conceive that five synagogues are intended, viz. 

4 The place where the Jews met for wor- the Asian, Cilician, Alexandrian, Cyrenian, and 
ship was called Bet-ha-Cneset, as opposed that of Jewish freedmen from Italy. We think 
to the Bct-ha-Midrash, where lectures were the most natural view is to resolve the five 
given. The latter term is still said to be groups into three, and to suppose three syna- 
used in Poland and Germany for the place gogues, one Asiatic, one African, and one 
where Jewish lectures are given on the Law. European. An " Alexandrian synagogue,'-' 

5 Luke vii. 5. built by Alexandrian artisans who were em- 

6 The beautiful coins of Cyrene show how plbyed about the Temple, is mentioned in the 
•entirely it was a Greek city, and therefore im- Talmud. We have ventured below to use the 
•ply that its Jews were Hellenistic, like those phrase " Cilician Synagogue," which cannot 
Qf Alexandria. See above, p. 16, note. involve any serious inaccuracy. 



chap.ii. MODE OF TEACHING. 57 

and intellectual activity, if he spent the years of his youth hi that city " at 
the feet of Gamaliel." 

It has been contended, that when St. Paul said he was " brought up " 
in Jerusalem " at the feet of Gamaliel," he meant that he had lived at the 
Rabban's house, and eaten at his table. But the words evidently point to 
the customary posture of Jewish students at a school. There is a curious 
passage in the Talmud, where it is said, that " from the days of Moses to 
Rabban Gamaliel, they stood up to learn the law ; but when Rabban 
Gamaliel died, sickness came into the world, and they sat down to learn 
the Law." We need not stop to criticise this sentence, and it is not easy 
to reconcile it with other authorities on the same subject. " To sit at the 
feet of a teacher " was a proverbial expression ; as when Mary is said to 
have " sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word." x But the proverbial ex- 
pression must have arisen from a well-known custom. The teacher was 
seated on an elevated platform, or on the ground, and the pupils around 
him on low seats or on the floor. Maimonides says: — " How do the 
masters teach ? The doctor sits at the head, and the disciples surround 
him like a crown, that they may all see the doctor and hear his words. 
Nor is the doctor seated on a seat, and the disciples on the ground ; but 
all are on seats, or all on the floor." St. Ambrose says, in his Commen- 
tary on the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians (xiv.), that " it is the tradition 
of the synagogue that they sit while they dispute ; the elders in dignity on 
high chairs, those beneath them on low seats, and the last of all on mats 
upon the pavement." And again Philo says, that the children of the 
Essen'es sat at the feet of the masters, who interpreted the law, and ex- 
plained its figurative sense. And the same thing is expressed in that 
maxim of the Jews — "Place thyself in the dust at the feet of the wise." 

In this posture the Apostle of the Gentiles spent his schoolboy days, an 
eager and indefatigable student. " He that giveth his mind to the law of 
the Most High, and is occupied in the meditation thereof, will seek out the 
wisdom of all the ancient, and be occupied in prophecies. He will keep 
the sayings of the renowned men ; and where subtle parables are, he will 
he there also. He will seek out the secrets of grave sentences, and be con- 
versant in dark parables. He shall serve among great men, and appear 
among princes : he will travel through strange countries ; for lie hath 
tried the good and the evil among men." 2 Such was the pattern proposed 
to himself by an ardent follower of the Rabbis ; and we cannot wonder 
that Saul, with such a standard before him, and with so ardent a tempera- 
ment, " outran in Judaism many of his own age and nation, being more 
exceedingly zealous of the traditions of his Fathers." 3 Intellectually, his 

1 Luke x. 39 : see viii. 35. 2 Ecclus. xxxix. 1-4. 8 Gal. i. 14. 



58 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL, chap. n. 

mind was trained to logical acuteness, his memory became well stored 
with " hard sentences of old," and he acquired the facility of quick and 
apt quotation of Scripture. Morally, he was a strict observer of the re- 
quirements of the Law ; and, while he led a careful conscientious life, 
after the example of his ancestors, 1 he gradually imbibed the spirit of a 
fervent persecuting zeal. Among his fellow-students, who flocked to 
Jerusalem from Egypt and Babylonia, from the coasts of Greece and his 
native Cilicia, he was known and held in high estimation as a rising light 
in Israel. And if we may draw a natural inference from another sentence 
of the letter which has just been quoted, he was far from indifferent to 
the praise of men. 2 Students of the Law were called " the holy people ; " 
and we know one occasion when it was said, " This people who knoweth 
not the Law are cursed." 3 And we can imagine him saying to himself, 
with all the rising pride of a successful Pharisee, in the language of the 
Book of Wisdom : " I shall have estimation among the multitude, and 
honor with the elders, though I be young. I shall be found of a quick 
conceit in judgment, and shall be admired in the sight of great men. 
When I hold my tongue, they shall bide my leisure ; and when I speak, 
they shall give good ear unto me." 4 

While thus he was passing through the busy years of his student-life, 
nursing his religious enthusiasm and growing in self-righteousness, others 
were advancing towards their manhood, not far from Jerusalem, of whom 
then he knew nothing, but for whose cause he was destined to count that 
loss which now was his highest gain. 5 There was one at Hebron, the 
son of a priest " of the course of Abia," who was soon to make his voice 
heard throughout Israel as the preacher of. repentance ; there were boys by 
the Lake of Galilee, mending their fathers' nets, who were hereafter to be 
the teachers of the World ; and there was one, at Nazareth, for the sake 
of whose love, they, and Saul himself, and thousands of faithful hearts 
throughout all future ages, should unite in saying : — " He must increase, 
but I must decrease." It is possible that Gamaliel may have been one of 
those doctors with whom Jesus was found conversing in the Temple. It 
is probable that Saul may have been within the precincts of the Temple at 
some festival, when Mary and Joseph came up from Galilee. It is certain 
that the eyes of the Saviour and of His future disciple must often have 
rested on the same objects, — the same crowd of pilgrims and worshippers, 
— the same walls of the Holy City, — the same olives on the other side of 
the valley of Jehoshaphat. But at present they were strangers. The 
mysterious human life of Jesus was silently advancing towards its great 

1 2 Tim. i. 3. once I did) to please men, I should not be the 

2 Gal. i. 10. " Am I now seeking to con- servant of Christ." 8 John vii. 49. 
ciliate men? . . . Nay, if I still strove (as 4 Wisdom viii. 10-12. 5 See Phil. iii. 5-7. 



CHAP.n. STUDENT LIFE OF ST. PAUL. 59 

consummation. Saul was growing more and more familiar with the out- 
ward observances of the Law, and gaining that experience of the " spirit 
of bondage " which should enable him to understand himself, and to teach 
to others, the blessings of the " spirit of adoption." He was feeling the 
pressure of that yoke, which, in the words of St. Peter, " neither his fathers 
nor he were able to bear." He was learning (in proportion as his consci- 
entiousness increased) to tremble at the slightest deviation from the Law 
as jeopardizing salvation : " whence arose that tormenting scrupulosity 
which invented a number of limitations, in order (by such self-imposed 
restraint) to guard against every possible transgression of the Law." l 
The struggles of this period of his life he has himself described in the 
seventh chapter of Romans. Meanwhile, year after year passed away. 
John the Baptist appeared by the waters of the Jordan. The greatest 
event of the world's history was finished on Calvary. The sacrifice for 
sin was offered at a time when sin appeared to be the most triumphant. 
At the period of the Crucifixion, three of the principal persons who de- 
mand the historian's attention are — the Emperor Tiberius, spending his 
life of shameless lust on the island of Capreae, — his vile minister, Sejanus, 
revelling in cruelty at Rome, — and Pontius Pilate at Jerusalem, min- 
gling with the sacrifices the blood of the Galileans. 2 How refreshing is it 
to turn from these characters to such scenes as that where St John re- 
ceives his Lord's dying words from the cross, or where St. Thomas meets 
Him after the resurrection, to have his doubts turned into faith, or where 
'St. Stephen sheds the first blood of martyrdom, praying for his murderers ! 
This first martyrdom has the deepest interest for us ; since it is the first 
occasion when Saul comes before us in his early manhood. Where had 
he been during these years which we have rapidly passed over in a few 
lines, — the years in which the foundations of Christianity were laid? 
We cannot assume that he had remained continuously in Jerusalem. 
Many years had elapsed since he came, a boy, from his home at Tarsus. 
He must have attained the age of twenty-five or thirty years when our 
Lord's public ministry began. His education was completed; and we 
may conjecture, with much probability, that he returned to Tarsus. 
When he says, in the first letter to the Corinthians' (ix. 1), — " H«ve I not 
seen the Lord ? " and when he speaks in the second (v. 16) of having 
" known Christ after the flesh," he seems only to allude, in the first case, 
to his vision on the road to Damascus ; and, in the second, to his carnal 
opinions concerning the Messiah. It is hardly conceivable, that if he had 
been at Jerusalem during our Lord's public ministration there, he should 
never allude to the fact. 3 In this case, he would surely have been among 

1 Neander. 2 Luke xiii. 1. difficult to -write with confidence concerning 

8 In the absence of more information, it is this part of St. Paul's life. Benson thinks he 



60 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. csap. ii. 

the persecutors of Jesus, and have referred to this as the ground of his 
remorse, instead of expressing his repentance for his opposition merely to 
the Saviour's followers. 1 

If he returned to the banks of the Cydnus, he would find that many 
changes had taken place among his friends in the interval which had 
brought him from boyhood to manhood. But the only change in himself 
was that he brought back with him, to gratify the pride of his parents, if 
.they still were living, a mature knowledge of the Law, a stricter life, a 
more fervent zeal. And here, in the schools of Tarsus, he had abundant 
opportunity for becoming acquainted with that Greek literature, the taste 
for which he had caught from Gamaliel, and for studying the writings of 
Philo and the Hellenistic Jews. Supposing him to be thus employed, we 
will describe in a few words the first beginnings of the Apostolic Church, 
and the appearance presented by it to that Judaism in the midst of which 
it rose, and follow its short history to the point where the " young man, 
whose name was Saul," re-appears at Jerusalem, in connection with his 
friends of the Cilician Synagogue, " disputing with Stephen." 

Before our Saviour ascended into heaven, He said to His disciples : 

61 Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judsea, 
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." 2 And 
when Matthias had been chosen, and the promised blessing Jiad been re- 
ceived on the day of Pentecost, this order was strictly followed. First 
the Gospel was proclaimed in the City of Jerusalem, and the numbers 
of those who believed gradually rose from 120 to 5,000. 3 Until the 
disciples were " scattered," 4 " upon the persecution that arose about 
Stephen," 5 Jerusalem was the scene of all that took place in the 
Church of Christ. We read as yet of no communication of the truth to 
the Gentiles, nor to the Samaritans ; no hint even of any Apostolic 
preaching in the country parts of Juda3a. It providentially happened, 
indeed, that the first outburst of the new doctrine, with all its miraculous 
evidence, was witnessed by " Jews and proselytes " from all parts of the 
world. 6 They had come up to the Festival of Pentecost from the banks 
of the Tigris and Euphrates, of the Nile and of the Tiber, from the prov- 
inces of Asia Minor, from the desert of Arabia, and from the islands of 
the Greek Sea ; and when they returned to their homes, they carried 
with them news which prepared the way for the Glad Tidings about to 
issue from Mount Zion to " the uttermost parts of the earth." But as yet 

was a young student during our Lord's minis- 1 1 Cor. xv. 9 ; Acts xxii. 20. 

try, and places a considerable interval between 2 Acts i. 8. 

the Ascension of Christ and the persecution of 8 Acts i. 15 ; ii. 41 ; iv. 4. 

Stephen. Lardner thinks that the restraint and * Acts viii. 1. 

retirement of a student might have kept him in 5 Acts xi. 19. 

ignorance of what was going on in the world. 6 Acts ii. 9-11. 



chap.h. FIRST ASPECT OF THE CHURCH. 61 

the Gospel lingered on the Holy Hill. The first acts of the Apostles 
were " prayer and supplication " in the " upper room ; " breaking of 
bread " from' house to house ; " l miracles in the Temple; gatherings of 
the people in Solomon's cloister ; and the bearing of testimony in the 
council chamber of the Sanhedrin. 

One of the chief characteristics of the Apostolic Church was the 
bountiful charity of its members one towards another. Many of the 
Jews of Palestine, and therefore many of the earliest Christian converts, 
were extremely poor. The odium incurred by adopting the new doctrine 
might undermine the livelihood of some who depended on their trade for 
support, and this would make almsgiving necessary. But the Jews of 
Palestine were relatively poor, compared with those of the dispersion. 
AVe see this exemplified on later occasions, in the contributions which St. 
Paul more than once anxiously promoted. 2 And in the very first days 
of the Church, we find its wealthier members placing their entire posses- 
sions at the disposal of the Apostles. Not that there was any abolition 
of the rights of property, as the words of St. Peter to Ananias very well 
show. 3 But those who were rich gave up what God had given them, im 
the spirit of generous self-sacrifice, and according to the true principles 
of Christian communism, which regards property as intrusted to the 
possessor, not for himself, but for the good of the whole community, — to 
be distributed according to such methods as his charitable feeling and 
conscientious judgment may approve. The Apostolic Church was, in 
this respect, in a healthier condition than the Church, of modern days. 
But even then we find ungenerous and suspicious sentiments growing up 
in the midst of the general benevolence. That old jealousy between the 
'Aramaic and Hellenistic Jews re-appeared. Their party feeling was 
excited by some real or apparent unfairness in the distribution of the 
fund set apart for the poor. " A murmuring of the Grecians against the 
Hebrews," 4 or of the Hebrews against the Grecians, had been a com- 
mon occurrence for at least two centuries ; and, notwithstanding the 
power of the Divine Spirit, none will wonder that it broke out again 
even among those who had become obedient to the doctrine of Christ. 
That the widows' fund might be carefully distributed, seven almoners or 
deacons 5 were appointed, of whom the most eminent was St. Stephen, 
described as a man " full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost," and as one 

1 Or rather " at home," Acts ii. 46, — i.e. 3 Acts v. 4. 
in their meetings at the private houses of 4 Acts vi. 1. 

Christians, as opposed to the public devotions 5 The general question of the Diaconate in 

in the Temple. the primitive Church is considered in Chap. 

2 Acts xi. 29, 30 ; and again Rom. xv. 25, XIII. 
26, compared with Acts xxiv. 17; 1 Cor. xvi. 

1-4 ; 2 Cor. viii. 1-4. 



b'Z THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.h. 

who, " full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among 
the people." It will be observed that these seven men have Greek 
names, and that one was a proselyte from the Greco-Syrian city of 
Antioch. It was natural, from the peculiar character of the quarrel, 
that Hellenistic Jews should have been appointed to this office. And 
this circumstance must be looked on as divinely arranged. For the 
introduction of that party, which was most free from local and national 
prejudices, into the very ministry of the Church, must have had an 
important influence in preparing the way for the admission of the Gen- 
tiles. 

Looking back, from our point of view, upon the community at Jerusa- 
lem, we see in it the beginning of that great society, the Church, which 
has continued to our own time, distinct both from Jews and Heathens, 
and which will continue till it absorbs both the Heathen and the Jews. 
But to the contemporary Jews themselves it wore a very different appear- 
ance. From the Hebrew point of view, the disciples of Christ would be 
regarded as a Jewish sect or synagogue. The synagogues, as we have 
seen, were very numerous at Jerusalem. 1 There were already the Cilician 
Synagogue, the Alexandrian Synagogue, the Synagogue of the Liber- 
tines, 2 — and to these was now added (if we may use so bold an ex- 
pression) the Nazarene Synagogue, or the Synagogue of the Galileans. 
Not that any separate building was erected for the devotions of the Chris- 
tians ; for they met from house to house for prayer and the breaking of 
bread. But they were by no means separated from the nation : 3 they 
attended the festivals ; they worshipped in the Temple. They were a 
new and singular party in the nation, holding peculiar opinions, and 
interpreting the Scriptures in a peculiar way. This is the aspect under 
which the Church would first present itself to the Jews, and among 
others to Saul himself. Many different opinions were expressed in the 
synagogues concerning the nature and office of the Messiah. These 
Galileans would be distinguished as holding the strange opinion that 
the true Messiah was that notorious "malefactor," who had been crucified 
at the last Passover. All parties in the nation united to oppose, and if 
possible to crush, the monstrous heresy. * 

The first attempts to put down the new faith came from the Sadducees. 
The high priest and his immediate adherents 4 belonged to this party. 

1 See p. 56. The fulfilment of the ancient law was the as- 

2 See pp. 17, 43, 56. pect of Christianity to which the attention of 

3 "The worship of the Temple and the the Church was most directed." — Prof. Stan- 
synagogue still went side by side with the ley's Sermon on St. Peter, p. 92 ; see James ii. 
prayers, and the breaking of bread from house 2, where the word " synagogue " is applied to 
to house. . . . The Jewish family life was the Christian assemblies. 

highest expression of Christian unity. ... 4 Acts iv. 1, v. 17. 



chap.h. THE SANHEDRIM. 63 

They hated the doctrine of the resurrection ; and the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ was the corner-stone of all St. Peter's teaching. He and 
the other Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin, who in the first 
instance were content to enjoin silence on them. The order was dis- 
obeyed, and they were summoned again. The consequences might have 
been fatal : but that the jealousy between the Sadducees and Pharisees 
was overruled, and the instrumentality of one man's wisdom was used, 
by Almighty God, for the protection of His servants. Gamaliel, the 
eminent Pharisee, argued, that if this cause were not of God, it would 
come to nothing, like the work of other impostors ; but, if it were of 
God, they could not safely resist what must certainly prevail ; and the 
Apostles of Jesus Christ were scourged, and allowed to " depart from 
the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to 
suffer shame for His name." l But it was impossible that those Phari- 
sees, whom Christ had always rebuked, should long continue to be protect- 
ors of the Christians. On this occasion we find the teacher, Gamaliel, 
taking St. Peter's part : at the next persecution, Saul, the pupil, is 
actively concerned in the murder of St. Stephen. It was the same alter- 
nation of the two prevailing parties, first opposing each other, and then 
uniting to oppose the Gospel, of which Saul himself had such intimate 
experience when he became St. Paul. 2 

In many particulars St. Stephen was the forerunner of St. Paul. Up 
to this time the conflict had been chiefly maintained with the Aramaic 
Jews; but Stephen carried the war of the Gospel into the territory of the 
Hellenists. The learned members of the foreign synagogues endeavored 
to refute him by argument or by clamor. The Cilician Synagogue is 
particularly mentioned (Acts vi. 9, 10) as having furnished some con- 
spicuous opponents to Stephen, who " were not able to resist the wisdom 
and the spirit with which he spake." We cannot doubt, from what fol- 
lows, that Saul of Tarsus, already distinguished by his zeal and talents 
among the younger champions of Pharisaism, bore a leading part in the 
discussions which here took place. He was now, though still " a young 
man" (Acts vii. 58), yet no longer in the first opening of youth. This 
is evident from the fact that he was appointed to an important ecclesiasti- 
cal and political office immediately afterwards. Such an appointment he 
could hardly have received from the Sanhedrin before the age of thirty, 
and probably not so early ; for we must remember that a peculiar respect 
for seniority distinguished the Rabbinical authorities. We can imagine 
Saul, then, the foremost in the Cilician Synagogue, "disputing" against 
the new doctrines of the Hellenistic Deacon, in all the energy of vigorous 

1 Acts v. 41. 2 See Acts xxiii. 6, 9, 14, 20. 



64 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.h, 

manhood, and with all the vehement logic of the Rabbis. How often 
must these scenes have been recalled to his mind, when he himself took 
the place of Stephen in many a Synagogue, and bore the brunt of the 
like furious assault ; surrounded by " Jews filled with envy, who spake 
against those things which were spoker. by Paul, contradicting and 
blaspheming." 1 But this clamor and these arguments were not sufficient 
to convince or intimidate St. Stephen. False witnesses were then sub- 
orned to accuse him of blasphemy against Moses and against God, — who 
asserted, when he was dragged be^o-e the Sanhedrin, that they had heard 
him say that Jesus of Nazareth should destroy the Temple, and change the 
Mosaic customs. It is evident, from the nature of this accusation, how 
remarkably his doctrine was an anticipation of St. Paul's. As a Helle- 
nistic Jew, he was less entangled in the prejudices of Hebrew nationality 
than his Aramaic brethren ; and he seems to have had a fuller understand- 
ing of the final intention of the Gospel than St. Peter and the Apostles had 
yet attained to. Not doubting the divinity of the Mosaic economy, and 
not faithless to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he yet saw that 
the time was coming, yea, then was, when the "true worshippers " should 
worship Him, not in the Temple only or in any one sacred spot, but 
everywhere throughout the earth, "in spirit and in truth: " and for this 
doctrine he was doomed to die. 

When we speak of the Sanhedrin, we are brought into contact with an 
important controversy. It is much disputed whether it had at this period 
the power of inflicting death. 2 On the one hand, we apparently find the 
existence of this power denied by the Jews themselves at the trial of our 
Lord; 3 and, on the other, we apparently find it assumed and acted on in 
the case of St. Stephen. The Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, like the Areopa- 
gus at Athens, was the highest and most awful court of judicature, es- 
pecially in matters that pertained to religion ; but, like that Athenian 
tribunal, its real power gradually shrunk, though the reverence attached 
to its decisions remained. It probably assumed its systematic form under 
the second Hyrcanus ; 4 and it became a fixed institution in the Common- 
wealth under his sons, who would be glad to have their authority nomi- 
nally limited, but really supported, by such a council. 5 Under the Herods, 

1 Acts xiii. 45. Sanhedrin, at this period of political change 

2 Most of the modern German critics are of and confusion, on this, as well as on other 
opinion that they had not at this time the points, was altogether undefined. — History of 
power of life and death. A very careful and Christianity, vol. i. p. 340. Compare the nar- 
elaborate argument for the opposite view will rativeof the death of St. James. Joseph. Ant. 
be found in Biscoe's History of the Acts con- xx. 9. 

firmed, ch. vi. Dean Milman says that in his 3 John xviii. 31, xix. 6. 

" opinion, formed upon the study of the con- 4 See p. 24. 

temporary Jewish history, the power of the 5 The word from which " Sanhedrin " is 



chap.ii. THE TRIAL OF ST. STEPHEN". 65 

>and under the Romans, its jurisdiction was curtailed; 1 and we are in- 
formed, on Talmudical authority, that, forty years before the destruction 
of Jerusalem, it was formally deprived of the power of inflicting death. 
If this is true, we must consider the proceedings at the death of St. 
Stephen as tumultuous and irregular. And nothing is more probable 
than that Pontius Pilate (if indeed he was not absent at that time) would 
willingly connive, in the spirit of Gallio at Corinth, at an act of unauthor- 
ized cruelty in " a question of words and names and of the Jewish law," 2 
and that the Jews would willingly assume as much power as they dared, 
when the honor of Moses and the Temple was in jeopardy. 

The council assembled in solemn and formal state to try the blas- 
phemer. There was great and general excitement in Jerusalem. "The 
people, the scribes, and the elders " had been " stirred up " by the mem- 
bers of the Hellenistic Synagogues. 3 It is evident, from that vivid ex- 
pression which is quoted from the accusers' mouths, — " this place"- — 
this holy place" — that the meeting of the Sanhedrin took place in the 
close neighborhood of the Temple. Their ancient and solemn room of 
assembly was the hall Gazith, 4 or the " Stone-Chamber," partly within the 
Temple Court and partly without it. The president sat in the less sacred 
portion, and around him, in a semicircle, were the rest of the seventy 
judges. 5 

Before these judges Stephen was made to stand, confronted by his 
accusers. The eyes of all were fixed upon his countenance, which grew 
bright, as they gazed on it, with a supernatural radiance and serenity. \i\ 
the beautiful Jewish expression of the Scripture, " They saw his face as 
it had been that of an angel." The judges, when they saw his glorified 
countenance, might have remembered the shining on the face of Moses, 6 
and trembled lest Stephen's voice should be about to speak the will of 
Jehovah, like that of the great lawgiver. Instead of being occupied with 
the faded glories of the Second Temple, they might have recognized 
in the spectacle before them the Shechinah of the Christian soul, which 

derived being Greek, makes it probable tbat its 5 Selden describes the form in which the 

systematic organization dates from the Greco- Sanhedrin sat, and gives a diagram with the 

Macedonian (i.e. the Maccabasan) period. "President of the Council" in the middle, 

1 We see the beginning of this in the first the " Father of the Council " by his side, and 
passage where the council is mentioned by Jo- " Scribes " at the extremities of the semi- 
sephus, Antiq. xiv. 9. circle. 

2 Acts xviii. 15. 6 Exodus xxxiv. 29-35 ; see 2 Cor. iii. 7, 

3 Acts vi. 12. 13. Chrysostom imagines that the angelic 

4 It appears that the Talmudical authorities brightness on Stephen's face might be intended 
differ as to whether it was on the south or to alarm the judges ; for, as he says, it is pos- 
north side of the Temple. But they agree sible for a countenance full of spiritual grace 
in placing it to the east of the Most Holy to be awful and terrible to- those who are full 
Place. of hate. 

5 



66 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.h. 

is the living Sanctuary of God. But the trial proceeded. The judicial 
question, to which the accused was required to plead, was put by the 
president: "Are these things so?" And then Stephen answered; and 
his clear voice was heard in the silent council-hall, as he went through 
the history of the chosen people, proving his own deep faith in the 
sacredness of the Jewish economy, but suggesting, here and there, that 
spiritual interpretation of it which had always been the true one, and 
the truth of which was now to be made manifest to all. He began, with 
a wise discretion, from the call of Abraham, and travelled historically in 
his argument through all the great stages of their national existence, — 
from Abraham to Joseph, — from Joseph to Moses, — from Moses to 
David and Solomon. And as he went on he selected and glanced at 
those points which made for his own cause. He showed that God's bless- 
ing rested on the faith of Abraham, though he had " not so much as to 
set his foot on" in the land of promise (v. 5), on the piety of Joseph, 
though he was an exile in Egypt (v. 9), and on the holiness of the Burn- 
ing Bush, though in the desert of Sinai (v. 80). He dwelt in detail on 
the Lawgiver, in such a way as to show his own unquestionable ortho- 
doxy ; but he quoted the promise concerning " the prophet like unto 
Moses" (v. 37), and reminded his hearers that the Law, in which they 
trusted, had not kept their forefathers from idolatry (v. 39, &c). And 
so he passed on to the Temple, which had so prominent a reference to 
the charge against him: and while he spoke of it, he alluded to the 
words of Solomon himself, 1 and of the prophet Isaiah, 2 who denied 
that any temple " made with hands " could be the place of God's 
highest worship. And thus far they listened to him. It was the story 
of the chosen people, to which every Jew listened with interest and 
pride. 

It is remarkable, as we have said before, how completely St. Stephen is 
the forerunner of St. Paul, both in the form and the matter of this defence. 
His securing the attention of the Jews by adopting the historical method, 
is exactly what the Apostle did in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. 3 
His assertion of his attachment to the true principles of the Mosaic re- 
ligion is exactly what was said to Agrippa : " I continue unto this day, 
witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those 
which the prophets and Moses did say should come." 4 It is deeply inter- 
esting to think of Saul as listening to the martyr's voice, as he anticipated 
those very arguments which he. himself was destined to reiterate in syna- 
gogues and before kings. There is no reason to doubt that he was pres- 

1 1 Kings viii. 27 ; 2 Chron. ii. 6, vi. 18. 8 Acts xiii. 16-22. 

2 Is. lxvi. 1.2. * Acts xxvi. 22. 



chap. n. MARTYRDOM OF ST. STEPHEN. 67 

ent, 1 although he may not have been qualified to vote 3 in the Sanhedrin. 
And it is evident, from the thoughts which occurred to him in his subse- 
quent vision' within the precincts of the Temple, 3 how deep an impression 
St. Stephen's death had left on his memory. And there are even verbal 
coincidences which may be traced between this address and St. Paul's 
speeches or writings. The words used by Stephen of the Temple call to 
mind those which were used at Athens. 4 When he speaks of the Law 
as received " by the disposition of angels," he anticipates a phrase in the 
Epistle to the Galatians (hi. 19). His exclamation at the end, "Ye 
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart . . . who have received the law 
. . . and have not kept it," is only an indignant condensation of the 
argument in the Epistle to the Romans : " Behold, thou callest thyself 
a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast in God, and knowest 
His will. . . . Thou, therefore, that makest thy boast of the law, through 
breaking the law dishonorest thou God ? . . . He is not a Jew which is 
one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the 
flesh : but he is a Jew which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is thai of 
the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of man, 
but of God." (ii. 17-29.) 

The rebuke which Stephen, full of the Divine Spirit, suddenly broke 
away from the course of his narrative to pronounce, was the signal for 
a general outburst of furious rage on the part of his judges. 5 They 
" gnashed on him with their teeth " in the same spirit in which they had 
said, not long before, to the blind man who was healed — "Thou wast 
altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us ? " 6 But, in contrast with 
the malignant hatred which had blinded their eyes, Stephen's serene faith 
was supernaturally exalted into a direct vision of the blessedness of the 

1 Mr. Humphry, in his accurate and useful were supposed more likely to lean towards 
Commentary on the Acts, remarks, that it is not mercy. If this was the rule when Stephen 
improbable we owe to him the defence of St. was tried, and if Saul was one of the judges, 
Stephen as given in the Acts. Besides the re- he must have been married at the time. See 
semblances mentioned in the text, he points p. 75, n. 3. 

ya% the similarity between Acts vii. 44, and 3 He said in his trance, " Lord, they know 

Beb. viii. 5, between Acts vii. 5-8, and Rom. that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue 

iv. 10-19, and between Acts vii. 60, and 2 them that believed on thee; and when the 

Tim. iv. 16. And if the Epistle to the He- blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also 

brews was written by St. Paul, may we not was standing by, and consenting unto his 

mppose that this scene was present to his mind death, and kept the raiment of them that slew 

when he wrote, "Jesus suffered without the him." Acts xxii. 19, 20. 
gate : let us go forth therefore unto Him with- * Acts xvii. 24. 

out the camp, bearing His reproach " 1 (xiii. 12, 5 It is evident that the speech was interrupt- 

13.) ed. "We may infer what the conclusion would 

2 One of the necessary qualifications of have been from the analogy of St. Paul's 
members of the Sanhedrin was, that they speech at Antioch in Pisidia, Acts xiii. 
should be the fathers of children, because such 6 John ix. 34. 



68 THE LLFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

Redeemed. He, whose face had been like that of an angel on earth, was 
made like one of those angels themselves, " who do always behold the face 
of our Father which is in Heaven." 1 " He being full of the Holy Ghost, 
looked up steadfastly into Heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus 
standing on the right hand of God." The scene before his eyes was no 
longer the council-hall at Jerusalem and the circle of his infuriated 
judges; but he gazed up into the endless courts of the celestial Jerusa- 
lem, with its " innumerable company of angels," and saw Jesus, in whose 
righteous cause he was about to die. In other places, where our Saviour 
is spoken of in His glorified state, He is said to be, not standing, but 
seated, at the right hand of the Father. 2 Here alone He is said to be 
standing. It is as if (according to Chrysostom's beautiful thought) He 
had risen from His throne, to succor His persecuted servant, and to 
receive him to Himself. And when Stephen saw his Lord — perhaps 
with the memories of what he had seen on earth crowding into his mind, 
— he suddenly exclaimed, in the ecstasy of his vision : "Behold! I see 
the Heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of 
God!" 

This was too much for the Jews to bear. The blasphemy of Jesus had 
been repeated. The follower of Jesus was hurried to destruction. "They 
cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him 
with one accord." It is evident that it was a savage and disorderly con- 
demnation. 3 They dragged him out of the council-hall, and, making a 
sudden rush and tumult through the streets, hurried him to one of the 
gates of the city, — and somewhere about the rocky edges of the ravine 
of Jehoshaphat, where the Mount of Olives looks down upon Gethsemane 
and Siloam, or on the open ground to the north, which travellers cross 
when they go towards Samaria or Damascus, — with stones that lay with- 
out the walls of the Holy City, this heavenly-minded martyr was mur- 
dered. The exact place of his death is not known. There are two tra- 
ditions, 4 — an ancient one, which places it on the north, beyond the 
Damascus gate ; and a modern one, which leads travellers through what 
is now called the gate of St. Stephen, to a spot near the brook Kedron, 
over against the garden of Gethsemane. But those who look upon 

1 Matt, xviii. 10. on the North, can be traced from an early 

? As in Eph. i. 20 ; Col. iii. 1 ; Heb. i. 3, period to the fifteenth century ; and that the 

viii. 1, x. 12, xii. 2; compare Rom. viii. 34, modern tradition, which places both the gate 

and 1 Pet. iii. 22. and the martyrdom on the East, can be 

3 As to whether it was a judicial sentence traced back to the same century. It is prob- 
at all, see above, p. 64, n. 2. able that the popular opinion regarding these 

4 It is well known that the tradition which sacred sites was suddenly changed by some 
identifies St. Stephen's gate with the Damas- monks from interested motives. 

cus gate, and places the scene of martyrdom 



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chap. n. PRAYER OF ST. STEPHEN. 69 

Jerusalem from an elevated point on the north-east, have both these 
positions in view; and any one who stood there on that day might have 
seen the crowd rush forth from the gate, and the witnesses (who accord- 
ing to the law were required to throw the first stones 1 ) cast off their outer 
garments, and lay them down at the feet of Saul. 

The contrast is striking between the indignant zeal which the martyr 2 
had just expressed against the sin of his judges, and the forgiving love 
which he showed to themselves, when they became his murderers. He 
first uttered a prayer for himself in the words of Jesus Christ, which 
he knew were spoken from the cross, and which he may himself have 
heard from those holy lips. And then, deliberately kneeling down, in 
that posture of humility in which the body most naturally expresses the 
supplication of the mind, and which has been consecrated as the attitude 
of Christian devotion by Stephen and by Paul himself, 3 — he gave the 
last few moments of his consciousness to a prayer for the forgiveness of 
his enemies ; and the words were scarcely spoken when death seized upon 
him, or rather, in the words of Scripture, " he fell asleep." 

" And Saul was consenting 4 to his death. " A Spanish painter, 5 in a 
picture of Stephen conducted to the place of execution, has represented 
Saul as walking by the martyr's side with melancholy calmness. He con- 
sents to his death from a sincere, though mistaken, conviction of duty ; 
and the expression of his countenance is strongly contrasted with the 
rage of the baffled Jewish doctors and the ferocity of the crowd who flock 
to the scene of bloodshed. Literally considered, such a representation is 
scarcely consistent either with Saul's conduct immediately afterwards, or 
with his own expressions concerning himself at the later periods of his 
life. 6 But the picture, though historically incorrect, is poetically true. 
The painter has worked according to the true idea of his art in throwing 
upon the persecutor's countenance the shadow of his coming repentance. 



1 See Deut. xvii. 5-7. The stoning was above (p. 67) that this scene made a deep 
always outside the city, Levit. xxiv. 14; 1 impression on St. Paul's mind ; but the power 
Kings xxi. 10, 13. of the impression was unfelt or resisted till 

2 The Christian use of the word martyr after his conversion. 

begins with St. Stephen. See Mr. Hum- 5 Vicente Joannes, the founder of the Va- 

phry's note on Acts xxii. 20. See also what lencian school, one of the most austere of the 

he says on the Christian use of the word ceme- grave and serious painters of Spain. The pie- 

tery, in allusion to Acts vii. 60. ture is one of a series on St. Stephen ; it was 

3 At Miletus (Acts xx. 36) and at Tyre once in the church of St. Stephen at Valen- 
(Acts xxii. 5). See Acts ix. 40. cia, and is now in the Royal Gallery at Madrid. 

4 The word in Acts viii. 1 expresses far See Stirling's Annals of the Artists of Spain, 
more than mere passive consent. St. Paul i. 363. 

himself uses the same expression (Ibid. xxii. 6 See Acts xxii. 4, xxvi. 10 ; Phil. iii. 6 ; 

20) when referring to the occurrence. Com- 1 Tim. i. 13. 
pare ix. 1, and xxvi. 11. We have said 



70 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

We cannot dissociate the martyrdom of Stephen from the conversion of 
Paul. The spectacle of so much constancy, so much faith, so much love, 
could not be lost. It is hardly too much to say with Augustine, that 
" the Church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen." 

SI STEPHANUS NON ORASSET 
ECCLESIA PAULUM NON HABERET. 



CHAPTER III. 



Funeral of St. Stephen. — Saul's continued Persecution. — Flight of the Christians.— Philip 
and the Samaritans. — Saul's Journey to Damascus. — Aretas, King of Petra. — Roads 
from Jerusalem to Damascus. — Neapolis. — History and Description of Damascus. — The 
Narratives of the Miracle. — It was a real Vision of Jesus Christ. — Three Days in Damas- 
cus. — Ananias. — Baptism and first Preaching of Saul. — He retires into Arabia. — Mean- 
ing of the Term Arabia. — Petra and the Desert. — Motives to Conversion. — Conspiracy at 
Damascus. — Escape to Jerusalem. — Barnabas. — Fortnight with St. Peter. — Conspiracy. 
— Vision in the Temple. — Saul withdraws to Syria and Cilicia. 

THE death of St. Stephen is a bright passage in the earliest history 
of the Church. Where, in the annals of the world, can we find so 
perfect an image of a pure and blessed saint as that which is drawn in 
the concluding verses of the seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles? 
And the brightness which invests the scene of the martyr's last moments 
is the more impressive from its contrast with all that has preceded it since 
the Crucifixion of Christ. The first Apostle who died was a traitor. The 
first disciples of the Christian Apostles whose deaths are recorded were 
liars and hypocrites. The kingdom of the Son of Man was founded in 
darkness and gloom. But a heavenly light re-appeared with the martyr- 
dom of St. Stephen. The revelation of such a character at the moment 
of death was the strongest of all evidences, and the highest of all encour- 
agements. Nothing could more confidently assert the Divine power of 
the new religion ; nothing could prophesy more surely the certainty of its 
final victory. 

To us who have the experience of many centuries of Christian history, 
and who can look back, through a long series of martyrdoms, to this, 
which was the beginning and example of the rest, these thoughts are 
easy and obvious ; but to the friends and associates of the murdered 
Saint, such feelings of cheerful and confident assurance were perhaps 
more difficult. Though Christ was indeed risen from the dead, His dis- 
ciples could hardly yet be able to realize the full triumph of the Cross 
over death. Even many years afterwards, Paul the Apostle wrote to the 
Thessalonians, concerning those who had "fallen asleep" 1 more peace- 
ably than Stephen, that they ought not to sorrow for them as those 
without hope ; and now, at the very beginning of the Gospel, the grief, 

* 1 Thess. iv. 13. See Acts vii. 60. 

71 






72 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. m. 

of the Christians must have been great indeed, when the corpse of their 
champion and their brother lay at the feet of Saul the murderer. Yet, 
amidst the consternation of some and the fury of others, friends of the 
martyr were found, 1 who gave him all the melancholy honors of a Jewish 
funeral, and carefully buried him, as Joseph buried his father, " with 
great and sore lamentation." 2 

After the death and burial of Stephen the persecution still raged in 
Jerusalem. . That temporary protection which had been extended to the 
rising sect by such men as Gamaliel was now at an end. Pharisees and 
Sadducees — priests and people — alike indulged the most violent and 
ungovernable fury. It does not seem that any check was laid upon 
them by the Roman authorities. , Either the procurator was absent 
from the city, or he was willing to connive at what seemed to him an 
ordinary religious quarrel. 

The eminent and active agent in this persecution was Saul. There 
are strong grounds for believing that, if he was not a member of the 
Sanhedrin at the time of St. Stephen's death, he was elected into that 
powerful senate soon after ; possibly as a reward for the zeal he had 
shown against the heretic. He himself says that in Jerusalem he not 
only exercised the power of imprisonment by commission from the High 
Priests, but also, when the Christians were put to death, gave his vote 
against them. 3 From this expression it is natural to infer that he was a 
member of that supreme court of judicature. However this might be, 
his zeal in conducting the persecution was unbounded. We cannot help 
observing how frequently strong expressions concerning his share in the 
injustice and cruelty now perpetrated are multiplied in the Scriptures. 
In St. Luke's narrative, in St. Paul's own speeches, in his earlier and 
later epistles, the subject recurs again and again. He " made havoc of 
the Church," invading the sanctuaries of domestic life, " entering into 
every house : " 4 and those whom he thus tore from their homes he 
" committed to prison ; " or, in his own words at a later period, when 

1 Acts viii. 2. Probably they were Helle- it is probable that his wife and children did 
nistic Jews impressed in favor of Christian- not long survive ; for otherwise, some notice 
ity. It seems hardly likely that they were of them would have occurred in the subsequent 
avowed Christians. There is nothing in the narrative, or some allusion to them in the 
expression itself to determine the point. Epistles. And we know that, if ever he had 

2 See Gen. 1. 10. a wife, she was not living when he wrote his 

3 The word "voice" in the Auth. Vers. first letter to the Corinthians. (1 Cor. vii.) 
should be " vote." Acts xxvi. 10. If this It was customary among the Jews to marry at 
inference is well founded, and if the qualifica- a very early age. Baron Bunsen has expressed 
tion for a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned his belief in the tradition that St. Paul was a 
in the last chapter (p. 67, n. 2), was a necessa- widower. Hippol. ii. 344. 

ry qualification, Saul must have been a mar- * Acts viii. 3. See ix. 2. 

ried man, and the father of a family. If so, 



CHAP.m. SAUL'S CONTINUED PERSECUTION. 73 

he had recognized as God's people those whom he now imagined to he 
His enemies, " thinking that he ought to do many things contrary to the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth ... in Jerusalem ... he shut up many 
of the saints in prison." * And not only did men thus suffer at his 
hands, but women also, — a fact three times repeated as a great aggrava- 
tion of his cruelty. 2 These persecuted people were scourged — " often " 
scourged — "in many synagogues." 3 Nor was Stephen the only one 
who suffered death, as we may infer from the Apostle's own confession. 4 
And, what was worse than scourging or than death itself, he used every 
effort to make them " blaspheme " that Holy Name whereby they were 
called. 5 His fame as an inquisitor was notorious far and wide. Even at 
Damascus Ananias had heard 6 " howcnuch evil he had done to Christ's 
saints at Jerusalem." He was known there 7 as "he that destroyed 
them which call on this Name in Jerusalem." It was not without 
reason that, in the deep repentance of his later years, he remembered 
how he had "persecuted the Church of God and wasted it," 8 — how 
he had been " a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious; " 9 — and that 
he felt he was " not meet to be called an Apostle," because he had " per- 
secuted the Church of God." 10 

From such cruelty, and such efforts to make them deny that Name 
which they honored above all names, the disciples naturally fled. In 
consequence of " the persecution against the Church at Jerusalem, they 
were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria." 
The Apostles only remained. 11 But this dispersion led to great results. 
The moment of lowest depression was the very time of the Church's first 
missionary triumph. " They that were scattered abroad went everywhere 
preaching the Word." 12 First the Samaritans, and then the Gentiles, 
received that Gospel, which the Jews attempted to destroy. Thus did 
the providence of God begin to accomplish, by unconscious instruments, 
the prophecy and command which had been given : — "Ye shall be 
witnesses upon Me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, 
and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 13 

1 Acts xxvi. 9, 10. See xxii. 3. the attempt was made; so in Gal. i. 23, alluded 

2 Acts viii. 3, ix. 2, xxii. 4. to at the end of this chapter. 

3 Acts xxvi. 10. 6 Acts ix. 13. 

4 " I persecuted this way unto the death, 7 Acts ix. 21. 

binding and delivering into prisons both men 8 Gal. i. 13; see also Phil. iii. 6. 

and women " (xxii. 4) ; " and when they were 9 1 Tim. i. 13. 

put to death, I gave my vote against them " 10 1 Cor. xv. 9. It should be observed that 

(xxvi. 10). in all these passages from the Epistles the same 

5 (Acts xxvi. 11.) It is not said that he word for " persecution " is used, 
succeeded in causing any to blaspheme. It n Acts viii. 1. 

may be necessary to explain to some readers 12 Acts viii. 4. See xi. 19-21. 

that the Greek imperfect merely denotes that 18 Acts i. 8. 



74 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.hl 

The Jew looked upon the Samaritan as he looked upon the Gentile. 
His hostility to the Samaritan was probably the greater, in propor- 
tion as he was nearer. In conformity with the economy which was 
observed before the resurrection, Jesus Christ had said to His disciples, 
" Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans 
enter ye not : but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." l 
Yet did the Saviour give anticipative hints of His favor to Gentiles and 
Samaritans, in His mercy to the Syrophoenician woman, and His interview 
with the woman at the well of Sychar. And now the time was come for 
both the " middle walls of partition " to be destroyed. The dispersion 
brought Philip, the companion of Stephen, the second of the seven, to a 
city of Samaria. 2 He came with .the power of miracles and with the 
message of salvation. The Samaritans were convinced by what they saw ; 
they listened to what he said ; " and there was great joy in that city." 
When the news came to Jerusalem, Peter and John were sent by the 
Apostles, and the same miraculous testimony attended their presence, 
which had been given on the day of Pentecost. The Divine Power in 
Peter rebuked the powers of evil, which were working 3 among the Samar- 
itans in the person of Simon Magus, as Paul afterwards, on his first 
preaching to the Gentiles, rebuked in Cyprus Elymas the Sorcerer. The 
two Apostles returned to Jerusalem, preaching as they went " in many 
villages of the Samaritans " the Gospel which had been welcomed in the 
city. 

Once more we are permitted to see Philip on his labor of love. We 
obtain a glimpse of him on the road which leads down by Gaza 4 to Egypt. 
The chamberlain of Queen Can dace 5 is passing southwards on his return 
from Jerusalem, and reading in his chariot the prophecies of Isaiah. 
^Ethiopia is " stretching out her hands unto God," 6 and the suppliant is 
not unheard. A teacher is provided at the moment of anxious inquiry. 
The stranger goes " on his way rejoicing ; " a proselyte who had found 
the Messiah ; a Christian baptized " with water and the Holy Ghost." 
The Evangelist, having finished the work for which he had been sent, is 

1 Matt. x. 5, 6. (Ant. xx. 7, 2), as connected with Felix and 

2 (Acts viii. 5.) This was probably the Drusilla. See Acts xxiv. 24. 

ancient capital, at that time called " Sebaste." 4 For Gaza and the phrase " which is des- 

The city of Sychar (John iv. 5) had also re- ert " we may refer to the article in Smith's 

ceived a Greek name. It was then " Neapo- Diet, of the Bible. 

lis," and is still " Nablous." 6 Candace is the name, not of an individual, 

8 The original word shows that Simon was but of a dynasty, like Aretas in Arabia, or like 

in Samaria before Philip came, as Elymas Pbaraoh and Ptolemy. By Ethiopia is meant 

was with Sergius Paulus before the arrival of Meroe on the Upper Nile. Queens of Meroe 

St. Paul. Compare viii. 9-24 with xiii. 6-12. with the title of Candace are mentioned by 

There is good reason for believing that Simon Greek and Roman writers. Probably this 

Magus is the person mentioned by Josephus chamberlain was a Jew. 6 Ps. lxviii. 31. 



CHAP.ra. AEETAS, KING OF PETRA. 75 

called elsewhere by the Spirit of God. He proceeds to Cassarea, and we 
hear of him no more, till, after the lapse of more than twenty years, he 
received under his roof in that city one who, like himself, had travelled in 
obedience to the Divine command " preaching in all the cities." * 

Our attention is now called to that other traveller. We turn from the 
" desert road " on the south of Palestine to the desert road on the north ; 
from the border of Arabia near Gaza, to its border near Damascus. 
" From Dan to Beersheba " the Gospel is rapidly spreading. The dispersion 
of the Christians had not been confined to Judaea and Samaria. " On the 
persecution that arose about Stephen " they had " travelled as far as Phoe- 
nicia and Syria." 2 " Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter 
against the disciples of the Lord," 3 determined to follow them. " Being 
exceedingly mad against them, he persecuted them even to strange cities." 4 
He went of his own accord to the high priest, and desired of him let- 
ters to the synagogues in Damascus, where he had reason to believe that 
Christians were to be found. And armed with this " authority and com- 
mission," 5 intending " if he found any of this way, whether they were men 
or women," 6 to " bring them bound unto Jerusalem to be punished," 7 he 
journeyed to Damascus. 

The great Sanhedrin claimed over the Jews in foreign cities the same 
power, in religious questions, which they exercised at Jerusalem. The 
Jews in Damascus were very numerous ; and there were peculiar circum- 
stances in the political condition of Damascus at this time, which may have 
given facilities to conspiracies or deeds of violence conducted by the Jews. 
There was war between Aretas, who reigned at Petra, the desert-metropolis 
of Stony Arabia, 8 and Herod Antipas, his son-in-law, the Tetrarch of 

1 " But Philip was found at Azotus ; and, great mercantile city at Petra, and were ruled 
passing through, he preached in all the cities, by a line of kings, who bore the title of " Ai-e- 
till he came to Caesarea." (Acts viii. 40.) tas." The Aretas dynasty ceased in the 
" And the next day we that were of Paul's second century, when Arabia Petrasa became 
company departed, and came to Csesarea ; and a Roman province under Trajan. In the 
we entered into the house of Philip the Evan- Roman period, a great road united Ailah 
gelist, which was one of the seven, and abode on the Red Sea with Petra, and thence di 
with him." (Ibid. xxi. 8.) verged to the left towards Jerusalem and tho 

2 Acts xi. 19. 3 Acts ix. 1. ports of the Mediterranean; and to the right 
4 Acts xxvi. 11. 5 Acts xxvi. 12. towards Damascus, in a direction not very 

6 Acts ix. 2. different from that of the modern caravan-road 

7 Acts xxii. 5. from Damascus to Mecca. This state of things 

8 In this mountainous district of Arabia, did not last very long. The Arabs of this 
which had been the scene of the wander- district fell back into their old nomadic state, 
ings of the Israelites, and which contained the Petra was long undiscovered. Burckhardt 
graves both of Moses and Aaron, the Naba> was the first to see it, and Laborde the first to 
thsean Arabs after the time of the Babylonian visit it. Now it is well known to Oricnta. 
captivity (or, possibly, the Edomites before travellers. Its Rock-theatre and other remains 
them. See Robinson, Bib. Res. vol. ii. pp. still exist, to show its ancient character of a 
557, 573) grew into a civilized nation, built a city of the Roman Empire. 



76 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chaf.ji. 

Galilee. A misunderstanding concerning the boundaries of the two 
principalities had been aggravated into an inveterate quarrel by Herod's 
unfaithfulness to the daughter of the Arabian king, and his shameful 
attachment to " his brother Philip's wife." The Jews generally sym- 
pathized with the cause of Aretas, rejoiced when Herod's army was 
cut off, and declared that this disaster was a judgment for the murder of 
John the Baptist. Herod wrote to Rome and obtained an order for assist- 
ance from Vitellius, the Governor of Syria. But when Vitellius was on 
his march through Judaea, from Antioch towards Petra, he suddenly heard 
of the death of Tiberius (a.d. 37) ; and the Roman army was withdrawn, 
before the war was brought to a conclusion. It is evident that the relations 
of the neighboring powers must have been for some years in a very un- 
settled condition along the frontiers of Arabia, Judaea, and Syria ; and the 
falling of a rich border-town like Damascus from the hands of the Romans 
into those of Aretas would be a natural occurrence of the war. If it 
could be proved that the city was placed in the power of the Arabian 
Ethnarch 1 under these particular circumstances, and at the time of St. 
Paul's journey, good reason would be assigned for believing it probable 
that the ends for which he went were assisted by the political relations of 
Damascus. And it would indeed be a singular coincidence, if his zeal in 
persecuting the Christians were promoted by the sympathy of the Jews 
for the fate of John the Baptist. 

But there are grave objections to tliis view of the occupation of Damas- 
cus by Aretas. Such a liberty taken by a petty chieftain with the Roman 
power would have been an act of great audacity ; and it is difficult to 
believe that Vitellius would have closed the campaign, if such a city were 
in the hands of an enemy. It is more likely that Caligula, — who in 
many ways contradicted the policy of his predecessor, — who banished 
Herod Antipas and patronized Herod Agrippa, — assigned the city of 
Damascus as a free gift to Aretas. 2 This supposition, as well as the 
former, will perfectly explain the remarkable passage in St. Paul's letter, 
where he distinctly says that it was garrisoned by the Ethnarch of Aretas, 
at the time of his escape. Many such changes of territorial occupation 
took place under the Emperors, 3 which would have been lost to history, 

1 2 Cor. xi. 32. On the title "Ethnarch" corded. The strength of Wieseler's argument 
Bee note at the end of this Chapter. consists in this, that his different lines of rea- 

2 This is argued with great force hy Wiese- soning converge to the same result. 

ler, who, so far as we know, is the first to sug- 3 See, for instance, what is said by Josephus 

gest this explanation. His argument is not (Ant. xviii. 5, 4), of various arrangements in 

quite conclusive ; because it is seldom easy to the East at this very crisis. Similar changes 

give a confident opinion on the details of a in Asia Minor have been alluded to before, 

campaign, unless its history is minutely re- Ch. I. p. 21. 



chap. in. JOUENEY FKOM JERUSALEM TO DAMASCUS. 77 

were it not for the information derived from a coin, 1 an inscription, or 
the incidental remark of a writer who had different ends in view. Any 
attempt to make this escape from Damascus a fixed point of absolute 
chronology will be unsuccessful ; but, from what has been said, it may 
fairly be collected, that Saul's journey from Jerusalem to Damascus took 
place not far from that year which saw the death of Tiberius and the 
accession of Caligula. 

No journey was ever taken, on which so much interest is concentrated, 
as this of St. Paul from Jerusalem to Damascus. It is so critical a pas- 
sage in the history of God's dealings with man, and we feel it to be so 
closely bound up with all our best knowledge and best happiness in this 
life, and with all our hopes for the world to come, that the mind is de- 
lighted to dwell upon it, and we are eager to learn or imagine all its 
details. The conversion of Saul was like the call of a second Abraham. 
But we know almost more of the Patriarch's journey through this same 
district, from the north to the south, than we do of the Apostle's in an 
opposite direction. It is easy to conceive of Abraham travelling with his 
flocks and herds and camels. The primitive features of the East con- 
tinue still unaltered in the desert ; and the Arabian Sheik still remains 
to us a living picture of the Patriarch of Genesis. But before the first 
century of the Christian era, the patriarchal life in Palestine had been 
modified, not only by the invasions and settlements of Babylonia and Per- 
sia, but by large influxes of Greek and Roman civilization. It is difficult 
to guess what was the appearance of Saul's company on that memorable 
occasion. 2 We neither know how he travelled, nor who his associates 
were, nor where he rested on his way, nor what road he followed from the 
Judsean to the Syrian capital. 

His journey must have brought him somewhere into the vicinity of 
the Sea of Tiberias. But where he approached the nearest to the 
shores of this sacred lake, — whether he crossed the Jordan where, in its 
lower course, it flows southwards to the Dead Sea, or where its upper 
windings enrich the valley at the base of Mount Hermon, — we do not 
know. And there is one thought which makes us glad that it should be 
so. It is remarkable that Galilee, where Jesus worked so many of His 
miracles, is the scene of none of those transactions which are related in 
the Acts. The blue waters of Tiberias, with their fishing-boats and 

1 Wieseler justly lays some stress on the the reason why Lord Lyttelton, in his obser- 
circumstance that there are coins of Augustus vations on St. Paul's conversion, uses the 
and Tiberius, and, again, of Nero and his phrase — " Those in company with him fell 
successors, but none of Caligula and Claudius, down from their horses, together with Saul," 
which imply that Damascus was Koman. p. 318. ( Works, 1774.) There is no proof that 

2 In pictures, St. Paul is represented as on this was the case, though it is very proba- 
horseback on this journey. Probably this is ble. 



78 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.hi. 

towns on the brink of the shore, are consecrated to the Gospels. A 
greater than Paul was here. When we come to the travels of the 
Apostles, the scenery is no longer limited and Jewish, but Catholic and 
widely-extended, like the Gospel which they preached : and the Sea, 
which will be so often spread before us in the life of St. Paul, is not the 
little Lake of Genesareth, but the great Mediterranean, which washed 
the shores and carried the ships of the historical nations of antiquity. 1 

Two principal roads can be mentioned, one of which probably con- 
ducted the travellers from Jerusalem to Damascus. The track of the 
caravans, in ancient and modern times, from Egypt to the Syrian capital, 
has always led through Gaza and Ramleh, and then, turning eastwards 
about the borders of Galilee and Samaria, has descended near Mount 
Tabor towards the Sea of Tiberias ; and so, crossing the Jordan a little 
to the north of the Lake by Jacob's Bridge, proceeds through the desert 
country which stretches to the base of Antilibanus. A similar track 
from Jerusalem falls into this Egyptian road in the neighborhood of 
Djenin, at the entrance of Galilee ; and Saul and his company may have 
travelled by this route, performing the journey of one hundred and 
thirty-six miles, like the modern caravans, in about six days. But at 
this period, that great work of Roman road-making, which was actively 
going on in all parts of the empire, must have extended, in some degree, 
to Syria and Judaea ; and, if the Roman roads were already constructed 
here, there is little doubt that they followed the direction indicated by 
the later Itineraries. This direction is from Jerusalem to Neapolis (the 
ancient Shechem), and thence over the Jordan to the south of the Lake, 
near Scythopolis, where the soldiers of Pompey crossed the river, and 
where the Galilean pilgrims used to cross it, at the time of the festivals, 
to avoid Samaria. From Scythopolis it led to Gadara, a Roman city, 
the ruins of which are still remaining, and so to Damascus. 2 

Whatever road was followed in Saul's journey to Damascus, it is 
almost certain that the earlier portion of it brought him to Neapolis, 
the Shechem of the Old Testament, and the Nablous of the modern 
Samaritans. This city was one of the stages in the Itineraries. Dr. 
Robinson followed a Roman pavement for some considerable " distance 

1 The next historical notice of the Sea of which harbored Christian fugitives. Here, 
Tiberias or Lake of Genesareth after that too, he would be in the footsteps of St. Peter ; 
which occurs in the Gospels is in Josephus. . for here the great confession (Matt. xvi. 16) 

2 It is very conceivable that he travelled by seems to have been made ; and this road also 
Caesarea Philippi, the city which Herod Philip would probably have brought him past Neapolis. 
had built at the fountains of the Jordan, on It is hardly likely that he would have taken 
the natural line of communication between the Petra road (above, p. 75, n. 8), for both 
Tyre and Damascus, and likely to have been the modern caravans and the ancient itinera- 
one of the "foreign cities" (Acts xxvi. 11) ries cross the Jordan more to the north. 



chap. ni. DAMASCUS. 79 

in the neighborhood of Bethel. 1 This northern road went over the 
elevated ridges which intervene between the valley of the Jordan and 
Ihe plain on the Mediterranean coast. As the travellers gained the high 
ground, the young Pharisee may have looked back, — and, when he saw 
the city in the midst of its hills, with the mountains of Moab in the 
distance, — confident in the righteousness of his cause, — he may have 
thought proudly of the 125th Psalm : " The hills stand about Jerusalem : 
even so standeth the Lord round about his people, from this time forth 
forevermore." His present enterprise was undertaken for the honor of 
Zion. He was blindly fulfilling the words of One who said : " Whoso- 
ever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service." 2 Passing 
through the hills of Samaria, from which he might occasionally obtain a 
glimpse of the Mediterranean on the left, he would come to Jacob's Well, 
at the opening of that beautiful valley which lies between Ebal and 
Gerizim. This, too, is the scene of a Gospel history. The same woman, 
with whom Jesus spoke, might be again at the well as the Inquisitor 
passed. But as yet he knew nothing of the breaking-down of the 
" middle wall of partition." 3 He could, indeed, have said to the 
Samaritans : " Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we wor- 
ship : for salvation is of the Jews." 4 But he could not have understood 
the meaning of those other words : " The hour cometh, when ye shall 
neither in Jerusalem, nor yet in this mountain, worship the Father : the 
true worshippers shall worship Him in spirit and in truth. " 5 His was 
not yet the Spirit of Christ. The zeal which burnt in him was that 
of James and John, before their illumination, when they wished (in this 
same district) to call down fire from heaven, even as Elias did, on the 
inhospitable Samaritan village. 6 Philip had already been preaching to 
the poor Samaritans, and John had revisited them, in company with 
Peter, with feelings wonderfully changed. 7 But Saul knew nothing of 
the little Church of Samaritan Christians ; or, if he heard of them and 
delayed among them, he delayed only to injure and oppress. The 
Syrian city was still the great object before him. And now, when he 
had passed through Samaria and was entering Galilee, the snowy peak 
of Mount Hermon, the highest point of Antilibanus, almost as far to the 
north as Damascus, would come into view. This is that tower of " Leba- 
non which looketh towards Damascus." 8 It is already the great land- 
mark of his journey, as he passes through Galilee towards the sea of 
Tiberias, and the valley of the Jordan. 

1 Bib. Res. iii. 77. More will be said on 4 John iv. 22. 
this subject, when we come to Acts xxiii. 23- 5 John iv. 21, 23. 
31. See p. 25. 6 Luke ix. 51-56. 

2 John xvi. 2. 3 Eph. ii. 14. 7 See above, p. 74. 8 Song of Sol. vii. 4. 



80 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.m. 

Leaving now the " Sea of Galilee," deep among its hills, as a 
sanctuary of the holiest thoughts, and imagining the Jordan to be passed, 
we follow the company of travellers over the barren uplands, which 
stretch in dreary succession along the base of Antilibanus. All around 
are stony hills and thirsty plains, through which the withered stems of 
the scanty vegetation hardly penetrate. Over this desert, under the 
burning sky, the impetuous Saul holds his course, full of the fiery zeal 
with which Elijah travelled of yore, on his mysterious errand, through 
the same " wilderness of Damascus." l " The earth in its length and its 
breadth, and all the deep universe of sky, is steeped in light and heat." 
When some eminence is gained, the vast horizon is seen stretching on 
all sides, like the ocean, without a boundary ; except where the steep 
sides of Lebanon interrupt it, as the promontories of a mountainous 
coast stretch out into a motionless sea. The fiery sun is overhead ; and 
that refreshing view is anxiously looked for, — Damascus seen from afar, 
within the desert circumference, resting, like an island of Paradise, in 
the green enclosure of its beautiful gardens. 

This view is so celebrated, and the history of the place is so illustrious, 
that we may well be excused if we linger a moment, that we may de- 
scribe them both. Damascus is the oldest city in the world. 2 Its fame 
begins with the earliest patriarchs, and continues to modern times. While 
other cities of the East have risen and decayed, Damascus is still what it 
was. It was founded before Baalbec and Palmyra, and it has outlived 
them both. While Babylon is a heap in the desert, and Tyre a ruin 
on the shore, it remains what it is called in the prophecies of Isaiah, 
" the head of Syria." 3 Abraham's steward was " Eliezer of Damascus," 4 
and the limit of his warlike expedition in the rescue of Lot was " Hobah, 
which is on the left hand of Damascus." 5 How important a place it 
was in the flourishing period of the Jewish monarchy, we know from 
the garrisons which David placed there, 6 and from the opposition it pre- 
sented to Solomon/ The history of Naaman and the Hebrew captive, 
Elisha and Gehazi, and of the proud preference of its fresh rivers to the 
thirsty waters of Israel, are familiar to every one. And how close its 
relations continued to be with the Jews, we know from the chronicles of 
Jeroboam and Ahaz, and the prophecies of Isaiah and Amos. 8 Its 

1 1 Kings xix. 15. 3 Isai. vii. 8. 

2 Josephus makes it even older than Abra- 4 Gen. xv. 2. 
ham. (Ant. i. 6, 3.) For the traditions of the 6 Gen. xiv. 15. 

events in the infancy of the human race, which 6 2 Sam. viii. 6 ; 1 Chron. xviii. 6. 

are supposed to have happened in its vicinity, 7 1 Kings xi. 24. 

see Pococke, ii. 115, 116. The story that the 8 See 2 Kings xiv. 28, xvi. 9, 10; 2 Chr. 

murder of Abel took place here is alluded to xxiv. 23, xxviii. 5, 23 ; Isai. vii. 8 ; Amos i. 

by Shakspeare, 1 K. Hen. VI. i. 3. 3, 5. 



'Willi* 





t-HAP.ui. DESCRIPTION OF DAMASCUS. 81 

mercantile greatness is indicated by Ezekiel in the remarkable words 
addressed to Tyre : 1 — " Syria was thy merchant by reason of the 
multitude of the wares of thy making : they occupied in thy fairs with 
emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and 
agate. Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of 
thy making, for the multitude of all riches ; in the wine of Helbon, and 
white wool." 2 Leaving the Jewish annals, we might follow its history 
through continuous centuries, from the time when Alexander sent Par- 
menio to take it, while the conqueror himself was marching from Tarsus 
to Tyre — to its occupation by Pompey, 3 — to the letters of Julian the 
Apostate, who describes it as " the eye of the East," — and onward 
through its golden days, when it was the residence of the Ominiad 
Caliphs, and the metropolis of -the Mohammedan world, — and through 
the period when its fame was mingled with that of Saladin and Tamer- 
lane, — to our own days, when the praise of its beauty is celebrated by 
every traveller from Europe. It is evident, to use the words of Lamar- 
tine, that, like Constantinople, it was a " predestinated capital." Nor is 
it difficult to explain why its freshness has never faded through all this 
series of vicissitudes and wars. 

Among the rocks and brushwood at the base of Antilibanus are the 
fountains of a copious and perennial stream, which, after running a 
course of no great distance to the south-east, loses itself in a desert 
lake. But before it reaches this dreary boundary, it has distributed its 
channels over the intermediate space, and left a wide area behind it, 
rich with prolific vegetation. These are the " streams from Lebanon," 
which are known to us in the imagery of Scripture; 4 — the "rivers 
of Damascus," which Naaman not unnaturally preferred to all the 
" waters of Israel." 5 By Greek writers the stream is called Chrysor- 
rhoas, 6 or " the river of gold." And this stream is the inestimable 
unexhausted treasure of Damascus. The habitations of men must 
always have been gathered round it, as the Nile has inevitably attracted 
an immemorial population to its banks. The desert is a fortification 
round Damascus. The river is its life. It is drawn out into water- 
courses, and spread in all directions. For miles around it is a wilder- 
ness of gardens, — gardens with roses among the tangled shrubberies, 
and with fruit on the branches overhead. Everywhere among the trees 

1 The port of Beyroot is now to Damascus the Romans ; hence we find it less frequently 
what Tyre was of old. mentioned than we might expect in Greek and 

2 Ezek. xxvii. 16, 18. Roman writers. This arose from the building 
8 See above, Ch. I. p. 24. Its relative im- of Antioch and other cities in Northern Syria. 

portance was not so great when it was under 4 Song of Sol. iv. 15. 

la Western power like that of the Seleucids or 6 2 Kings v. 12. 6 Strabo and Ptclemy. 



82 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. in. 

the murmur of unseen rivulets is heard. Even in the city, which is in 
the midst of the garden, the clear rushing of the current is a perpetual 
refreshment. Every dwelling has its fountain : and at night, when the 
sun has set behind Mount Lebanon, the lights of the city are seen flash- 
ing on the waters. 

It is not to be wondered at that the view of Damascus, when the dim 
outline of the gardens has become distinct, and the city is seen gleaming 
white in the midst of them, should be universally famous. All travellers 
in all ages have paused to feast their eyes with the prospect : and the 
prospect has been always the same. It is true that in the Apostle's day 
there were no cupolas and no minarets : Justinian had not built St. 
Sophia, and the caliphs had erected no mosques. But the white build- 
ings of the city gleamed then, as they do now, in the centre of a verdant 
inexhaustible paradise. The Syrian gardens, with their low walls and 
waterwheels, and careless mixture of fruits and flowers, were the same 
then as they are now. The same figures would be seen in the green 
approaches to the town, camels and mules, horses and asses, with Syrian 
peasants, and Arabs from beyond Palmyra. We know the very time of 
the day when Saul was entering these shady avenues. It was at mid- 
day. 1 The birds were silent in the trees. The hush of noon was in the 
city. The sun was burning fiercely in the sky. The persecutor's 
companions were enjoying the cool refreshment of the shade after their 
journey : and his eyes rested with satisfaction on those walls which 
were the end of his mission, and contained the victims of his righteous 
zeal. 

We have been tempted into some prolixity in describing Damascus. 
But, in describing the solemn and miraculous event which took place in 
its neighborhood, we hesitate to enlarge upon the words of Scripture. 
And Scripture relates its circumstances in minute detail. If the impor- 
tance we are intended to attach to particular events in early Christianity 
is to be measured by the prominence assigned to them in the Sacred 
Records, we must confess that, next after the Passion of our blessed 
Lord, the event to which our serious attention is especially called is the 

1 Acts xxii. 6, xxvi. 13. Notices of the (3) two miles soutli on the same road; (4) half 

traditionary place where the vision was seen a mile from the city : and this he prefers on the 

are variously given both by earlier and later strength of earlier authorities, and because it 

travellers. The old writer, Quaresmius, men- harmonizes best with what is said of the Apos- 

tions four theoretical sites: (1) twelve miles tie being led in by the hand. In one of these 

south of Damascus, where there is a stream cases there is an evident blending of the scene 

on the right of the road, with the ruins of a of the Conversion and the Escape : and it 

church on a rising ground; (2) six miles south would appear from Mr. Stanley's letter (quot- 

on the left of the road, where there are traces ed below, p. 93) that this spot is on the east 

of a church and stones marked with crosses ; and not the south of the city. 



CHAP.m. THE NARKATIVES OF THE MIRACLE. 83 

Conversion of St. Paul. Besides various allusions to it in his own 
Epistles, three detailed narratives of the occurrence are found in the 
Acts. Once it is related by St. Luke (ix.), — imcQ by the Apostle him- 
self, — in his address to his countrymen at Jerusalem (xxii.), — in his 
defence before Agrippa at Cassarea (xxvi.). And as, when the same 
thing is told in more than one of the Holy Gospels, the accounts do not 
verbally agree, so it is here. St. Luke is more brief than St. Paul. And 
each of St. Paul's statements supplies something not found in the other. 
The peculiar difference of these two statements, in their relation to the 
circumstances under which they were given, and as they illustrate the 
Apostle's wisdom in pleading the cause of the Gospel and reasoning with 
his opponents, will be made the subject of some remarks in the later 
chapters of this book. At present it is our natural course simply to 
gather the facts from the Apostle's own words, with a careful reference 
to the shorter narrative given by St. Luke. 

In the twenty-second and twenty-sixth chapters of the Acts we are 
told that it was "about noon" — " at mid-day" — when the "great 
light " shone " suddenly " from heaven (xxii. 6, xxvi. 18) . And those 
who have had experience of the glare of a mid-day sun in the East, will 
best understand the description of that light, which is said to have been 
" a light above the brightness of the sun, shining round about Paul and 
them that journeyed with him." All fell to the ground in terror (xxvi. 
14), or stood dumb with amazement (ix. 7). Suddenly surrounded by 
a light so terrible and incomprehensible, " they were afraid." " They 
heard not the voice of Him that spake to Paul" (xxii. 9), or, if they 
heard a voice, "they saw no man" (ix. 7). 1 The whole scene was 
evidently one of the utmost confusion : and the accounts are such as to 
express, in the most striking manner, the bewilderment and alarm of the 
travellers. 

But while the others were stunned, stupefied and confused, a clear light 
broke in terribly on the soul of one of those who were prostrated on the 
ground. 2 A voice spoke articulately to him, which to the rest was a 
sound mysterious and indistinct. He heard what they did not hear. He 

1 It has been thought both more prudent permitted to suppose that the stupefied com- 

and more honest to leave these well-known panions of Saul fell to the ground and then 

discrepancies exactly as they are found in the rose, and that they heard the voice but did not 

Bible. They will be differently explained by understand it. Dr. Wordsworth and Prof, 

different readers, according to their views of Hackett point out that the word " stood " in 

the inspiration of Scripture. Those who do ix. 7, need only mean that their progress was 

not receive the doctrine of Verbal Inspiration arrested. 

will find in these discrepancies a confirmation 2 It is evident from Acts ix. 6, 8, xxvi. 16, 

of the general truth of the narrative. Those that Saul was prostrate on the ground when 

who lay stress on this doctrine may fairly be Jesus spoke to him. 



84 THE LIFE AJtfD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. ih. 

saw what they did not see. To them the awful sound was without a 
meaning : he heard the voice of the Son of God. To them it wa& 
a bright light which suddenly surrounded them : he saw Jesus, whom 
he was persecuting. The awful dialogue can only be given in the lan- 
guage of Scripture. Yet we may reverentially observe that the words 
which Jesus spoke were " in the Hebrew tongue." The same language, 1 
in which, during His earthly life, He spoke to Peter and to John, to the 
blind man by the walls of Jericho, to the woman who washed His feet 
with her tears — the same sacred language was used when He spoke 
from heaven to His persecutor on earth. And as on earth He had always 
spoken in parables, so it was now. That voice which had drawn lessons 
from the lilies that grew in Galilee, and from the birds that flew over the 
mountain slopes near the Sea of Tiberias, was now pleased to call His 
last Apostle with a figure of the like significance : " Saul, Saul, why per- 
secutest thou me ? It is hard for thee to kick against the goad." As the 
ox rebels in vain against the goad 2 of its master, and as all its struggles 
do nought but increase its distress — so is thy rebellion vain against the 
power of my grace. I have admonished thee by the word of my truth, 
by the death of my saints, by the voice of thy conscience. Struggle no 
more against conviction, " lest a worse thing come unto thee." 

It is evident that this revelation was not merely an inward impression 
made on the mind of Saul during a trance or ecstasy. It was the direct 
perception of the visible presence of Jesus Christ. This is asserted in 
various passages, both positively and incidentally. In St. Paul's first let- 
ter to the Corinthians, when he contends for the validity of his own apos- 
tleship, his argument is, " Am I not an Apostle ? Have I not seen Jesus 
Christ, the Lord ?" (1 Cor. ix. 1.) And when he adduces the evidence 
for the truth of the Resurrection, his argument is again, " He was seen 
... by Cephas ... by James ... by all the Apostles . . . last of all 
by me ... as one born out of due time" (xv. 8). By Cephas and by 
James at Jerusalem the reality of Saul's conversion was doubted (Acts 
ix. 27) ; but "Barnabas brought him to the Apostles, and related to them 
how he had seen the Lord in the way, and had spoken with Him." And 
similarly Ananias had said to him at their first meeting in Damascus : 
" The Lord hath sent me, even Jesus who appeared to thee in the way as 

1 It is only said in one account (xxvi. 14) Ananias (whose name is Aramaic) seems to 

that Jesus Christ spoke in Hebrew. But this have addressed Saul in Hebrew, not in Greek 

appears incidentally in the other accounts from (ix. 17, xxii. 13). 

the Hebrew form of the name " Saul " being 2 The "prick " of Acts xxvi. 14 is the goad 

used where our Lord's own words are given or sharp-pointed pole, which in southern Eu- 

'ix. 4, xxii. 8). In the narrative portion (ix. rope and in the Levant is seen in the hands of 

1 , 8, &c.) it is the Greek, a difference which is those who are ploughing or driving cattle. 
oot noticed in the Authorized Version, So 



CHAP.m. REAL VISION" OF JESUS CHRIST. 85 

thou earnest" (ix. 17). "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that 
thou shouldest see that Just One, and shouklest hear the voice of His 
mouth" (xxii. 14). The very words which were spoken by the Saviour, 
imply the same important truth. He does not say, 1 " I am the Son of 
God — the Eternal Word — the Lord of men and of angels : " — but, " 1 
am Jesus" (ix. 5, xxvi. 15), " Jesus of Nazareth " (xxii. 8). "I am that 
man, whom not having seen thou hatest, the despised prophet of Naza- 
reth, who was mocked and crucified at Jerusalem, who died and was 
buried. But now I appear to thee, that thou mayest know the truth of 
my Resurrection, that I may convince thee of thy sin, and call thee to be 
my Apostle." 

The direct and immediate character of this call, without the interven- 
tion of any human agency, is another point on which St. Paul himself, in 
the course of his apostolic life, laid the utmost stress; and one, therefore, 
which it is incumbent on us to notice here. " A called Apostle," " an 
Apostle by the will of God," 2 " an Apostle sent not from men, nor by 
man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the 
dead;" 3 — these are the phrases under which he describes himself, in the 
cases where his authority was in danger of being questioned. No human 
instrumentality intervened, to throw the slightest doubt upon the reality 
of the communication between Christ Himself and the Apostle of the 
Heathen. And, as he was directly and miraculously called, so was the 
work immediately indicated, to which he was set apart, and in which in 
after years he always gloried, — the work of " preaching among the Gen- 
tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." 4 Unless indeed we are to con- 
sider the words which he used before Agrippa 5 as a condensed statement 6 
of all that was revealed to him, both in his vision on the way, and after- 
wards by Ananias in the city: " I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: but 
rise, and stand upon thy feet; for to this end I have appeared unto thee, 
to ordain thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou 
hast seen, and of those things wherein I will appear unto thee. And thee 

1 Chrysostom. have been sent at the same time. See Phile- 

2 See Rom. i. 1 ; 1 Cor. i. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; mon, 1. 
Eph. i. 1 ; Col. i. 1. These expressions are 3 Gal. i. 1. 

not used by St. Peter, St. James, St. Judo, or 4 Eph. iii. 8. See Rom. xi. 13, xv. 16 ; 

St. John. And it is remarkable that they are Gal. ii. 8; 1 Tim. ii. 7 ; 2 Tim. i. 11, &c. 
not used by St. Paul himself in the Epistles 5 Acts xxvi. 15-18. 

addressed to those who were most firmly at- 6 It did not fall in with Paul's plan in his 

tached to him. They are found in the letters speech before Agrippa (xxvi.) to mention An- 

to the Christians of Achaia, but not in those anias, as, in his speech to the Jews at Jerusa- 

to the Christians of Macedonia. (Seel Thess, lem (xxii.), he avoided any explicit mention 

i. 1 ; 2 Thess. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1). And though of the Gentiles, while giving the narrative of 

in the letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, his conversion, 
not in that to Philemon, which is known to 



86 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. in. 

have I chosen from the House of Israel, and from among the Gentiles, 
unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God ; that they may 
receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among the sanctified, by faith 
in Me." 1 

But the full intimation of all the labors and sufferings that were before 
him was still reserved. He was told to arise and go into the city, and 
there it should be told him what it had been ordained 2 that he should 
do. He arose humbled and subdued, and ready to obey whatever might 
be the will of Him who had spoken to him from heaven. But when he 
opened his eyes, all was dark around him. The brilliancy of the vision 
had made him blind. Those who were with him saw, as before, the trees 
and the sky, and the road leading into Damascus. But he was in dark- 
ness, and they led him by the hand into the city. Thus came Saul into 
Damascus ; — not as he had expected, to triumph in an enterprise on 
which his soul was set, to brave all difficulties and dangers, to enter into 
houses and carry off prisoners to Jerusalem ; — but he passed himself 
like a prisoner beneath the gateway ; and through the colonnades 3 of the 
street called " Straight," where he saw not the crowd of those who gazed 
on him, he was led by the hands of others, trembling and helpless, to the 
house of Judas, 4 his dark and solitary lodging. 

Three days the blindness continued. Only one other space of three 
days' duration can be mentioned of equal importance in the history of the 
world. The conflict of Saul's feelings was so great, and his remorse so 
piercing and so deep, that during this time he neither ate nor drank. 5 
He could have no communion with the Christians, for they had been terri- 
fied by the news of his approach. And the unconverted Jews could have 
no true sympathy with his present state of mind. He fasted and prayed 
in silence. The recollections of his early years, — the passages of the 
ancient Scriptures which he had never understood, — the thoughts of his 
own cruelty and violence, — the memory of the last looks of Stephen, — 
all these crowded into his mind, and made the three days equal to long 
years of repentance. And if we may imagine one feeling above all others 
to have kept possession of his heart, it would be the feeling suggested by 
Christ's expostulation: "Why persecutest thou Me?" 6 This feeling 



1 See notes on the passage in Chap. XXII. (where a triple Roman archway remains). 

2 This is the expression in his own speech. Mr. Porter observes that this arrangement of 
(xxii. 10.) See ix. 6, and compare xxvi. 16. the street is a counterpart of those of Palmyra 

3 See Mr. Porter's Five Years in Damascus and Jerash. We may perhaps add Antioch. 
(1856). Eecent excavations show that a mag- See below, p. 115. 

nificent street with a threefold colonnade ex- 4 Acts ix. 11. 

tended from the Western gate to the Eastern 6 Acts ix. 9. 6 See Matt. xxv. 40/45. 



chap. m. ANANIAS. 87 

would be attended with thoughts of peace, with hope, and with faith. He 
waited on God : and in his blindness a vision was granted to him. He 
seemed to behold one who came in to him, — and he knew by revelation 
that his name was Ananias, — - and it appeared to him that the stranger 
laid his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 1 

The economy of visions, by which God revealed and accomplished His 
will, is remarkably similar in the case of Ananias and Saul at Damascus, 
Mid in tUat of Peter and Cornelius at Joppa and Cassarea. The simul- 
I aneous preparation of the hearts of Ananias and Saul, and the simultaneous 

reparation of those of Peter and Cornelius, — the questioning and hesita- 
; ion of Peter, and the questioning and hesitation of Ananias, — the one 

'oubting whether he might make friendship with the Gentiles, the other 
loubting whether he might approach the enemy of the Church, — the un- 
'lesitating obedience of each, when the Divine will was made clearly known, 
— the state of mind in which both the Pharisee and the Centurion were 
found, — each waiting to see what the Lord would say unto him, — this close 
analogy will not be forgotten by those who reverently read the two con- 
secutive chapters, in which the baptism of Saul and the baptism of 
Cornelius are narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. 2 

And in another respect there is a close parallelism between the two 
histories. The same exact topography characterizes them both. In the one 
case we have the lodging with " Simon the Tanner," and the house " by the 
seaside " (x. 6), — in the other we have " the house of Judas," and " the 
street called Straight (ix. 11)." And as the shore, where " the saint 
beside the ocean prayed," is an unchanging feature of Joppa, which will 
ever be dear to the Christian heart ; 3 so are we allowed to bear in mind 
that the thoroughfares of Eastern cities do not change, 4 and to believe that 
the " Straight Street," which still extends through Damascus in long per- 
spective from the Eastern Gate, is the street where Ananias spoke to 
Saul. More than this we do not venture to say. In the first days of the 
Church, and for some time afterwards, the local knowledge of the Chris- 
tians at Damascus might be cherished and vividly retained. But now 
that through long ages Christianity in the East has been weak and de- 

1 Acts ix. 12. covered over, a mile long and as straight as an 

2 Acts ix. and x. Compare also xi. 5-18 arrow. He adds that there the house of Judas 
with xxii. 12-16. is shown, a commodious dwelling, with traces 

3 See The Christian Year ; Monday in Eas- of having been once a church, and then a 
ter week. mosque. The place of Baptism, he says, is a 

4 See Lord Nugent's remarks on the Jeru- fountain not far off, near the beginning of the 
salem Bazaar, in his Sacred and Classical Lands, street, where a handsome church has been 
vol. ii. pp. 40, 41. Quaresmius says that the turned into a mosque. He enters also very 
Straight Street at Damascus is the bazaar, fully into the description of the traditionary 
which he describes as a street darkened and house of Ananias, and gives a ground plan of it. 



S3 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. in. 

graded, and Mohammedanism strong and tyrannical, we can only say 
that the spots still shown to travellers as the sites of the house of Ananias, 
and the house of Judas, and the place of baptism, may possibly be true. 1 

We know nothing concerning Ananias, except what we learn from St. 
Luke or from St. Paul. He was a Jew who had become a " disciple " of 
Christ (ix. 10), and he was well reputed and held to be " devout accord- 
ing to the Law," among " all the Jews who dwelt at Damascus" (xxii. 12). 
He is never mentioned by St Paul in his Epistles ; and the lajer stories 
respecting his history are unsupported by proof. 2 Though he was not 
ignorant of the new convert's previous character, it seems evident that he 
had no personal acquaintance with him ; or he would hardly have been 
described as " one called Saul, of Tarsus," lodging in the house of Judas. 
He was not an Apostle, nor one of the conspicuous members of the Church. 
And it was not without a deep significance, 3 that he, who was called to be 
an Apostle, should be baptized by one of whom the Church knows nothing, 
except that he was a Christian " disciple," and had been a " devout " Jew. 

Ananias came into the house where Saul, faint and exhausted 4 with 
three days' abstinence, still remained in darkness. When he laid his 
hands on his head, as the vision had foretold, immediately he would be 
recognized as the messenger of God, even before the words were spoken, 
" Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way 
as thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and 
be filled with the Holy Ghost." These words were followed, as were the 
words of Jesus Himself when He spoke to the blind, with an instantaneous 
dissipation of darkness : " There fell from his eyes as it had been scales : 5 
and he received sight forthwith (ix. 18) : " or, in his own more vivid ex- 
pression, " the same hour he looked up on the face of Ananias (xxii. 13)." 

1 Compare, among the older travellers, attached by God to baptism. Olshausen, after 
Thcvenot, parts i. and ii. ; Maundrell (1714), remarking that Paul was made a member of 
p. 36 ; Pococke, ii. 119. Mr. Stanley says, in the Church not by his Divine Call, but by 
a letter to the writer, that there is no street simple baptism, adds that this baptism of Paul 
now called Straight except by the Christians, by Ananias did not imply any inferiority or 
and that the street so called by them does not dependence, more than in the case of our Lord 
contain the traditional house of Judas or of and John the Baptist. Observe the strong 
Ananias, which are both shown elsewhere. expression in Acts xxii. 16. 

See below, p. 93, n. 8. 4 See Acts ix. 19. 

2 Tradition says that he was one of the 5 It is difficult to see why the words " there 
seventy disciples, that he was afterwards fell from his eyes as it had been scales," should 
Bishop of Damascus, and stoned after many be considered merely descriptive by Olshausen 
tortures under Licinius (or Lucianus) the and others. One of the arguments for taking 
Governor. them literally is the peculiar exactness of St 

3 Ananias, as Chrysostom says, was not Luke in speaking on such subjects. See a 
one of the leading Apostles, because Paul was paper on the medical style of St. Luke in the 
not to be taught of men. On the other hand, Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1841. 

this very circumstance shows the importance 



CHAP.m. BAPTISM AND FIRST PEE ACHING OF SAUL. 89 

It was a face lie had never seen before. But the expression of Christian 
love assured him of reconciliation with God. He learnt that " the God of 
his fathers " had chosen him " to know His will," — " to see that Just 
One," — " to hear the voice of His mouth," — to be " His witness unto 
all men." * He was baptized, and " the rivers of Damascus " became 
more to him than " all the waters of Judah " 2 had been. His body was 
strengthened with food ; and his soul was made strong to " suffer great 
things " for the name of Jesus, and to bear that Name " before the Gen- 
tiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." 3 

He began by proclaiming the honor of that name to the children of 
Israel in Damascus. He was " not disobedient to the heavenly vision " 
(xxvi. 19), but " straightway preached in the synagogues that Jesus was the 
Son of God," 4 — and " showed unto them that they should repent and turn 
to God, and do works meet for repentance." His Rabbinical and Pharisaic 
learning was now used to uphold the cause which he came to destroy. 
The Jews were astounded. They knew what he had been at Jerusalem. 
They knew why he had come to Damascus. And now they saw him con- 
tradicting the whole previous course of his life, and utterly discarding 
that " commission of the high priests," which had been the authority of 
his journey. Yet it was evident that his conduct was not the result of a 
wayward and irregular impulse. His convictions never hesitated ; his 
mergy grew continually stronger, as he strove in the synagogues, main- 
taining the truth against the Jews, and " arguing and proving that Jesus 
was indeed the Messiah." 5 

The period of his first teaching at Damascus does not seem to have 
lasted long. Indeed it is evident that his life could not have been safe, 
had he remained. The fury of the Jews when they had recovered from 
their first surprise must have been excited to the utmost pitch ; and they 
would soon have received a new commissioner from Jerusalem armed with 
full powers to supersede and punish one whom they must have regarded 
as the most faithless of apostates. Saul left the city, but not to return 
to Jerusalem. Conscious of his Divine mission, he never felt that it was 
necessary to consult " those who were Apostles before him, but he went 
into Arabia, and returned again into Damascus." 6 

Many questions have been raised concerning this journey into Arabia. 
The first question relates to the meaning of the word. From the time 
when the word " Arabia " was first used by any of the writers of Greece 
or Rome, it has always been a term of vague and uncertain import. 

1 Acts xxii. 14, 15. "Christ" is the true reading. Verse 22 

2 See 2 Kings v. 12. would make this probable, if the authority of 
8 See Acts ix. 15, 16. the MSS. were not decisive. 

* Acts ix. 20. Where "Jesus" and not 6 Acts ix. 22. 6 Gal. i. 17. 



90 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. in. 

Sometimes it includes Damascus ; sometimes it ranges over the Lebanon 
itself, and extends even to the borders of Cilicia. The native geographers 
usually reckon that stony district, of which Petra was the capital, as 
belonging to Egypt, — and that wide desert towards the Euphrates, where 
the Bedouins of all ages have lived in tents, as belonging to Syria, — and 
have limited the name to the Peninsula between the Red Sea and the 
Persian Gulf, where Jemen, or " Araby the Blest," is secluded on the 
south. In the threefold division of Ptolemy, which remains in our 
popular language when we speak of this still untravelled region, both the 
first and second of these districts were included under the name of the 
third. And we must suppose St. Paul to have gone into one of the former, 
either that which touched Syria and Mesopotamia, or that which touched 
Palestine and Egypt. If he went into the first, we need not suppose him 
to have travelled far from Damascus. For though the strong powers of 
Syria and Mesopotamia might check the Arabian tribes, and retrench 
the Arabian name in this direction, yet the Gardens of Damascus were on 
the verge of the desert, and Damascus was almost as much an Arabian as 
a Syrian town. 

And if he went into Petraean Arabia, there still remains the question 
of his motive for the journey, and his employment when there. Either 
retiring before the opposition at Damascus, he went to preach the Gospel ; 
and then, in the synagogues of that singular capital, which was built 
amidst the rocks of Edom, 1 whence " Arabians " came to the festivals at 
Jerusalem, 2 he testified of Jesus : — or he went for the purpose of con- 
templation and solitary communion with God, to deepen his repentance 
and fortify his soul with prayer ; and then perhaps his steps Were 
turned to those mountain heights by the Red Sea, which Moses and Elijah 
had trodden before him. We cannot attempt to decide the question. 
The views which different inquirers take of it will probably depend on 
their own tendency to the practical or the ascetic life. On the one hand 
it may be argued that such zeal could not be restrained, that Saul could 
not be silent, but that he would rejoice in carrying into the metropolis of 
King Aretas the Gospel which his Ethnarch could afterwards hinder at 
Damascus. 3 On the other hand, it may be said that, with such convic- 
tions recently worked in his mind, he would yearn for solitude, — that a 
time of austere meditation before the beginning of a great work is in con- 
formity with the economy of God,— that we find it quite natural, if Paul 
followed the example of the Great Lawgiver and the Great Prophet, and 

1 Strabo, in his description of Petra, says he says that it was distant three or four days' 

that his friend Athenodorus found great num- journey from Jericho. See above, p. 75, n. 8. 
bers of strangers there. In the same paragraph, 2 Acts ii. 11. 

after describing its cliffs and peculiar situation, 3 See 2 Cor. xi. 32. 



chap. m. SAUL EETtBES INTO ARABIA. 91 

of one greater than Moses and Elijah, who, after His baptism and before 
His ministry, " returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the 
wilderness." * • 

While Saul is in Arabia, preaching the Gospel in obscurity, or prepar- 
ing for his varied work by the intuition of Sacred Truth,— it seems the 
natural place for some reflections on the reality and the momentous sig- 
nificance of his conversion. It has already been remarked, in what we 
nave drawn from the statements of Scripture, that he was called directly 
by Christ without the intervention of any other Apostle, and that the pur- 
pose of his call was clearly indicated, when Ananias baptized him. He 
was an Apostle " not of men, neither by man," 2 and the Divine will was 
" to work among the Gentiles by his ministry." 3 But the unbeliever may 
still say that there are other questions of primary importance. He may 
suggest that this apparent change in the current of Saul's thoughts, and 
this actual revolution in the manner of his life, was either the contrivance 
of deep and deliberate imposture, or the result of wild and extravgant 
fanaticism. Both in ancient and modern times, some have been found 
who have resolved this great occurrence into the promptings of self- 
interest, or have ventured to call it the offspring of delusion. There is 
an old story mentioned by Epiphanius, from which it appears that the 
Ebionites were content to find a motive for the change, in an idle story 
that he first became a Jew that he might marry the High Priest's daugh- 
ter, and then became the antagonist of Judaism because the High Priest 
deceived him. 4 And there are modern Jews, who are satisfied with saying 
that he changed rapidly from one passion to another, like those impetuous 
souls who cannot hate or love by halves. Can we then say that St. Paul 
was simply a fanatic or an impostor f The question has been so well 
answered in a celebrated English book, 5 that we are content to refer to it. 
It will never be possible for any one to believe St. Paul to have been a mere 
fanatic, who duly considers his calmness, his wisdom, his prudence, and, 
above all, his humility, a virtue which is not less inconsistent with fanati- 
cism than with imposture. And how can we suppose that he was an im- 
postor who changed his religion for selfish purposes ? Was he influenced 
by the ostentation of learning ? He suddenly cast aside all that he had 
been taught by Gamaliel, or acquired through long years of study, and 
took up the opinions of fishermen of Galilee, whom he had scarcely ever 

1 Luke iv. 1 . iii. and 2 Cor. xi. Barnabas, though a Cypri- 

2 Gal. i. 1. This retirement into Arabia an, was a Levite, and why not Paul a Jew, 
is itself an indication of his independent call. though a Tarsian ? And are we to believe, 
See Prof. Ellicott on Gal. i. 17. he adds, what Ebion says of Paul, or what 

3 Acts xxi. 9. Peter says of him 1 ? (2 Pet. iii.) 

4 Epiphanius, after telling the story, argues 5 Lord Lyttelton's Observations on the Con- 
its impossibility from its contradiction to Phil. version and Apostleship of St. Paul. 



92 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.m. 

seen, and who had never been educated in the schools. Was it the love 
of power which prompted the change ? He abdicated in a moment the 
authority which he possessed, for power "over a flock of sheep driven to 
the slaughter, whose Shepherd himself had been murdered a little 
before ; " and " all he could hope from that power was to be marked 
out in a particular manner for the same knife, which he had seen so 
bloodily drawn against them." Was it the love of wealth ? Whatever 
might be his own worldly possessions at the time, he joined himself to 
those who were certainly poor, and the prospect before him was that 
which was actually realized, of ministering to his necessities with the 
labor of his hands. 1 Was it the love of fame ? His prophetic power 
must have been miraculous, if he could look beyond the shame and 
scorn which then rested on the servants of a crucified Master, to that 
glory with which Christendom now surrounds the memory of St. Paul. 

And if the conversion of St. Paul was not the act of a fanatic or an 
impostor, then it ought to be considered how much this wonderful occur- 
rence involves. As Lord Lyttelton observes, "the conversion and apostle- 
ship of St. Paul alone, duly considered, is of itself a demonstration 
sufficient to prove Christianity to be a Divine revelation." Saul was 
arrested at the height of his zeal, and in the midst of his fury. In the 
words of Chrysostom, " Christ, like a skilful physician, healed him when 
his fever was at the worst : " and he proceeds to remark, in the same elo- 
quent sermon, that the truth of Christ's resurrection, and the present 
power of Him who had been crucified, were shown far more forcibly 
than they could have been if Paul had been otherwise called. Nor 
ought we to forget the great religious lessons we are taught to gather 
from this event. We see the value set by God upon honesty and integ- 
rity, when we find that he, "who was before a blasphemer and a perse- 
cutor and injurious, obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in 
unbelief." 2 And we learn the encouragement given to all sinners who 
repent, when we are told that " for this cause he obtained mercy, that in 
him first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern 
to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting." 3 

We return to the narrative. Saul's time of retirement in Arabia was 

1 Acts xx. 33, 34; 1 Cor. iv. 12 ; 1 Thess. verted state was like a sick man who through 
ii. 9, &c. madness tries to kill his physician. 

2 1 Tim. i. 13. See Luke xii. 48, xxiii. 3 A. Monod's " Cinq Discours " on St. Paul 
34; Acts iii. 17; 1 Cor. ii. 8. On the other (Paris, 1852) were published shortly before 
hand, " unbelieving ignorance " is often men- the completion of the first edition of this work, 
tioned in Scripture as an aggravation of sin : We have much pleasure here in referring to 
e.g. Eph. iv. 18, 19; 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. A man the third of these eloquent and instructive 
is deeply wretched who sins through ignorance ; sermons, on the character and results of St 
and, as Augustine says, Paul in his uncon- Paul's conversion. 



chap. ni. CONSPIRACY AT DAMASCUS. 93 

not of long continuance. He was not destined to be the Evangelist of the 
East. In the Epistle to the Galatians (i. 18) ,* the time, from his conver- 
sion to his final • departure from Damascus, is said to have been "three 
years," which, according to the Jewish way of reckoning, may have been 
three entire years, or only one year with parts of two others. Meantime 
Saul had " returned to Damascus, preaching boldly in the name of Jesus." 
(Acts ix. 27.) The Jews, being no longer able to meet him in contro- 
versy, resorted to that which is the last argument of a desperate cause : 2 
they resolved to assassinate him. Saul became acquainted with the con- 
spiracy : and all due precautions were taken to evade the danger. But 
the political circumstances of Damascus at the time made escape very 
difficult. Either in the course of the hostilities which prevailed along the 
Syrian frontiers between Herod Antipas and the Romans, on one side, and 
Aretas, King of Petra, on the other, — and possibly in consequence of that 
absence of Vitellius, 3 which was caused by the Emperor's death, — the 
Arabian monarch had made himself master of Damascus, and the Jews, 
who sympathized with Aretas, were high in the favor of his officer, the 
Ethnarch. 4 Or Tiberius had ceased to reign, and his successor had as- 
signed Damascus to the King of Petra, and the Jews had gained over 
his officer and his soldiers, as Pilate's soldiers had once been gained over 
at Jerusalem. St. Paul at least expressly informs us, 5 that " the Ethnarch 
kept watch over the city, with a garrison, purposing to apprehend him." 
St. Luke says, 6 that the Jews " watched the city-gates day and night, 
with the intention of killing him." The Jews furnished the motive, the 
Ethnarch the military force. The anxiety of the " disciples " was doubt 
less great, as when Peter was imprisoned by Herod, " and prayer was 
made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him." 7 Their anxiety 
became the instrument of his safety. From an unguarded part of the 
wall, 8 in the darkness of the night, probably where some overhanging 

1 In Acts ix. 23, the time is said to have imagines that he was an officer of Aretas acci- 
been " many days." Dr. Paley has observed dentally residing in Damascus, who induced 
in a note on the Horce Paulince a similar in- the "Roman government to aid in the conspira- 
stance in the Old Testament (1 Kings ii. 38, cy of the Jews. Neither hypothesis seems 
39), where " many days" is used to denote a very probable. Schrader suggests that the 
space of "three years:" — "And Shimei Ethnarch's wife might, perhaps, be a Jewish 
dwelt at Jerusalem many days ; and it came to proselyte, as we know was the case with a vast 
pass, at the end of three years, that two of the number of the women of Damascus, 
servants of Shimei ran away." 5 2 Cor. xi. 32. 

2 Chrysostom. 3 See above, p. 76. 6 Acts ix. 24. 7 Acts xii. 5. 

4 Some have supposed that this Ethnarch 8 Quaresmius leaves the place in doubt. 
was merely an officer who regulated the affairs "We conclude our notices of these traditional 
of the Jews themselves, such as we know to sites, by an extract from a letter received from 
have existed under this title in cities with the Rev. A. P. Stanley, shortly before the pub- 
many Jewish residents (p. 100). See Joseph. lication of his Sinai arid Palestine. "The 
Ant. xix. 7, 2, and 8, 5 ; War, ii. 6, 3. Anger only spot now pointed out is a few hundred 



94 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



houses, as is usual in Eastern cities, opened upon the outer country, they 
let him down from a window 1 in a basket. There was something of 
humiliation in this mode of escape ; and this, perhaps, is the reason why, 
in a letter written " fourteen years " afterwards, he specifies the details, 
" glorying in his infirmities," when he is about to speak of " his visions 
and revelations of the Lord." 2 

Thus already the Apostle had experience of " perils by his own country- 
men, and perils in the city." Already " in journeyings often, in weariness 
and painfulness," 3 he began to learn " how great things he was to suffer" 
for the name of Christ. 4 Preserved from destruction at Damascus, he 
turned his steps towards Jerusalem. His motive for the journey, as he tells 
us in the Epistle to the Galatians, was a desire to become acquainted 
with Peter. 5 Not that he was ignorant of the true principles of the Gospel. 
He expressly tells us that he neither needed nor received any instruction 
in Christianity from those who were " Apostles before him." But lie 
must have heard much from the Christians at Damascus of the Galilean 
fisherman. Can we wonder that he should desire to see the Chief of the 
Twelve, — the brother with whom now he was consciously united in the 
bonds of a common apostleship, — and who had long on earth been 
the constant companion of his Lord ? 



yards from the town walls, on the eastern side 
of the city, near the traditional scene of the 
Escape over the wall. It is only marked by a 
mass of cement in the ground, with a hollow 
underneath, which the Damascus guides repre- 
sent as a hole in which after his escape the 
Apostle concealed himself — and this is the 
only tradition which in the popular mind at- 
taches to the place. All knowledge or imagi- 
nation of the Conversion or of its locality has 
entirely passed away. But the French monks 
in the Latin convent maintain (and no doubt 
truly) that this was the spot in earlier times 
believed to be the scene of that event, and 
that the remains of cement and masonry round 
about are the ruins of a Christian church or 
chapel built in memorial. It is, if I remember 
right, the fourth of the four places mentioned 
by Quaresmius. It is highly improbable that 
it can be the true place [of the Conversion], 
because there is no reason to believe that the 
road from Jerusalem should have fetched such 
a compass as to enter Damascus on the east, 
instead of (as at present) on the west or 
south." Mr. Porter (p. 43) says that it is only 
within the last century that the scene of the 
Conversion has been transferred, from inter- 



ested motives, to the east from the west side 
of the city. His plan of Damascus now gives 
the means of seeing the traditionary localities 
very clearly. 

1 2 Cor. xi. 33. So Rahab let down the 
spies ; and so David escaped from Saul. St. 
Paul's word is used in the LXX. in both 
instances. The preposition " through " being 
used both in Acts and 1 Cor., it is possible 
that the most exact explanation is that sug- 
gested by Prof. Hackett. He observed at 
Damascus " windows in the external face of 
the wall, opening into houses on the inside 
of the city." (Comm. on Acts.) In the larger 
editions is a view of a portion of the wall of 
modern Damascus, supporting houses which 
project and face the open country. 

2 2 Cor. xi. 30, xii. 1-5. Both Schrader 
and Wieseler are of opinion that the vision 
mentioned here is that which he saw at Jeru- 
salem on his return from Damascus (Acts 
xxii. 17 ; see below, p. 97), and which was 
naturally associated in his mind with the rec- 
ollection of his escape. 

3 2 Cor. xi. 26, 27. 

4 Acts ix. 16. 

5 Gal. i. 18. 



oiAP.m, HIS EMOTIONS OH EETOENraG TO JEEUSALEM.. 95 

How changed was every thing since lie had last travelled this road be 
tw :- jn Damascus and Jerusalem ! If, when the day broke, he looked back 
upon that city from ^vhich he had escaped under the shelter of night, as 

- :-ye ranged over the fresh gardens and the wide desert, how the 
remembrance of that first terrible vision would call forth a deep thanks- 
giving to Him, who had called him to be a " partaker of His sufferings ' " ! 
And what feelings must have attended his approach to Jerusalem ! " He 
wi -. i :: ; :ning to it from a spiritual, as Ezra had from a bodily, captivity, 
and to his renewed mind all things appeared new. What an emotion 
smote his heart at the first distant view of the Temple, that house of 
sacrifice, that edifice of prophecy ! Its sacrifices had been realized, the 
Lamb of God had been offered : its prophecies had been fulfilled, the Lord 
had ;■ :-me unto it. Ashe approached the gates, he might have trodden 
the very spot where he had so exultingly assisted in the death of 
Stephen, and he entered them perfectly content, were it God's will, to be 
fragged out through them to the same fate. He would feel a peculiar tie 
of brotherhood to that martyr, for he could not be now ignorant that the 
same Jesus who in such glory had called him, had but a little while before 
appeared in the same glory to assure the expiring Stephen. The ecstatic 
look and words of the dying saint now came fresh upon his memory with 
their real meaning. When he entered into the city, what deep thoughts 
were suggested by the haunts of his youth, and by the sight of the spots 
where he had so eagerly sought that knowledge which he had now so 
eagerly abandoned! What an intolerable burden had he cast off! He 
felt as a glorified spirit may be supposed to feel on revisiting the scenes of 
its fleshly sojourn." 2 

Yet not without grief and awe could he look upon that city of his fore- 
father-: . :~ y: ^vhich he now knew that the judgment of God was impending. 
And not without sad emotions could one of so tender a nature think of 
th : alienation of those who had once been his warmest associates. The 
grief of Gamaliel, the indignation of the Pharisees, the fury of the Hellenis- 
tic .^nagogues, all this, he knew, was before him. The sanguine hopes, 
however, springing from his own honest convictions, and his fervent zeal 
to communicate the truth to others, predominated in his mind. He 
thought that they would believe as he had believed. He argued thus 
with himself, — that they well knew that he had " imprisoned and beaten 
in " . _ : r iie them that believed in Jesus Christ," — and that ;i when 

the blood of His martyr Stephen was shed, he also was standing by and 
consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him," 3 

: 1 Pet i". 13. Temple (Acts xxii. 17-21), when it was re- 

- Scripture Biography, by Archdeacon Ev- vealed to him that those in Jerusalem would 
us, second series, p. 337. not receive his testimony. 

; The irgnment used in his ecstasy in the 



96 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. m. 

— and that when they saw the change which had been produced in him, 
and heard the miraculous history he could tell them, they would not 
refuse to " receive his testimony." 

Thus, with fervent zeal, and sanguine expectations, " he attempted to 
join himself to the disciples " of Christ. 1 But, as the Jews hated him, so 
the Christians suspected him. His escape had been too hurried to allow 
of his bringing " letters of commendation." Whatever distant rumor 
might have reached them of an apparition on his journey, of his conduct 
at Damascus, of his retirement in Arabia, they could not believe that he 
was really a disciple. And then it was that Barnabas, already known to us 
as a generous contributor of his wealth to the poor, 2 came forward again as 
the " Son of Consolation," — " took him by the hand," and brought him to 
the Apostles. 3 It is probable that Barnabas and Saul were acquainted 
with each other before. Cyprus is within a few hours' sail from Cilicia. 
The schools of Tarsus may naturally have attracted one who, though a 
Levite, was an Hellenist : and there the friendship may have begun, which 
lasted through many vicissitudes, till it was rudely interrupted in the dis- 
pute at Antioch. 4 When Barnabas related how " the Lord " Jesus Christ 
had personally appeared to Saul, and had even spoken to him, and how 
he had boldly maintained the Christian cause in the synagogues of Damas- 
cus, then the Apostles laid aside their hesitation. Peter's argument must 
have been what it was on another occasion : " Forasmuch as God hath given 
unto him the like gift as He did unto me, who am I that I should with- 
stand God ? " 5 He and James, the Lord's brother, the only other Apostle 6 
who was in Jerusalem at the time, gave to him " the right hands of fellow- 
ship." And he was with them, " coming in and going out," more than 
forgiven for Christ's sake, welcomed and beloved as a friend and a brother. 

This first meeting of the fisherman of Bethsaida and the tent -maker of 
Tarsus, the chosen companion of Jesus on earth, and the chosen Pharisee 
who saw Jesus in the heavens, the Apostle of the circumcision and the 
Apostles of the Gentiles, is passed over in Scripture in a few words. The 
Divine record does not linger in dramatic description on those passages 
which a mere human writing would labor to embellish. What took place 
in the intercourse of these two Saints, — what was said of Jesus of Naza- 
reth who suffered, died, and was buried, — and of Jesus, the glorified 
Lord, who had risen and ascended, and become "head over all things to 

1 Acts ix. 26. Apostles . . . and ho was with them coming 

2 Acts iv. 36. in and going out at Jerusalem." (Acts ix. 

3 Acts ix. 27. ' 26-28.) "After three years I went up to 

4 Acts xv. 39. Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him 

5 Acts xi. 17. fifteen days. But other of the Apostles saw I 
8 " When Saul was come to Jerusalem . . . none,, save James the Lord's brother." (GaL 

Barnabas took him and brought him to the i. 18, 19.) 



CHAP.m. SAUL WITHDRAWN FROM THE HOLY CITY. 97 

the Church," — what was felt of Christian love and devotion, — what was 
learnt, under the Spirit's teaching, of Christian truth, has not been re- 
vealed, and cannot be known. The intercourse was full of present com- 
fort, and full of great consequences. But it did not last long. Fifteen 
days passed away, and the Apostles were compelled to part. The same 
zeal which had caused his voice to be heard in the Hellenistic Synagogues 
in the persecution against Stephen, now led Saul in the same Syna- 
gogues to declare fearlessly his adherence to Stephen's cause. The same 
fury which had caused the murder of Stephen, now brought the murderer 
of Stephen to the verge of assassination. Once more, as at Damascus, 
the Jews made a conspiracy to put Saul to death : and once more he was 
rescued by the anxiety of the brethren. 1 

Reluctantly, and not without a direct intimation from on high, he re- 
tired from the work of preaching the Gospel in Jerusalem. As he was 
praying one day in the Temple, it came to pass that he fell into a trance, 2 
and in his ecstasy he saw Jesus, who spoke to him, and said, "Make 
haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem : for they will not receive 
thy testimony concerning me." He hesitated to obey the command, his 
desire to do God's will leading him to struggle against the hinderances of 
God's providence — and the memory of Stephen, which haunted him even 
in his trance, furnishing him with an argument. 3 But the command was 
more peremptory than before : " Depart ; for I will send thee far hence 
unto the Gentiles." The scene of his apostolic victories was not to be 
Jerusalem. For the third time it was declared to him that the field of 
his labors was among the Gentiles. This secret revelation to his soul 
conspired with the outward difficulties of his situation. The care of 
God gave the highest sanction to the anxiety of the brethren. And he 
suffered himself to be withdrawn from the Holy City. 

They brought him down to Caesarea by the sea, 4 and from Caesarea they 
sent him to Tarsus. 5 His own expression in the Epistle to the Galatians 



1 Acts ix. 29, 30. posing that Caesarea Philippi is meant. When 

2 See Acts xxii. 17-21. Though Schrader ever " Caesarea " is spoken of absolutely, it 
is sometimes laboriously unsuccessful in ex- always means Caesarea Stratonis. And even 
plaining the miraculous, yet we need not if it is assumed that Saul travelled by land 
entirely disregard what he says concerning the through Syria to Tarsus, this would not have 
oppression of spirit, under the sense of being been the natural course. It is true enough 
mistrusted and opposed, with which Saul came that this Caesarea is nearer the Syrian frontier 
to pray in the Temple. And we may compare than the other ; but the physical character of 
the preparation for St. Peter's vision, before the country is such that the Apostle would 
the conversion of Cornelius. naturally go by the other Caesarea, unless, 

3 Compare the similar expostulations of indeed, he travelled by Damascus to Antioch, 
Ananias, ix. 13, and of Peter, x. 14. which is highly improbable. 

4 Olshausen is certainly mistaken in sup- 6 Acts ix. 30. 

r 



98 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat. in. 

(i. 21) is that he went " into the regions of Syria and Cilicia." From 
this it has been inferred that he went first from Caesarea to Antioch, and 
then from Antioch to Tarsus. And such a course would have been per- 
fectly natural ; for the communication of the city of Cassar and the 
Herods with the metropolis of Syria, either by sea and the harbor of 
Seleucia, or by the great coast-road through Tyre and Sidon, was easy 
and frequent. But the supposition is unnecessary. In consequence of the 
range of Mount Taurus (p. 19), Cilicia has a greater geographical affinity 
with Syria than with Asia Minor. Hence it has existed in frequent politi- 
cal combination with it from the time of the old Persian satrapies to the 
modern pachalics of the Sultan : and " Syria and Cilicia " appears in 
history almost as a generic geographical term, the more important district 
being mentioned first. 1 Within the limits of this region Saul's activities 
were now exercised in studying and in teaching at Tarsus, — or in found- 
ing those Churches 2 which were afterwards greeted in the Apostolic letter 
from Jerusalem, as the brethren " in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia," 
and which Paul himself confirmed after his separation from Barnabas, 
travelling through " Syria and Cilicia." 

Whatever might be the extent of his journeys within these limits, we 
know at least that he was at Tarsus. Once more we find him in the home 
of his childhood. It is the last time we are distinctly told that he was 
there. Now at least, if not before, we may be sure that he would come 
into active intercourse with the Heathen philosophers of the place. 3 In 
his last residence at Tarsus, a few years before, he was a Jew, and not 
only a Jew but a Pharisee, and he looked on the Gentiles around him as 
outcasts from the favor of God. Now he was a Christian, and not only 



1 This is well illustrated by the hopeless every place that could be mentioned, where 
feeling of the Greek soldiers in the Anabasis, schools of philosophers are found. And the 
when Cyrus had drawn them into Cilicia ; by difference amounts to this. Here, those who 
various passages in the history of the Seleu- are fond of learning are all natives, and stran- 
cids ; by the arrangements of the Romans gers do not willingly reside here: and they 
with Antiochus ; by the division of provinces themselves do not remain, but finish their 
in the Later Empire ; and by the course of the education abroad, and gladly take up their 
Mohammedan conquests. residence elsewhere, and few return. Where- 

2 Acts xv. 23, 41. When we find the ex- as, in the other cities which I have just men- 
istence of Cilician Churches mentioned, the tioned, except Alexandria, the contrary takes 
obvious inference is that St. Paul founded place : for many come to them and live there 
them during this period. willingly ; but you will see few of the natives 

3 The passage in Strabo, referred to above, either going abroad for the sake of philosophy, 
Ch. I. p. 21, is so important that we give a or caring to study it at home. The Alexan- 
free translation of it here. " The men of this drians have both characters ; for they receive 
place are so zealous in the study of philosophy many strangers, and send out of their own 
and the whole circle of education, that they people not a few." 

surpass both Athens and Alexandria and 



CHAP.ra. SAUL IX SYKIA AND CILICIA. 99 

a Christian, but conscious of his mission as the Apostle of the Gentiles. 
Therefore he would surely meet the philosophers, and prepare to argue 
with them on their own ground, as afterwards in the "market" at Athens 
with " the Epicureans and the Stoics." 1 Many Stoics of Tarsus were men 
of celebrity in the Roman Empire. Athenodorus, the tutor of Augustus, 
has already been mentioned. 2 He was probably by this time deceased, 
and receiving those divine honors, which, as Lucian informs us, were paid 
to him after his death. The tutor of Tiberius also was a Tarsian and a 
Stoic. His name was Nestor. He was probably at this time alive : for 
he lingered to the age of ninety-two, and, in all likelihood, survived his 
wicked pupil, whose death we have recently noticed. Now among these 
eminent sages and instructors of Heathen Emperors was one whose teach- 
ing was destined to survive, when the Stoic philosophy should have per- 
ished, and whose words still instruct the rulers of every civilized nation. 
How far Saul's arguments had any success in this quarter we cannot even 
guess ; and we must not anticipate the conversion of Cornelius. At least, 
he was preparing for the future. In the Synagogue we cannot believe 
that he was silent or unsuccessful. In his own family, we may well im- 
agine that some of those Christian "kinsmen," 3 whose names are handed 
down to us, — possibly his sister, the playmate of his childhood, and his 
sister's son, 4 who afterwards saved his life, — were at this time by his 
exertions gathered into the fold of Christ. 

Here this chapter must close, while Saul is in exile from the earthly 
Jerusalem, but diligently occupied in building up the walls of the 
" Jerusalem which is above." And it was not without one great and 
important consequence that that short fortnight had been spent in 
Jerusalem. He was now known to Peter and to James. His vocation 
was fully ascertained and recognized by the heads of the Judaean 
Christians. It is true that he was yet " unknown by face " to the 
scattered Churches of Judaea. 5 But they honored him of whom they 
had heard so much. And when the news came to them at intervals of 
all that he was doing for the cause of Christ, they praised God and 



1 Acts xvii. 17, 18. 5 See Gal. i. 21-24. The form of the Greek 

2 See p. 42. words seems to imply a continued preaching of 
8 Rom. xvi. See p. 44. the Gospel, the intelligence of which came now 
4 About twenty years after this time (Acts and then to Judaea. From what follows, how- 

xxiii. 17, 23) he is called " a young man," the ever (" Then fourteen years afterwards "), St. 

very word which is used of Saul himself (Acts Paul appears to describe in i. 23, 24, the effect 

vii. 58) at the stoning of Stephen. It is justly produced by the tidings not only of his labors 

remarked by Hem sen that the young man's in Tarsus, but of his subsequent and more 

anxiety for his uncle (xxiii. 16-23) seems to extensive labors as a missionary to the Hea- 

imply a closer affection thaa that resulting then. It should be added, that Wieseler thinks 

from relationship alone he staid only half a year at Tarsus. 



100 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. m. 



said, " Behold ! he who was once our persecutor is now bearing the glad 
tidings of that faith which formerly he labored to root out ; " " and they 
glorified God in him." 




Coin of Aretas, King of Damascus. 1 



1 Three members of this dynasty come 
prominently before us in history. The first 
is mentioned in the annals of the Maccabees. 
The second was contemporary with the last of 
the Seleucids. Damascus was once in his 
power (Joseph. Ant. xiii. 13, 3 ; War, i. 6, 2), 
and it is his submission to the Roman Scaurus 
which is represented in the coin. The third 
is that of St. Paul. 

As to the Aretas, who is mentioned in 2 
Mace. v. 8, the words used there of the inno- 
vating high priest Jason are so curiously appli- 
cable to the case of St. Paul, that we cannot 
forbear quoting them. " In the end, therefore, 
he had an unhappy return, being accused be- 
fore Aretas the king of the Arabians, fleeing 
from city to city, pursued of all men, hated 
as a forsaker of the laws, and being had in 
abomination as an open enemy of his country." 



A few words concerning the meaning of 
the word Ethnarch may fitly conclude this 
note. It properly denoted the governor of a 
dependent district, like Simon the high priest 
under Syria (1 Mace. xiv. 47), or Herod's son 
Archelaus under Rome (Joseph. Ant. xvii. 11, 
4). But it was also used as the designation 
of a magistrate or consul allowed to Jewish 
residents living under their own laws in Alex- 
andria and other cities. ( See Strabo, as quot- 
ed by Josephus, Ant. xiv. 7, 2.) Some wri- 
ters (and among them Mr. Lewin, Life and 
Epistles of St. Paul, vol. i. p. 70) think that 
the word is used in that sense here. But such 
a magistrate would hardly have been called 
" the Ethnarch of Aretas," and (as Dean Al- 
ford observes on 2 Cor. xi. 32) he would not 
have had the power of guarding the city. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Wider Diffusion of Christianity.— Antioch. — Chronology of the Acts. — Reign of Caligula. 

— Claudius and Herod Agrippa I. — The Year 44. — Conversion of the Gentiles. — St. 
Peter and Cornelius. — Joppa and Caesarea. — St. Peter's Vision. — Baptism of Cornelius. — 
Intelligence from Antioch. — Mission of Barnabas. — Saul with Barnabas at Antioch. — The 
Name " Christian." — Description and History of Antioch. — Character of its Inhabitants. 

— Earthquakes. — Famine. — Barnabas and Saul at Jerusalem. — Death of St. James and 
of Herod Agrippa. — Return with Mark to Antioch. — Providential Preparation of St Paul. 

— Results of his Mission to Jerusalem. 

HITHERTO the history of the Christian Church has been confined 
within Jewish limits. We have followed its progress beyond the 
walls of Jerusalem, but hardly yet beyond the boundaries of Palestine. If 
any traveller from a distant country has been admitted into the commu- 
nity of believers, the place of his baptism has not been more remote than 
the " desert " of Gaza. If any " aliens from the commonwealth of Israel " 
have been admitted to the citizenship of the spiritual Israelites, they have 
been " strangers " who dwell among the hills of Samaria. But the time 
is rapidly approaching when the knowledge of Christ must spread more 
rapidly, — when those who possess not that Book, which caused perplex- 
ity on the road to ^Ethiopia, will hear and adore His name, — and greater 
strangers than those who drew water from the well of Sychar will come 
nigh to the Fountain of Life. The same dispersion which gathered in 
the Samaritans, will gather in the Gentiles also. The " middle wall of 
partition " being utterly broken down, all will be called by the new and 
glorious name of " Christian.'' 

And as we follow the progress of events, and find that all movements 
in the Church begin to have more and more reference to the Heathen,. we 
observe that these movements begin to circulate more and more round, a 
new centre of activity. Not Jerusalem, but Antioch, — not the Holy 
City of God's ancient people, but the profane city of the Greeks and 
Romans, — is the place to which the student of sacred history is now 
directed. During the remainder of the Acts of the Apostles our atten- 
tion is at least divided between Jerusalem and Antioch, until at last,, 
after following St. Paul's many journeys, we come with him to Rome. 
For some time Constantinople must remain a city of the future ; but wa 

101 



102 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.iv. 

are more than once reminded of the greatness of Alexandria : 1 and thus 
even in the life of the Apostle we find prophetic intimations of four of 
the five great centres of the early Catholic Church. 2 

At present we are occupied with Antioch, and the point before us is 
that particular moment in the Church's history, when it was first called 
" Christian." Both the place and the event are remarkable : and the 
time, if we are able to determine it, is worthy of our attention. Though 
we are following the course of an individual biography, it is necessary to 
pause, on critical occasions, to look around on what is passing in the 
Empire at large. And, happily, we are now arrived at a point where we 
are able distinctly to see the path of the Apostle's life intersecting the 
general history of the period. This, therefore, is the right place for 
a few chronological remarks. A few such remarks, made once for all, 
may justify what has gone before, and prepare the way for subsequent 
chapters. 

Some readers may be surprised that up to this point we have made no 
attempts to ascertain or to state exact chronological details. 3 But theo- 
logians are well aware of the difficulties with which such inquiries are 
attended, in the beginnings of St. Paul's biography. The early chapters 
in the Acts are like the narratives in the Gospels. It is often hardly 
possible to learn how far the events related were contemporary or consecu- 
rive. We should endeavor in vain to determine the relations of time, 
which subsist between Paul's retirement into Arabia and Peter's visit to 
the converted Samaritans, 4 or between the journey of one Apostle from 
Joppa to Caesarea and the journey of the other from Jerusalem to 
Tarsus. 5 Still less have we sufficient data for pronouncing upon the 
absolute chronology of the earliest transactions in the Church. No one 
can tell what particular folly or crime was engaging Caligula's attention, 
when Paul was first made a Christian at Damascus. No one can tell on 
what work of love the Christians were occupied when the emperor was 
inaugurating his bridge at Puteoli, 6 or exhibiting his fantastic pride on 
the shores of the British Sea. 7 In a work of this kind it is better to 
place the events of the Apostle's life in the broad light cast by the lead- 
ing features of the period, than to attempt to illustrate them by the help 
of dates, which, after all, can be only conjectural. Thus we have been 

1 See Acts vi. 9 (with ii. 10), xxvii. 6, 6 Acts ix. and Acts x. 

xxviii. 11 ; and compare Acts xviii. 24, xix. 1, 6 Where St. Paul afterwards landed, Acts 

with 1 Cor. i. 12, iii. 4-6, and Tit. iii. 13. xxviii. 13. 

2 The allusion is to the Patriarchates of 7 Herod was with Caligula in this progress. 
Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Rome, and This emperor's triumph had no more meaning 
Constantinople. than Napoleon's column at Boulogne ; but in 

8 See above, pp. 42, 76, 77, and 93. the next reign Britain was really conquered 

* Acts viii. and Acts ix. (with Gal. i.) See below. 



chap. iv. BEIGNS OF CALIGULA ASD CLATJDirS. 103 

content to say, that he was born in the strongest and most flourishing 
period of the reign of Augustus ; and that he was converted from the 
religion of the Pharisees about the time when Caligula succeeded 
Tiberius. But soon after we enter on the reign of Claudius we encounter 
a coincidence which arrests our attention. We must first take a rapid 
glance at the reign of his predecessor. Though the cruelty of that 
reign stung the Jews in every part of the empire, and produced an 
indignation which never subsided, one short paragraph will be enough 
for all that need be said concerning the abominable tyrant. 1 

In the early part of the year 37 Tiberius died, and at the close of the 
same year Nero was born. Between the reigns of these two emperors 
are those of Caligula and Claudius. The four years during which 
Caligula sat on the throne of the world were miserable for all" the prov- 
inces, both in the west and in the east. 2 In Gaul his insults were aggra- 
vated by his personal presence. In Syria his caprices were felt more 
remotely, but not less keenly. The changes of administration were 
rapid and various. In the year 36, the two great actors in the crime of 
the crucifixion had disappeared from the public places of Judasa. Pon- 
tius Pilate 3 had been dismissed by Yitellius to Rome, and M-arcellus sent 
to govern in his stead. Caiaphas had been deposed by the same secular 
authority, and succeeded by Jonathan. Xow, in the year 37, Yitellius 
was recalled from Syria, and Petronius came to occupy the governor's 
residence at Antioch. Marcellus at Caesarea made way for Marullus : 
and Theophilus was appointed high priest at Jerusalem in place of his 
brother Jonathan. Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, was 
brought out of the prison where Tiberius had confined him, and Caligula 
gave a royal crown, 4 with the tetrarchies of two of his uncles, to the 
frivolous friend of his youth. And as this reign began with restless 
change, so it ended in cruelty and impiety. The emperor, in the career 
of his blasphemous arrogance, attempted to force the Jews to worship 
him as God. 5 One universal feeling of horror pervaded the scattered 
Israelites, who, though they had scorned the Messiah promised to 
their fathers, were unable to degrade themselves by a return to idolatry. 

1 The reader is here requested to refer to i Tiberius had imprisoned him, because of 

pp. 26, 27, 42, 43, 51, 52, 59, 65, and the a conversation overheard by a slave, when Ca- 

notes. ligula and Herod Agrippa were together in a 

~ The best portraits of this emperor are on carriage. Agrippa was much at Rome both at 

the large copper imperial coins, the beginning and end of Caligula's reign. 

3 He did not arrive at Rome till after the See p. 26, n. 7. 
death of Tiberius. Like his predecessor, he 5 It appears from Dio Cassius and Sueto- 

had governed Judeea during ten or eleven nius that this was part of a general system for 

years, the emperor having a great dislike to extending the worship of himself through the 

frequent changes in the provinces. empire. 



104 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.it 

Petronius, who foresaw what the struggle must be, wrote letters of 
expostulation to his master : Agrippa, who was then in Italy, implored 
his patron to pause in what he did : an embassy was sent from Alexan- 
dria, and the venerable and learned Philo * was himself commissioned to 
state the inexorable requirements of the Jewish religion. Every thing 
appeared to be hopeless, when the murder of Caligula, on the 24th 
of January, in the year 41, gave a sudden relief to the persecuted 
people. 

With the accession of Claudius (a.d. 41) the Holy Land had a king 
once more. Judaea was added to the tetrarchies of Philip and Antipas, and 
Herod Agrippa I. ruled over the wide territory which had been governed 
by his grandfather. With the alleviation of the distress of the Jews, pro- 
portionate suffering came upon the Christians. The " rest " which, in the 
distractions of Caligula's reign, the Churches had enjoyed " throughout all 
Judaea, and Galilee, and Samaria," was now at an end. " About this time 
Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church." 
He slew one Apostle, and " because he saw it pleased the Jews," he pro- 
ceeded to imprison another. But he was not long spared to seek popularity 
among the Jews, or to murder and oppress the Christians. In the year 44 
he perished by that sudden and dreadful death which is recorded in detail 
by Josephus and St. Luke. 2 In close coincidence with this event we have 
the mention of a certain journey of St. Paul to Jerusalem. Here, then, 
we have one of those lines of intersection between the sacred history and 
the general history of the world, on which the attention of intelligent 
Christians ought to be fixed. This year, 44 a.d., and another year, the 
year 60 a.d. (in which Felix ceased to be the governor of Judaea, and, 
leaving St. Paul bound at Caesarea, was succeeded by Festus), are the 
two chronological pivots of the apostolic history. 3 By help of them we 
find its exact place in the wider history of the world. Between these 

1 See aboye, pp. 9, 34, and 60. Philo's ac- (see below, p. 117). Anger has shown that 
count of this embassy is, next after Josephus, this famine must be assigned to the interval 
the most important writing of the period for between 44 and 47 ; and Wieseler has fixed 
throwing light on the condition of the Jews in it more closely to the year 45. See the Chron- 
Caligula's reign. The Jewish envoys had ological Table at the end of the volume, 
their interview with the emperor at Puteoli, in 3 It ought to be stated, that the latter date 
the autumn of the same year (40 a.d.) in cannot be established by the same exact proof 
which he had made his progress through Gaul as the former ; but, as a political fact, it must 
to the shore of the ocean. always be a cardinal point of reference in any 

2 Ant. xix. 8. Acts xii. The proof that his system of Scripture chronology. Anger and 
death took place in 44 may be seen in Anger Wieseler, by a careful induction of particulars, 
and Wieseler; and, indeed, it is hardly doubted have made it highly probable that Festus sue- 
by any. A coincident and corroborative proof ceeded Felix in the year 60. More will be 
of the time of St. Paul's journey to Jerusalem said on this subject when we come to Acts 
is afforded by the mention of the Famine, xxiv. 27. 

which is doubtless that recorded by Josephus 



chap.it. DATE OF ST. PAUL'S CONVERSION. 105 

two limits the greater part of what we are told of St Paul is situated aud 
included. 

Using the year 44 as a starting-point for the future, we gain a new light 
for tracing the Apostle's steps. It is evident that we have only to ascer- 
tain the successive intervals of his life, in order to see him at every point, 
in his connection with the transactions of the Empire. We shall observe 
this often as we proceed. At present it is more important to remark that 
the same date throws some light on that earlier part of the Apostle's path 
which is confessedly obscure. Reckoning backwards, we remember that 
" three years " intervened between his conversion and return to Jerusa- 
lem. 1 Those who assign the former event to 39 or 40, and those who fix 
on 37 or some earlier year, differ as to the length of time he spent at 
Tarsus, or in " Syria and Cilicia." 2 All that we can say with certainty 
is, that St. Paul was converted more than three years before the year 44. 3 

The date thus important for all students of Bible chronology is worthy 
of special regard by the Christians of Britain. For in that year the 
Emperor Claudius returned from the shores of this island to the metropo- 
lis of his empire. He came here in command of a military expedition, to 
complete the work which the landing of Caesar, a century before, had 
begun, or at least predicted. 4 When Claudius was in Britain, its inhabit- 
ants were not Christian. They could hardly in any sense be said to 
have been civilized. He came, as he thought, to add a barbarous province 
to his already gigantic empire ; but he really came to prepare the way for 
the silent progress of the Christian Church. His troops were the instru- 
ments of bringing among our barbarous ancestors those charities which 
were just then beginning to display themselves 5 in Antioch and Jerusalem. 
A " new name " was faintly rising on the Syrian shore, which was destined 
to spread like the cloud seen by the Prophet's servant from rhe brow of 
Mount Carmel. A better civilization, a better citizenship, than that of 
the Roman Empire, was preparing for us and for many. One Apostle at 
Tarsus was waiting for his call to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the 
Gentiles. Another Apostle at Joppa was receiving a divine intimation 
that " God is no respecter of persons, but that in every nation he that 
feareth Him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." 6 

1 Gal. i. 18. very early, is forced to allow nine or ten years 

2 Acts ix. 30; Gal. i. 21. Wieseler, with for the time spent in Syria and Cilicia. 
Schrader, thinks that he staid at Tarsus only 3 Wieseler places the Conversion in the 
half a year or a year ; Angtr, that he was there year 39 or 40. 

two years, between 41 and 43 ; Hemsen, that 4 It may be gathered from Dio Cassius, 

he spent there the years 40, 41, and 42. Among that the emperor left Borne in July, 43, and 

the English writers, Bp. Pearson imagines that returned in January, 45. 

great part of the intenal after 39 was passed 5 See Acts xi. 22-24, and 27-30. 

in Syria ; Burton, who places the conversion 6 Acts x. 34, 35. 



106 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.it. 

If we could ascertain the exact chronological arrangement of these 
passages of Apostolical history, great light would be thrown on the circum- 
stantial details of the admission of Gentiles to the Church, and on the 
growth of the Church's conviction on this momentous subject. We should 
then be able to form some idea of the meaning and results of the fortnight 
spent by Paul and Peter together at Jerusalem (p. 97). But it is not 
permitted to us to know the manner and degree in which the different 
Apostles were illuminated. We have not been informed whether Paul 
ever felt the difficulty of Peter, — whether he knew from the first the full 
significance of his call, — whether he learnt the truth by visions, or by the 
gradual workings of his mind under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 1 All 
we can confidently assert is, that he did not learn from St. Peter the 
mystery " which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, 
as it was now revealed unto God's holy Apostles by the Spirit ; that the 
Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, -and partakers of 
His promise in Christ by the Gospel." 2 

If St. Paul was converted in 39 or 40, and if the above-mentioned rest 
of the Churches was in the last years of Caligula (a.d. 39-41), and -if 
this rest was the occasion of that journey to Lydda and Joppa which ulti- 
mately brought St. Peter to Csesarea, then it is evident that St. Paul was 
at Damascus or in Arabia when Cornelius was baptized. 3 Paul was sum- 
moned to evangelize the Heathen, and Peter began the work, almost 
simultaneously. The great transaction of admitting the Gentiles to the 
Church was already accomplished when the two Apostles met at Jerusa- 
lem. St. Paul would thus learn that the door had been opened for him 
by the hand of another ; and when he went to Tarsus, the later agree- 
ment 4 might then have been partially adopted, that he should "go 
to the Heathen," while Peter remained as the Apostle of " the Circum- 
cision." 

If we are to bring down the conversion of Cornelius nearer to the year 
44, and to place it in that interval of time which St. Paul spent at Tarsus, 5 
then it is natural to suppose that his conversations prepared Peter's mind 
for the change which was at hand, and sowed the seeds of that revolution 
of opinion, of which the vision at Joppa was the crisis and completion. 
Paul might learn from Peter (as possibly also from Barnabas) many oi the 

1 The question touched on here, viz. when 8 This is Wieseler's view ; hut his argu- 

thc complete truth of Christ was coramunicat- ments are not conclusive. By some (as by 

ed to St. Paul, evidently opens a wide field Schrader) it is hastily taken for granted that 

for speculation. It is well treated by Dr. St. Paul preached the Gospel to Gentiles at 

Davidson (Introd. vol. ii. pp. 75-80), who Damascus, 

believes that the full disclosures of the gospel 4 Gal. ii. 9. 

were made to him in Arabia. 6 On the duration of this interval see above, 



Eph. iii. 4-6. See Col. i. 26, 27. p. 105, n. 2. 



chap.iy. ST. PETER AND CORNELIUS. 107 

details of our blessed Saviour's life. And Peter, meanwhile, might gather 
from Paul some of those higher views concerning the Gospel which pre- 
pared him for the miracles which he afterwards saw in the household of 
the Roman centurion. Whatever might be the obscurity of St. Paul's 
early knowledge, whether it was revealed to him or not that the Gentile 
converts would be called to overleap the ceremonies of Judaism on their 
entrance into the Church of Christ, — he could not fail to have a clear 
understanding that his own work was to lie among the Gentiles. This 
had been announced to him at his first conversion (Acts xxvi. 17, 18), in 
the words of Ananias (Acts ix. 15) : and in the vision preceding his re- 
tirement to Tarsus (Acts xxii. 21), the words which commanded him to 
go were, " Depart, for I will send thee far hence to the Gentiles." 

In considering, then, the conversion of Cornelius to have happened 
after this journey from Jerusalem to Tarsus, and before the mission of 
Barnabas to Antioch, we are adopting the opinion most in accordance 
with the independent standing-point occupied by St. Paul. And this, 
moreover, is the view which harmonizes best with the narrative of Scrip- 
ture, where the order ought to be reverently regarded as well as the 
words. In the order of Scripture narration, if it cannot be proved that 
the preaching of Peter at Caesarea was chronologically earlier than the 
preaching of Paul at Antioch, it is at least brought before us theologi- 
cally, as the beginning of the Gospel made known to the Heathen. 
When an important change is at hand, God usually causes a silent 
preparation in the minds of men, and some great fact occurs, which may 
be taken as a type and symbol of the general movement. Such a fact 
was the conversion of Cornelius, and so we must consider it. 

The whole transaction is related and reiterated with so much minute- 
ness, 1 that, if we were writing a history of the Church, we should be 
required to dwell upon it at length. But here we have only to do with it 
as the point of union between Jews and Gentiles, and as the bright start- 
ing-point of St. Paul's career. A few words may be allowed, which are 
suggested by this view of the transaction as a typical fact in the progress 
of God's dispensations. The two men to whom the revelations were made, 
and even the places where the Divine interferences occurred, were charac- 
teristic of the event. Cornelius was in Cassarea and St. Peter in Joppa ; 
— the Roman soldier in the modern city, which was built and named in 
the Emperor's honor, — the Jewish Apostle in the ancient seaport which 
associates its name with the early passages of Hebrew history, — with the 
voyage of Jonah, the building of the Temple, the wars of the Maccabees. 2 

1 See the whole narrative, Actsx. 1-xi. 19. the Apocrypha, 1 Esd. v. 55 ; 1 Mace. x. 75, 

2 Jonah i. 3; 2 Chr. ii. 16. See Josh. xiv. 5; 2 Mace. xii. 3, &c. 
xix. 46 ; Ezra iii. 7, and various passages in 



108 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.iv. 

All the splendor of Caesarea, its buildings and its ships, and the Temple 
of Rome and the Emperor, which the sailors saw far out at sea, 1 all has 
long since vanished. Herod's magnificent city is a wreck on the shore. 
A few ruins are all that remain of the harbor. Joppa lingers on, like the 
Jewish people, dejected but not destroyed. Caesarea has perished, like 
the Roman Empire which called it into existence. 

And no men could well be more contrasted with each other than those 
two men, in whom the Heathen and Jewish worlds met and were recon- 
ciled. We know what Peter was — a Galilean fisherman, brought up in 
the rudest district of an obscure province, with no learning but such as 
he might have gathered in the synagogue of his native town. All his 
early days he had dragged his nets in the lake of Genesareth. And 
now he was at Joppa, lodging in the house of Simon the Tanner, the 
Apostle of a religion that was to change the world. Cornelius was an 
officer in the Roman army. No name was more honorable at Rome than 
that of the Cornelian House. It was the name borne by the Scipios, and 
by Sulla, and the mother of the Gracchi. In the Roman army, as in the 
army of modern Austria, the soldiers were drawn from different countries 
and spoke different languages. Along the coast of which we are speak- 
ing, many of them were recruited from Syria and Judsea. 2 But the corps 
to which Cornelius belonged seems to have been a cohort of Italians sep- 
arate from the legionary soldiers, 3 and hence called the " Italian cohort." 
He was no doubt a true-born Italian. Educated in Rome, or some pro- 
vincial town, he had entered upon a soldier's life, dreaming perhaps of 
military glory, but dreaming as little of that better glory which now sur- 
rounds the Cornelian name, — as Peter dreamed at the lake of Genesa- 
reth of becoming the chosen companion of the Messiah of Israel, and of 
throwing open the doors of the Catholic Church to the dwellers in Asia 
and Africa, to the barbarians on the remote and un visited shores of Europe, 
and to the undiscovered countries of the West. 

But to return to our proper narrative. When intelligence came to 
Jerusalem that Peter had broken through the restraints of the Jewish 
Law, and had even " eaten " at the table of the Gentiles, 4 there was gen- 
eral surprise and displeasure among " those of the circumcision." But 
when he explained to them all the transaction, they approved his conduct, 
and praised God for His mercy to the Heathen. 5 And soon news came 

1 A full account of Caesarea will be given, be certain " Italian volunteers," mentioned in 
when we come to the period of St. Paul's an inscription as serving in Syria. Akermann's 
imprisonment there. Numismatic III. of the New Test. p. 34. 

2 Joseph. Ant. xiv. 15, 10; War, i. 17, 1. 4 Acts xi. 3. See x.48. No such freedom 
8 Not a cohort of the " Legio Italica," and of intercourse took place in his own reception 

which was raised by Nero. See above, p. 26, of his Gentile guests, x. 23. 
note. Possibly the corps of Cornelius might 6 Acts xi. 18. 



chap.iv. MISSION OF BAENABAS. 109 

from a greater distance, which showed that the same unexpected change 
was operating more widely. We have seen that the persecution, in which 
Stephen was killed, resulted in a general dispersion of the Christians. 
Wherever they went, they spoke to their Jewish brethren of their faith 
that the promises had been fulfilled in the life and resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. This dispersion and preaching of. the Gospel extended even to 
the island of Cyprus, and along the Phoenician coast as far as Antioch. 
For some time the glad tidings were made known only to the scattered 
children of Israel. 1 But at length some of the Hellenistic Jews, natives 
of Cyprus and Cyrene, spoke to the Greeks 2 themselves at Antioch, and 
the Divine Spirit gave such power to the Word, that a vast number 
" believed and turned to the Lord." The news was not long in travelling 
to Jerusalem. Perhaps some message was sent in haste to the Apostles of 
the Church. The Jewish Christians in Antioch might be perplexed how 
to deal with their new Gentile converts : and it is not unnatural to sup- 
pose that the presence of Barnabas might be anxiously desired by the 
fellow-missionaries of his native island. 

We ought to observe the honorable place which the island of Cyprus 
was permitted to occupy in the first work of Christianity. We shall soon 
trace the footsteps of the Apostle of the Heathen in the beginning of his 
travels over the length of this island ; and see here the first earthly 
potentate converted, and linking his name forever with that of St. Paul. 3 
Now, while Saul is yet at Tarsus, men of Cyprus are made the instru- 
ments of awakening the Gentiles ; one of them might be that " Mnason 
of Cyprus," who afterwards (then " a disciple of old standing'') was his 
host at Jerusalem ; 4 and Joses the Levite of Cyprus, 5 whom the Apostles 
had long ago called " the Son of Consolation," and who had removed all 
the prejudice which looked suspiciously on Saul's conversion, 6 is the first 
teacher sent by the Mother-Church to the new disciples at Antioch. " He 
was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." He rejoiced 
when he saw what God's grace was doing ; he exhorted 7 all to cling fast 
to the Saviour whom they had found ; and he labored himself with abun- 

1 See xi. 19, 20. nearly simultaneous, that of Cornelius being 

2 Acts xi. 20. We are strongly of opinion the great typical transaction on which our 
that the correct reading here is not " Grecians " attention is to be fixed. 

(A. V.), but Greeks, probably in the sense of 3 Acts xiii. 6-9. 

proselytes of the Gate. Thus they were in 4 Acts xxi. 16. 

the same position as Cornelius. It has been 5 Acts iv. 36. See, however, the next note 

doubted which case was prior in point of time. but one. 

Some are of opinion that the events at Antioch 6 Acts ix. 27. 

took place first. Others believe that those who 7 Acts xi. 23. The " Son of Consolation," 

spoke to the Greeks at Antioch had previously of iv. 36, ought rather to be translated " Son 

heard of the conversion of Cornelius. There of Exhortation " or " Son of Prophecy." See 

seems no objection to supposing the two cases xiii. 1. 



110 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.it. 

danl; success. But feeling the greatness of the work, and remembering 
the zeal and strong character of his friend, whose vocation to this par- 
ticular task of instructing the Heathen was doubtless well known to him, 
" he departed to Tarsus to seek Saul." 

Whatever length of time had elapsed since Saul came from Jerusalem 
to Tarsus, and however that time had been employed by him, — whether 
he had already founded any of those churches in his native Cilicia, which 
we read of soon after (Acts xv. 41), — whether (as is highly probable) 
he had there undergone any of those manifold labors and sufferings 
recorded by himself (2 Cor. xi.) but omitted by St. Luke, — whether 
by active intercourse with the Gentiles, by study of their literature, by 
travelling, by discoursing with the philosophers, he had been making 
himself acquainted with their opinions and their prejudices, and so pre- 
paring his mind for the work that was before him, — or whether he had 
been waiting in silence for the call of God's providence, praying for guid- 
ance from above, reflecting on the condition of the Gentiles, and gazing 
more and more closely on the plan of the world's redemption, — how- 
ever this may be, it must have been an eventful day when Barnabas, 
having come across the sea from Seleucia, or round by the defiles of 
Mount Amanus, suddenly appeared in the streets of Tarsus. The last 
time the two friends had met was in Jerusalem. All that they then 
hoped, and probably more than they then thought possible, had occurred. 
" God had granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life " (xi. 18). 
Barnabas had " seen the grace of God " (xi. 23) with his own eyes at 
Antioch ; and under his own teaching " a great multitude" (xi. 24) had 
been " added to the Lord." But he needed assistance. He needed the 
presence of one whose wisdom was higher than his own, whose zeal was 
an example to all, and whose peculiar mission had been miraculously 
declared. Saul recognized the voice of God in the words of Barnabas : 
and the two friends travelled in all haste to the Syrian metropolis. 

There they continued " a whole year," actively prosecuting the sacred 
work, teaching and confirming those who joined themselves to the assem- 
blies 1 of the ever-increasing Church. As new converts, in vast numbers, 
came in from the ranks of the Gentiles, the Church began to lose its 
ancient appearance of a Jewish sect, 2 and to stand out in relief, as a 
great self-existent community, in the face both of Jews and Gentiles. 
Hitherto it had been possible, and even natural, that the Christians 
should be considered, by the Jews themselves, and by the Heathen whose 
notice they attracted, as only one among the many theological parties, 
which prevailed in Jerusalem and in the Dispersion. But when Gen- 

1 See Acts xi. 26. 8 See above, pp. 29 and 62. 



chap. iv. THE NAME " CHKISTIAN." Ill 

tiles began to listen to what was preached concerning Christ, — when 
they were united as brethren on equal terms, and admitted to baptism 
without the necessity of previous circumcision, — when the Mosaic 
features of this society were lpst in the wider character of the New 
Covenant, — then it became evident that these men were something more 
than the Pharisees or Sadducees, the Essenes l or Herodians, or any sect 
or party among the Jews. Thus a new term in the vocabulary of the 
human race came into existence at Antioch about the year 44. Thus 
Jews and Gentiles, who, under the teaching of St. Paul, believed that 
Jesus of Nazareth was the Saviour of the world, " were first called 
Christians" 

It is not likely that they received this name from the Jews. The 
" Children of Abraham " 2 employed a term much more expressive of 
hatred and contempt. They called them " the sect of the Nazarenes." 3 
These disciples of Jesus traced their origin to Nazareth in Galilee : and 
it was a proverb, that nothing good could come from Nazareth. 4 Besides 
this, there was a further reason why the Jews would not have called the 
disciples of Jesus by the name of " Christians." The word " Christ " 
has the same meaning with " Messiah ; " and the Jews, however blinded 
and prejudiced on this subject, would never have used so sacred a word 
to point an expression of mockery and derision ; and they could not 
have used it in grave and serious earnest to designate those whom they 
held to be the followers of a false Messiah, a fictitious Christ. Nor is ii 
likely that the " Christians " gave this name to themselves. In the Acts 
of the Apostles, and in their own letters, we find them designating them- 
selves as " brethren," " disciples," " believers," " saints." 5 Only in two 
places 6 do we find the term " Christians ; " and in both instances it is 
implied to be a term used by those who are without. There is little 
doubt that the name originated with the Gentiles, who began now to see 
that this new sect was so far distinct from the Jews, that they might 
naturally receive a new designation. And the form of the word implies 
that ii came from the Romans, 7 not from the Greeks. The word 
" Christ " was often in the conversation of the believers, as we know it to 
have been constantly in their letters. " Christ " was the title of Him, 
whom they avowed as their leader and their chief. They confessed that 

1 See above, p. 32. 7 So we read in the Civil Wars of " Mari- 

2 Matt. iii. 9 ; Luke iii. 8 ; John viii. 39. ans " and "Pompeians " for the partisans of 

3 Acts xxiv. 5. Marius and Pompey ; and, under the Empire, 

4 John i. 46. See John vii. 41, 52 j Luke of " Othonians" and " Vitellians " for the par- 
xiii. 2, &c. tisans of Otho and Vitcllius. The word " He- 

6 Acts xv. 23, ix. 26, v. 14, ix. 32; Rom. rodians " (Matt. xxii. 16 ; Mark iii. 6, xii. 13) 
xv. 25 ; Col. i. 2, &c. is formed exactly in the same way. 

6 Acts xxvi. 28, and 1 Pet. iv. 16. 



112 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. . chap. iv. 

this Christ had been crucified ; but they asserted that He was risen from 
the dead, and that He guided them by His invisible power. Thus 
" Christian " was the name which naturally found its place in the 
reproachful language of their enemies. 1 In the first instance, we have 
every reason to believe that it was a term of ridicule and derision. 2 And 
it is remarkable that the people of Antioch were notorious for inventing 
names of derision, and for turning their wit into the channels of ridi- 
cule. 3 In every way there is something very significant in the place 
where we first received the name we bear. Not in Jerusalem, the city 
of the Old Covenant, the city of the people who were chosen to the 
exclusion of all others, but in a Heathen city, the Eastern centre of 
Greek fashion and Roman luxury ; and not till it was shown that the 
New Covenant was inclusive of all others ; then and there we were first 
called Christians, and the Church received from the world its true and 
honorable name. 

In narrating the journeys of St. Paul, it will now be our duty to speak 
of Antioch, not Jerusalem, as his point of departure and return. Let 
us look, more closely than has hitherto been necessary, at its character, 
its history, and its appearance. The position which it occupied near the 
abrupt angle formed by the coasts of Syria and Asia Minor, and in the 
opening where the Orontes passes between the ranges of Lebanon and 
Taurus, has already been noticed. 4 And we have mentioned the nuiuer- 
ous colony of Jews which Seleucus introduced into his capital, and 
raised to an equality of civil rights with the Greeks. 5 There was every 
thing in the situation and circumstances of this city, to make it a place 
of concourse for all classes and kinds of people. By its harbor of Se- 
leucia it was in communication with all the trade of the Mediterranean ; 
and, through the open country behind the Lebanon, it was conveniently 
approached by the caravans from Mesopotamia and Arabia. It united 
the inland advantages of Aleppo with the maritime opportunities of 
Smyrna. It was almost an oriental Rome, in which all the forms of the- 
civilized life of the Empire found some representative. Through tho 

1 It is a Latin derivative from the Greek " Christian " is used so proverbially for all 
term for the Messiah of the Jews. It is con- that is good, that it has been applied to betiev- 
nected with the office, not the name, Oi our olent actions in which Jews have participated. 
Saviour; which harmonizes with the impor- 2 It is needless to remark that it soon 
tant fact, that in the Epistles He is usually became a title of glory. Julian tried to sub- 
called not " Jesus " but " Christ." The word stitute the term " Galilean " for " Christian." 
"Jesuit" (which, by the way, is rather Greek 3 Apollonius of Tyana was driven out of 
than Latin) did not come into the vocabulary the city by their insults, and sailed away (like 
of the Church till after the lapse of 1,500 years. St. Paul) from Seleucia to Cyprus, where he 
It is not a little remarkable that the word " Jes- visited Paphos. See Ch. X. 
uit" is a proverbial term of reproach, even in * P. 19. 
Roman- Catholic countries : while the word 6 P. 16. 



chap. iv. ANTIOCH. 113 

first two centuries of the Christian era, it was what Constantinople 
became afterwards, " the Gate of the East." And, indeed, the glory of 
the city of Ignatius was only gradually eclipsed by that of the city of 
Chrysostom. That great preacher and commentator himself, who knew 
them both by familiar residence, always speaks of Antioch with peculiar 
reverence, 1 as the patriarchal city of the Christian name. 

There is something curiously prophetic in the stories which are told 
of the first founding of this city. Like Romulus on the Palatine, 
Seleucus is said to have watched the flight of birds from the summit of 
Mount Casius. An eagle took a fragment of the flesh of his sacrifice, 
and carried it to a point on the seashore, a little to the north of the 
mouth of the Orontes. There he founded a city, and called it Seleucia? 
after his own name. This was on the 23d of April. Again, on the 1st 
of May, he sacrificed on the hill Silpius ; and then repeated the cere- 
mony and watched the auguries at the city of Antigonia, which his 
vanquished rival, Antigonus, had begun and left unfinished. An eagle 
again decided that this was not to be his own metropolis, and carried the 
flesh to the hill Silpius, which is on the south side of the river, about 
the place where it turns from a northerly to a westerly direction. Five 
or six thousand Athenians and Macedonians were ordered to convey the 
stones and timber of Antigonia down the river ; and Antioch was founded 
by Seleucus, and called after his father's name. 3 

This fable, invented perhaps to give a mythological sanction to what 
was really an act of sagacious prudence and princely ambition, is well 
worth remembering. Seleucus was not slow to recognize the wisdom 
of Antigonus in choosing a site for his capital, which should place it in 
ready communication both with the shores of Greece and with his eastern 
territories on the Tigris and Euphrates ; and he followed the example 
promptly, and completed his work with sumptuous magnificence. Few 
princes have ever lived with so great a passion for the building of cities ; 
and this is a feature of his character which ought not to be unnoticed in 
this narrative. Two at least of his cities in Asia Minor have a close 
connection with the life of St. Paul. These are the Pisidian Antioch 4 
and the Phrygian Laodicasa, 5 one called by the name of his father, the 
other of his mother. He is said to have built in all nine Seleucias, six- 
teen Antiochs, and six LaodicaDas. This love of commemorating the 

1 In his homilies on St. M tthew he tells 2 See Acts xiii. 4. 

the people of Antioch, that though they boasted 3 Some say that Seleucus called the city 

of their city's pre-eminence in having first en- after his son. 

joyed the Christian name, they were willing 4 Acts xiii. 14, xiv. 21 ; 2 Tim. iii. 11. 

enough to be surpassed in Christian virtue by 5 Coloss. iv. 13, 15, 16. See Rev. i. 11, 

more homely cities. iii. 14. 
8 



114 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.it. 

members of his family was conspicuous in his works by the Orontes. 
Besides Seleucia and Antioch, he built, in the immediate neighborhood, 
a Laodicasa in honor of his mother, and an Apamea in honor of his 
wife. But by far the most famous of these four cities was the Syrian 
Antioch. 

We must allude to its edifices and ornaments only so far as they are 
due to the Greek kings of Syria and the first fire Caesars of Rome. 1 If 
we were to allow our description to wander to the times of Justinian or 
the Crusaders, though these are the times of Antioch's greatest glory, we 
should be trespassing on a period of history which does not belong to us. 
Strabo, in the time of Augustus, describes the city as a Tetrapolis, or 
union of four cities. The two first were erected by Seleucus Nicator 
himself, in the situation already described, between Mount Silpius and 
the river, on that wide space of level ground where a few poor habita- 
tions still remain by the banks of the Orontes. The river has gradually 
changed its course and appearance, as the city has decayed. Once it 
flowed round an island which, like the island in the Seine, 2 by its thor- 
oughfares and bridges, and its own noble buildings, became part of a 
magnificent whole. But, in Paris, the Old City is on the island ; in 
Antioch, it was the New City, built by the second Seleucus and the third 
Antioclms. Its chief features were a palace, and an arch like that of 
Napoleon. The fourth and last part of the Tetrapolis was built by 
Antioclms Epiphanes, where Mount Silpius rises abruptly on the south. 
On one of its craggy summits he placed, in the fervor of his Romanizing 
mania, 3 a temple dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus ; and on another, a 
strong citadel, which dwindled to the Saracen Castle of the first Crusade. 
At the rugged bases of the mountain, the ground was levelled for a 
glorious street, which extended for four miles across the length of the 
city, and where sheltered crowds could walk through continuous colon- 
nades from the eastern to the western suburb. 4 The whole was 
surrounded by a wall, which, ascending to the heights and returning to 
the river, does not deviate very widely in its course from the wall of the 
Middle Ages, which can still be traced by the fragments of ruined tow- 
ers. This wall is assigned by a Byzantine writer to Tiberius, but it 
seems more probable that the Emperor only repaired what Antioclms 
Epiphanes had built. 5 Turning now to the period of the Empire, we find 

1 In our larger editions is a plan of the 3 See above, p. 25, n. 1. 

ancient city, adopted (with some modifications) 4 A comparison has been instituted above 

from the plan in the work mentioned below, n. between Paris and Antioch : and it is hardly 

5. See a fuller account of Antioch in Dr. possible now (1860) to revise this paragraph 

Smith's Diet, of Geog. for the press without alluding to the Rue de 

2 Julian the Apostate suggests a parallel Rivoli. 

between Paris and Antioch. See Gibbon's 5 See Miiller, Antiq. Antioch. pp. 54 and 

19th and 23d chapters. 81. 



ciiap. iv. CHARACTER OF INHABITANTS OF ANTIOCH. 115 

that Antioch had memorials of all the great Romans whose names have 
been mentioned as yet in this biography. When Pompey was defeated 
by Caesar, the conqueror's name was perpetuated in this Eastern city by 
an aqueduct and by baths, and by a basilica called Caesarium. In the 
reign of Augustus, Agrippa l built in all cities of the Empire, and Herod 
of Judasa followed the example to the utmost of his power. Both found 
employment for their munificence at Antioch. A gay suburb rose under 
the patronage of the one, and the other contributed a road and a portico. 
The reign of Tiberius was less remarkable for great architectural works ; 
but the Syrians by the Orontes had to thank him for many improvements 
and restorations in their city. Even the four years of his successor left 
behind them the aqueduct and the baths of Caligula. 

The character of the inhabitants is easily inferred from the influences 
which presided over the city's growth. Its successive enlargement by the 
Seleucids proves that their numbers rapidly increased from the first. 
The population swelled still further, when, instead of the metropolis 
of the Greek kings of Syria, it became the residence of Roman gov- 
ernors. The mixed multitude received new and important additions 
in the officials who were connected with the details of provincial admin- 
istration. Luxurious Romans were attracted by its beautiful climate. 
New wants continually multiplied the business of its commerce. Its 
gardens and houses grew and extended on the north side of the river. 
Many are the allusions to Antioch, in the history of those times, as a place 
of singular pleasure and enjoyment. Here and there, an elevating 
thought is associated with its name. Poets have spent their young days 
at Antioch, 2 great generals have died there, 3 emperors have visited and 
admired it. 4 But, for the most part, its population was a worthless rab- 
ble of Greeks and Orientals. The frivolous amusements of the theatre 
were the occupation of their life. Their passion for races, and the ridic- 
ulous party quarrels 5 connected with them, were the patterns of those 
which afterwards became the disgrace of Byzantium. The oriental cle- 
ment of superstition and imposture was not less active. The Chaldean 
astrologers found their most credulous disciples in Antioch. 6 Jewish 

1 This friend of Augustus and Maecenas to Germanicus and his noble-minded wife, 
must be carefully distinguished from that And yet they were the parents of Caligula. 
grandson of Herod who bore the same name, 4 For all that long series of emperors whoso 
and whose death is one of the subjects of this names are connected with Antioch, see Miiller. 
chapter. For the works of Herod the Great 6 The Blue Faction and the Green Faction 
at Antioch, see Joseph. Ant. xvi. 5, 3 ; War, were notorious under the reigns of Caligula 
i. 21, 11. and Claudius. Both emperors patronized the 

2 See Cic. pro Archia Poeta. latter. 

8 All readers of Tacitus will recognize the 6 Chrysostom complains that even Chris- 

allusion. (See Ann. ii. 72.) It is not possible tians, in his day, were led away by this passion 
to write about Antioch without some allusion for horoscopes. Juvenal traces the supersti- 



116 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. cbaf.iv. 

impostors, 1 sufficiently common throughout the East, found their best 
opportunities here. It is probable that no populations have ever been 
more abandoned than those of oriental Greek cities under the Roman 
Empire, and of these cities Antioch was the greatest and the worst. 2 
If we wish to realize the appearance and reality of the complicated 
Heathenism of the first Christian century, we must endeavor to im- 
agine the scene of that suburb, the famous Daphne, 3 with its fountains 
and groves of bay-trees, its bright buildings, its crowds of licentious 
votaries, its statue of Apollo, — where, under the climate of Syria and 
the wealthy patronage of Rome, all that was beautiful in nature and in 
art had created a sanctuary for a perpetual festival of vice, 

Thus, if any city, in the first century, was worthy to be called the 
Heathen Queen and Metropolis of the East, that city was Antioch. She 
was represented, in a famous allegorical statue, as a female figure, seated 
on a rock and crowned, with the river Orontes at her feet. 4 With this 
image, which art has made perpetual, we conclude our description. 
There is no excuse for continuing it to the age of Vespasian and Titus, 
when Judaea was taken, and the Western Gate, decorated with the spoils, 
was called the " Gate of the Cherubim," 5 — or to the Saracen age, when, 
after many years of Christian history and Christian mythology, we find 
the " Gate of St. Paul " placed opposite the " Gate of St. George," and 
when Duke Godfrey pitched his camp between the river and the city- 
wall. And there is reason to believe that earthquakes, the constant 
enemy of the people of Antioch, have so altered the very appearance of its 
site, that such description would be of little use. As the Vesuvius of 
Virgil or Pliny would hardly be recognized in the angry neighbor of mod- 
ern Naples, so it is more than probable that the dislocated crags, which 
still rise above the Orontes, are greatly altered in form from the fort- 
crowned heights of Seleucus or Tiberius, Justinian or Tancred. 

Earthquakes occurred in each of the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. 6 
And it is likely that, when Saul and Barnabas were engaged in their 

tions of Heathen Rome to Antioch. "In 4 For this celebrated statue of the Tv%7j 

Tiberim defluxit Orontes." 'Avrioxdac, or Genius of Antioch, so constantly 

1 Compare the cases of Simon Magus (Acts represented on coins, see Muller, Antiq. Anti- 
viii.), Elymas the Sorcerer (Acts xiii ), and och. pp. 35-41. The engraving here given is 
the sons of Sceva (Acts xix.). We shall have from Pistolesi's Vaticano. 

occasion to return to this subject again. 5 The Byzantine writer Malalas says, that 

2 Ausonius hesitates between Antioch and Titus built a theatre at Antioch where a syna 
Alexandria, as to the rank they occupied in gogue had been. 

eminence and vice. 6 One earthquake, according to Malalas, 

3 Gibbon's description of Daphne (ch. occurred on the morning of March 23, in the 
xxiii.) is well known. The sanctuary was on year 37, and another soon afterwards. 

the high ground, four or five miles to the 
S W. of Antioch. See Smith's Die. of the Bible. 




Allegorical Statue of Antioeli in Syria. 



chap.iy. FAMINE. — MISSION TO JERUSALEM. 117 

apostolic work, parts of the city had something of that appearance which 
still makes Lisbon dreary, new and handsome buildings being raised in 
close proximity to the ruins left by the iate calamity. It is remarkable 
how often great physical calamities are permitted by God to follow in 
close succession to each other. That age, which, as we have seen, had 
been visited by earthquakes, was presently visited by famine. The reign 
of Claudius, from bad harvests or other causes, was a period of general 
distress and scarcity " over the whole world." 1 In the fourth year of his 
reign, we are told by Josephus that the famine was so severe, that the 
price of food became enormous, and great numbers perished. 2 At this 
time it happened that Helena, the mother of Izates, king of Adiabene, and 
a recent convert to Judaism, came to worship at Jerusalem. Moved with 
compassion for the misery she saw around her, she sent to purchase corn 
from Alexandria and figs from Cyprus, for distribution among the poor. 
Izates himself (who had also been converted by one who bore the same 
name 3 with him who baptized St. Paul) shared the charitable feelings of 
his mother, and sent large sums of money to Jerusalem. 

While this relief came from Assyria, from Cyprus, and from Africa to 
the Jewish sufferers in Judasa, God did not suffer His own Christian 
people, probably the poorest and certainly the most disregarded in that 
country, to perish in the general distress. And their relief also came from 
nearly the same quarters. While Barnabas and Saul were evangelizing 
the Syrian capital, and gathering in the harvest, the first seeds of which 
had been sown by " men of Cyprus and Cyrene," certain prophets came 
down from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them named Agabus an- 
nounced that a time of famine was at hand. 4 The Gentile disciples 1'jlt 
that they were bound by the closest link to those Jewish brethren whom 
though they had never seen they loved. " For if the Gentiles had been 
made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty was also to minister 
unto them in carnal things." 5 No time was lost in preparing for the 
coming distress. All the members of the Christian community, according 
to their means, " determined to send relief," Saul and Barnabas being- 
chosen to take the contribution to the elders at Jerusalem. 6 

About the time when these messengers came to the Holy City on theii 
errand of love, a worse calamity than that of famine had fallen upon the 

1 Besides the famine in Judaea, we read of the court of Adiabene, and thus obtained influ- 
three others in the reign of Claudius; one in ence with the king. (Joseph. Ant. xx. 2, 3.) 
Greece, mentioned by Eusebius, and two in See what has been said above (pp. 18, and 93, 
Rome, the first mentioned by Dio Cassius, the n. 4) about the female proselytes at Damascus 
second by Tacitus. and Iconium. 

2 Ant. iii. 15, 3, xx. 2, 5, and 5, 2. 4 Acts xi. 28. 

8 This Ananias was a Jewish merchant, 6 Rom. xv. 27. 

who made proselytes among the women about 6 Acts xi. 29, 30. 



118 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. rv. 

Church. One Apostle had been murdered, and another was in prison. 
There is something touching in the contrast between the two brothers, 
James and John. One died before the middle of the first Christian cen- 
tury ; the other lived on to its close. One was removed just when his 
Master's kingdom, concerning which he had so eagerly inquired, 1 was be- 
ginning to show its real character; he probably never heard the word 
" Christian " pronounced. Zebedee's other son remained till the anti- 
Christian 2 enemies of the faith were " already come," and was laboring 
against them when his brother had been fifty years at rest in the Lord. 
He who had foretold the long service of St. John revealed to St. Peter 
that he should die by a violent death. 3 But the time was not yet come. 
Herod had bound him with two chains. Besides the soldiers who watched 
his sleep, guards were placed before the door of the prison. 4 And " after 
the passover " 5 the king intended to bring him out and gratify the people 
with his death. But Herod's death was nearer than St. Peter's. For a 
moment we see the Apostle in captivity and the king in the plenitude of 
his power. But before the autumn a dreadful change had taken place. 
On the 1st of August (we follow a probable calculation, 6 and borrow some 
circumstances from the Jewish historian) 7 there was a great commemora- 
tion in Csesarea. Some say it was in honor of the Emperor's safe return 
from the island of Britain. However this might be, the city was crowded, 
and Herod was there. On the second day of the festival he came into the 
theatre. That theatre had been erected by his grandfather, 8 who had 
murdered the Innocents ; and now the grandson was there, who had mur- 
dered an Apostle. The stone seats, rising in a great semicircle, tier above 
tier, were covered with an excited multitude. The king came in, clothed 
in magnificent robes, of which silver was the costly and brilliant material. 
It was early in the day, and the sun's rays fell upon the king, so that the 
eyes of the beholders were dazzled with the brightness which surrounded 
him. Voices from the crowd, here and there, exclaimed that it was the 
apparition of something divine. And when he spoke and made an oration 
to the people, they gave a shout, saying, " It is the voice of a God and not 



1 See Mark x. 35-45 ; Acts i. 6. 8 See Joseph. Ant. xv. 9, 6. It is from 

2 1 John ii. 18, iv. 3 ; 2 John 7. his narrative (xix. 8, 2) that we know the 

3 John xxi. 18-22. See 2 Pet. i. 14. theatre to have been the scene of Agrippa's 

4 For the question of the distribution of death-stroke. The "throne" (Acts xii. 21) 
soldiers on this occasion, we may refer to is the official " tribunal," as in Acts xviii. 12, 
Hackett's notes on v. 4 and v. 40. 16, 17. Josephus says nothing of the quarrel 

5 Inadvertently translated "after Easter" with the Tyrians and Sidonians. Probably 
in the A. V. Acts xii. 4. it arose simply from mercantile relations (see 

6 That of Wieseler. 1 Kings v. 11 ; Ezek. xxvii. 17), and their 

7 Compare Acts xii. 20-24 with Josephus, desire for reconciliation (Acts xii. 20) would 
Ant. xix. 8, * naturally be increased by the existing famine. 



chap. iv. DEATH OF HEROD AGRIPPA I, 119 

of a man." But in the midst of this idolatrous ostentation the angel of 
God suddenly smote him. He was carried out of the theatre a dying man, 
and on the 6th of August he was dead. 

This was that year, 4-4, 1 on which we have already said so much. The 
country was placed again under Roman governors, and hard times were 
at hand for the Jews. Herod Agrippa had courted their favor. He had 
done much for them, and was preparing to do more. Josephus tells us, 
that " he had begun to encompass Jerusalem with a wall, which, had it 
been brought to perfection, would have made it impracticable for the 
Romans to take the city by siege : but his death, which happened at 
Caesarea, before he had raised the walls to their due height, prevented 
him." 2 That part of the city, which this boundary was intended to enclose, 
was a suburb when St. Paul was converted. The work was not completed 
till the Jews were preparing for their final struggle with the Romans : and 
the Apostle, when he came from Antioch to Jerusalem, must have noticed 
the unfinished wall to the north and west of the old Damascus gate. We 
cannot determine the season of the year when he passed this way. We 
are not sure whether the year itself was 44 or 45. It is not probable that 
he was in Jerusalem at the passover, when St. Peter was in prison, or that 
he was praying with those anxious disciples at the " house of Mary the 
mother of John, whose surname was Mark." 3 But there is this link of 
interesting connection between that house and St. Paul, that it was the 
familiar home of one who was afterwards (not always 4 without cause for 
anxiety or reproof) a companion of his journeys. When Barnabas and 
Saul returned to Antioch, they were attended by " John, whose surname 
was Mark." With the affection of Abraham towards Lot, his kinsman 5 
Barnabas withdrew him from the scene of persecution. We need not 
doubt that higher motives were added, — that at the first, as at the last, 6 
St. Paul regarded him as " profitable to him for the ministry." 

Thus attended, the Apostle willingly retraced his steps towards Antioch 
A field of noble enterprise was before him. He could not doubt that God, 
who had so prepared him, would work by his means great conversions 
among the Heathen. At this point of his life, we cannot avoid noticing 
those circumstances of inward and outward preparation, which fitted him 
for his peculiar position of standing between the Jews and Gentiles. He 

1 Roman-Catholic writers here insert vari- to have held the See of Antioch for seven years 

ous passages of the traditionary life of St. before that of Rome. 

Peter; his journey from Antioch through 2 War, ii. 11, 6. 

Asia Minor to Rome ; his meeting with Simon 3 Acts xii. 12. 

Magus, &c., and the other Apostles ; their 4 See Acts xiii. 13, xv. 37-39. 

general separation to preach the Gospel to the 5 Not necessarily " nephew." See a future] 

Gentiles in all parts of the world; the formation note on Col. iv. 10. 

of the Apostles' Creed, &c. St. Peter is alleged 6 2 Tim. iv. 11. See below. 



120 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. it. 

was not a Sadducee, he had never Hellenized, — he had been educated at 
Jerusalem, — every thing conspired to give him authority, when he ad- 
dressed his countrymen as a " Hebrew of the Hebrews." At the same 
time, in his apostolical relation to Christ, he was quite disconnected with 
the other Apostles ; he had come in silence to a conviction of the truth at 
a distance from the Judaizing Christians, and had early overcome those 
prejudices which impeded so many in their approaches to the Heathen. 
He had just been long enough at Jerusalem to be recognized and welcomed 
by the apostolic college, 1 but not long enough even to be known by face 
" unto the churches in Judaea." 2 He had been withdrawn into Cilicia 
till the baptism of Gentiles was a notorious and familiar fact to those very 
churches. 3 He could hardly be blamed for continuing what St. Peter had 
already begun. 

And if the Spirit of God had prepared him for building up the United 
Church of Jews and Gentiles, and the Providence of God had directed all 
the steps of his life to this one result, we are called on to notice the 
singular fitness of this last employment, on which we have seen him 
engaged, for assuaging the suspicious feeling which separated the two 
great branches of the Church. In quitting for a time his Gentile converts 
at Antioch, and carrying a contribution of money to the Jewish Chris- 
tians at Jerusalem, he was by no means leaving the higher work for the 
lower. He was building for aftertimes. The interchange of mutual 
benevolence was a safe foundation for future confidence. Temporal com- 
fort was given in gratitude for spiritual good received. The Church's 
first days were christened with charity. No sooner was its new name 
received, in token of the union of Jews and Gentiles, than the sympa- 
thy of its members was asserted by the work of practical benevolence. 
We need not hesitate to apply to that work the words which St. Paul 
used, after many years, of another collection for the poor Christians in 
Judaea : — " The administration of this service not only supplies the need 
of the Saints, but overflows in many thanksgivings unto God ; while they 
praise God for this proof of your obedience to the Glad Tidings of 
Christ." 4 





Coin of Claudius and Agrlppa I.* 

1 Acts ix. 27. 2 Gal. i. 22. * 2 Cor. ix. 12-14. 

8 These were the churches of Lydda, Saron, 6 From the British Museum. See p. 130. 

Joppa, &c, which Peter had been visiting when We may refer here to Dr. Wordsworth's useful 

he was summoned to Ciesarea. Acts ix, 32=43, cote on Acts xii. 1. 



CHAPTER V. 

Second Part of the Acts of the Apostles. — Revelation at Antioch. — Public Devotions. — De- 
parture of Barnabas and Saul. — The Orontes. — History and Description of Seleucia. — 
Voyage to Cyprus. — Salamis. — Roman Provincial System. — Proconsuls and Propraetors. 
— Sergius Paulus. — Oriental Impostors at Rome and in the Provinces. — Elymas Bar- 
jesus. — History of Jewish Names. — Saul and Paul. 

THE second part of the Acts of the Apostles is generally reckoned to 
begin with the thirteenth chapter. At this point St. Paul begins 
to appear as the principal character ; and the narrative, gradually widen- 
ing and expanding with his travels, seems intended to describe to us, in 
minute detail, the communication of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The 
thirteenth and fourteenth chapters embrace a definite and separate sub- 
ject : and this subject is the first journey of the first Christian missiona- 
ries to the Heathen. These two chapters of the inspired record are the 
authorities for the present and the succeeding chapters of this work, in 
which we intend to follow the steps of Paul and Barnabas, in their cir- 
cuit through Cyprus and the southern part of Lesser Asia. 

The history opens suddenly and abruptly. We are told that there 
were, in the Church at Antioch, 1 " prophets and teachers," and among 
the rest " Barnabas," with whom we are already familiar. The others 
were " Simeon, who was surnamed Niger," and " Lucius of Cyrene " and 
" Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch," — and " Saul/ who 
still appears under his Hebrew name. We observe, moreover, noi only 
that he is mentioned after Barnabas, but that he occupies the lowest place 
in this enumeration of "prophets and teachers." The distinction between 
these two offices in the Apostolic Church will be discussed hereafter. 1 
At present it is sufficient to remark that the "prophecy" of the New 
Testament does not necessarily imply a knowledge of things to come, but 
rather a gift of exhorting with a peculiar force of inspiration. In the 
Church's early miraculous days the " prophet " appears to have been 
ranked higher than the " teacher." 3 And we may perhaps infer that, 
up to this point of the history, Barnabas had belonged to the rank of 
" prophets," and Saul to that of "teachers : " which would be in strict 

i Actsxiii. 1. 2 See Ch. XIII. 

8 Compare Acts xiii. 1 with 1 Cor. xii. 28, 29 ; Eph. iv. 11. 

121 



122 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. t. 

conformity with the inferiority of the latter to the former, which, as we 
have seen, has been hitherto observed. 

Of the other three, who are grouped with these two chosen missiona- 
ries, we do not know enough to justify any long disquisition. But we 
may remark in passing that there is a certain interest attaching to each 
one of them. Simeon is one of those Jews who bore a Latin surname 
in addition to their Hebrew name, like " John whose surname was 
Mark," mentioned in the last verse of the preceding chapter, and like 
Saul himself, whose change of appellation will presently be brought 
under notice. 1 Lucius, probably the same who is referred to in the 
Epistle to the Romans, 2 is a native of Cyrene, that African city which has 
already been noticed as abounding in Jews, and which sent to Jerusalem 
our Saviour's cross-bearer. 3 Manaen is spoken of as the foster-brother 
of Herod the Tetrarch: this was Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee ; 
and since we learn from Josephus 4 that this Herod and his brother Arche- 
laus were children of the same mother, and afterwards educated together 
at Rome, it is probable that this Christian prophet or teacher had spent 
his early childhood with those two princes, who were now both banished 
from Palestine to the banks of the Rhone. 5 

These were the most conspicuous persons in the Church of Antioch, 
when a revelation was received of the utmost importance. The occasion 
on which the revelation was made seems to have been a fit preparation 
for it. The Christians were engaged in religious services of peculiar 
solemnity. The Holy Ghost spoke to them " as they ministered unto the 
Lord and fasted." The word here translated " ministered," has been 
taken by opposite controversialists to denote the celebration of the 
" sacrifice of the mass " on the one hand, or the exercise of the office of 
" preaching " on the other. It will be safer if we say simply that the 
Christian community at Antioch was engaged in one united act of 
prayer and humiliation. That this solemnity would be accompanied by 
words of exhortation, and that it would be crowned and completed by 
the Holy Communion, is more than probable ; that it was accompanied 

1 See Acts xiii. 9. Compare Col. iv. 11. of his obscurity, both his future power and 

2 Rom. xvi. 21. There is no reason what- future wickedness. The historian adds, that 
ever for supposing that St. Luke is meant. Herod afterwards treated the Essenes with 
The Latin form of his name would be " Luca- great kindness. Nothing is more likely than 
nus," not " Lucius." that this Manaen was the father of the com- 

3 See above, p. 16, n. 6. panion of Herod's children. Another Jew of 

4 Their mother's name was Malthace, a the same name is mentioned, at a later period 
Samaritan. War, i. 28, 4. See Ant. xvii. 1, 3. ( War, ii. 17, 8, 9 ; Life, 5), as having encour- 
One of the sect of the Essenes (see p. 32), aged robberies, and come to a violent end. 
who bore the name of Manaen or Manaem, is The name is the same with that of the King 
mentioned by Josephus (Ant. xv. 10, 5) as of Israel. 2 Kings xv. 14-22. 

having foretold to Herod the Great, in the days 6 See above, pp. 26 and 51. 



chap.v. DEPARTUBE OF BAENABA8 AND SAUL. 123 

with Fasting 1 we are expressly told. These religious services might 
have had a special reference to the means which were to be adopted for 
the spread of the Gospel now evidently intended for all ; and the words 
" separate me now 2 Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have 
called them," may have been an answer to specific prayers. How this 
revelation was made, whether by the mouth of some of the prophets 
who were present, or by the impulse of a simultaneous and general 
inspiration, — whether the route to be taken by Barnabas and Saul was 
at this time precisely indicated, 3 — and whether they had previously 
received a conscious personal call, of which this was the public ratifi- 
cation, 4 — it is useless to inquire. A definite work was pointed out, as 
now about to be begun under the counsel of God ; two definite agents 
in this work were publicly singled out: and we soon see them sent 
forth to their arduous undertaking, with the sanction of the Church at 
Antioch. 

Their final consecration and departure was the occasion of another 
religious solemnity. A fast was appointed, and prayers were offered up ; 
and, with that simple ceremony of ordination 5 which we trace through 
the earlier periods of Jewish history, and which we here see adopted 
under the highest authority in the Christian Church, " they laid their 
hands on them, and sent them away." The words are wonderfully simple ; 
but those who devoutly reflect on this great occasion, and on the posi- 
tion of the first Christians at Antioch, will not find it difficult to imagine 
the thoughts which occupied the hearts of the Disciples during these 
first " Ember Days of the Church 6 — their deep sense of the importance 
of the work which was now beginning, — their faith in God, on whom 
they could rely in the midst of such difficulties, — their suspense du- 
ring the absence of those by whom their own faith had been forti- 
fied, — their anxiety for the intelligence they might bring on their 
return. 

Their first point of destination was the island of Cyprus. It is not 
necessary, though quite allowable, to suppose that this particular course 
was divinely indicated in the original revelation at Antioch. Four 

1 For the association of Fasting with Ordi- * St. Paul at least had long been conscious 
nation, see Bingham's Antiq. of the Christ. Ch. of his own vocation, and could only be waiting 
iv. vi. 6, xxi. ii. 8. to be summoned to his work. 

2 This little word is important, and should 5 It forms no part of the plan of this work 
have been in the A. V. to enter into ecclesiastical controversies. It is 

3 It is evident that the course of St. Paul's sufficient to refer to Acts vi. 6 ; 1 Tim. iv. 14, 
journeys was often indeterminate, and regu- v. 22 ; 2 Tim. i. 6 ; Heb. vi. 2. 

lated either by convenient opportunities (as in 6 See Bingham, as above. 

Acts xxi. 2, xxviii. 11), or by compulsion (as 
in xiv. 6, xvii. 14), or by supernatural admo- 
nitions (xxii. 21, xvi. 6-10). 



124 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. v. 

reasons at least can be stated, which may have induced the Apostles, in 
the exercise of a wise discretion, to turn in the first instance to this 
island. It is separated by no great distance from the mainland of 
Syria ; its high mountain-summits are easily seen } in clear weather from 
the coast near the mouth of the Orontes ; and in the summer season 
many vessels must often have been passing and repassing between 
Salamis and Seleucia. Besides this, it was the native-place of Barnabas. 2 
Since the time when " Andrew found his brother Simon, and brought him 
to Jesus," 3 and the Saviour was beloved in the house of " Martha and 
her sister and Lazarus," 4 the ties of family relationship had not been 
without effect on the progress of the Gospel. 5 It could not be unnat- 
ural to suppose that the truth would be welcomed in Cyprus, when it 
was brought by Barnabas and his kinsman Mark 6 to their own connec- 
tions or friends. Moreover, the Jews were numerous in Salamis. 7 By 
sailing to that city they were following the track of the synagogues. 
Their mission, it is true, was chiefly to the Gentiles ; but their 
surest course for reaching them was through the medium of the Prose- 
lytes and the Hellenistic Jews. To these considerations we must 
add, in the fourth place, that some of the Cypriotes were already 
Christians. No one place out of Palestine, with the exception of 
Antioch, had been so honorably associated with the work of successful 
evangelization. 8 

The palaces of Antioch were connected with the sea by the river 
Orontes. Strabo says that in his time they sailed up the stream iri one 
day ; and Pausanias speaks of great Roman works which had improved 
the navigation of the channel. Probably it was navigable by vessels of 
some considerable size, and goods and passengers were conveyed by 
water between the city and the sea. Even in our own day, though there 
is now a bar at the mouth of the river, there has been a serious project 
of uniting it by a canal with the Euphrates, and so of re-establishing one 
of the old lines of commercial intercourse between the Mediterranean 
and the Indian Sea. The Orontes comes from the valley between 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, and does not, like many rivers, vary 
capriciously between a winter-torrent and a thirsty watercourse, but 
flows on continually to the sea. Its waters are not clear, but they are 
deep and rapid. Their course has been compared to that of the Wye. 
They wind round the bases of high and precipitous cliffs, or by richly 

1 Colonel Chesney speaks of " the lofty Paul himself. Acts xxiii. 16-33. Compare 
island of Cyprus as seen to the S. W. in the 1 Cor. vii. 16. 

distant horizon," from the bay of Antioch. 6 Acts xiii. 5. See xii. 25, and p. 120, n. 

2 Acts iv. 36. 4, above. 

3 John i. 41, 42. 4 John xi. 5. ' Acts xiii. 5. See below, pp. 129, 130. 
6 See an instance of this in the life of St. 8 See Acts iv. 36, xi. 19, 20, xxi. 16. 



chap.v. DESCRIPTION OF SELEUCIA. 125 

cultivated banks, where the vegetation of the south, — the vine and the 
fig-tree, the myrtle, the bay, the ilex, and the arbutus, — is mingled with 
dwarf oak and English sycamore. 1 If Barnabas and Saul came down by 
water from Antioch, this was the course of the boat which conveved 
them. If they travelled the five or six leagues 2 by land, they crossed 
the river at the north side of Antioch, and came along the base of the 
Pierian hills by a route which is now roughly covered with fragrant and 
picturesque shrubs, but which then doubtless was a track well worn by 
travellers, like the road from the Piraeus to Athens, or from Ostia to Rome. 3 

Seleucia united the two characters of a fortress and a seaport. It was 
situated on a x'ocky eminence, which is the southern extremity of an 
elevated range of hills projecting from Mount Amanus. From the south- 
east, where the ruins of the Antioch Gate are still conspicuous, the 
ground rose towards the north-east into high and craggy summits ; and 
round the greater part of its circumference of four miles the city was 
protected by its natural position. The harbor and mercantile suburb 
were on level ground towards the west; but here, as on the only weak 
point at Gibraltar, strong artificial defences had made compensation for 
the deficiency of nature. Seleucus, who had named his metropolis in 
his father's honor (p. 113), gave his own name to this maritime fortress ; 
and here, around his tomb, 4 his successors contended for the key of 
Syria. 5 " Seleucia by the sea " was a place of great importance under 
the Seleucids and the Ptolemies ; and so it remained under the sway of 
the Romans. In consequence of its bold resistance to Tigranes, when he 
was in possession of all the neighboring country, Pompey gave it the 
privileges of a " Free City ; " 6 and a contemporary of St. Paul speaks of 
it as having those privileges still. 7 

The most remarkable work among the extant remains of Seleucia is 
an immense excavation, — probably the same with that which is mentioned 
by Polybius, — leading from the upper part of the ancient city to the sea. 
It consists alternately of tunnels and deep open cuttings. It is difficult 
to give a confident opinion as to the uses for which it was intended. But 



1 For views, with descriptions, see Fisher's 4 Seleucus was buried here. 

Syria, i. 5, 19, 77, n. 28. 6 We may refer especially to the chapters 

2 Colonel Chesney says, " The windings in which Polybius gives an account of the 
give a distance of about forty-one miles, whilst siege of Seleucia in the war of Antiochus the 
the journey by land is only sixteen miles and Great with Ptolemy. In these chapters we 
a half." — R. G. J. viii. p. 230. find the clearest description both of its military 

3 Dr. Yates observed traces of Roman pave- importance and of its topography. 

ment on the line of road between Antioch and 6 Strabo. See p. 43. Compare p. 22, n. 1. 

Seleucia. See his comprehensive paper on ? Pliny. 
Seleucia, in the Museum of Classical Antiquities 
for June, 1852. 



126 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.v 

the best conjecture seems to be that it was constructed for the purpose of 
drawing off the water, which might otherwise have done mischief to the 
houses and shipping in the lower part of the town ; and so arranged at 
the same time, as, when needful, to supply a rush of water to clear out 
the port. The inner basin, or dock, is now a morass ; but its dimensions 
can be measured, and the walls that surrounded it can be distinctly 
traced. 1 The position of the ancient flood-gates, and the passage through 
which the vessels were moved from the inner -to the outer harbor, can be 
accurately marked. The very piers of the outer harbor are still to be 
seen under the water. The southern jetty takes the wider sweep, and 
overlaps the northern, forming a secure entrance and a well-protected 
basin. The stones are of great size, " some of them twenty feet long, 
five feet deep, and six feet wide ; " 2 and they were fastened to each other 
with iron cramps. The masonry "of ancient Seleucia is still so good, that 
not long since a Turkish Pacha 3 conceived the idea of clearing out and 
repairing the.harbor. 

These piers 4 were unbroken when Saul and Barnabas came down to 
Seleucia, and the large stones fastened by their iron cramps protected the 
vessels in the harbor from the swell of the western sea. Here, in the 
midst of unsympathizing sailors, the two missionary Apostles, with their 
younger companion, stepped on board the vessel which was to convey 
them to Salamis. As they cleared the port, the whole sweep of the bay 
of Antioch opened on their left, — the low ground by the mouth of the 
Orontes, — the wild and woody country beyond it, — and then the peak of 
Mount Casius, rising symmetrically from the very edge of the sea to a 
height of five thousand feet. 5 On the right, in the south-west horizon, if 
the day was clear, they saw the island of Cyprus from the first. 6 The 
current sets north-east and northerly between the island and the Syrian 
coast. 7 But with a fair wind, a few hours would enable them to run down 

1 Pococke gives a rude plan of Seleucia, tiful feature of this bay. St. Paul must have 
with the' harbor, &c. A more exact and seen it in all his voyages to and from Antioch. 
complete one will be found in the memoir of 6 See above, p. 124, n. 2. 

Dr. Yates. 7 " In sailing from the southern shores of 

2 Pococke, p. 183. Cyprus, with the winds adverse, you should 

3 Ali Pasha, governor of Bagdad in 1835, endeavor to obtain the advantage of the set 
once governor of Aleppo. of the current, which between Cyprus and the 

4 It seems that the names of the piers still mouths of the Nile always runs to the east- 
retain the memory of this occasion. Dr. ward, changing its direction to the N. E. and 
Yates says that the southern pier is called N. as you near the coast of Syria." — None, 
after the Apostle Paul, in contradistinction to p. 149. "The current, in general, continues 
its fellow, the pier of St. Barnabas. easterly along the Libyan coast, and E. N. E. 

5 "The lofty Jebel-el-Akrab, rising 5,318 off Alexandria ; thence advancing to the coast 
feet above the sea, with its abutments extend- of Syria, it sets N. E. and more northerly ; so 
ing to Antioch." — Chesney, p. 228. This that country vessels bound from Damietta to 
mountain is, however, a conspicuous and beau- an eastern port of Cyprus have been carried 



CHAP.r. SAL AMIS. 127 

from Seleucia to Salamis ; and the land would rapidly rise in forms well 
known and familiar to Barnabas and Mark. 

The coast of nearly every island of the Mediterranean has been 
minutely surveyed and described by British naval officers. The two 
islands which were most intimately connected with St. Paul's voyages 
have been among the latest to receive this kind of illustration. The 
soundings of the coast of Crete are now proved to furnish a valuable 
commentary on the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts : and the chart of 
Cyprus should at least be consulted when we read the thirteenth chapter. 
From Cape St. Andrea/ the north-eastern point of the island, the coast 
trends rapidly to the west, till it reaches- Cape Grego, 1 the south-eastern 
extremity. The wretched modern town of Famagousta is nearer the 
latter point than the former, and the ancient Salamis was situated a short 
distance to the north of Famagousta. Near Cape St. Andrea are two or 
three small islands, anciently called " The Keys." These, if they were 
seen at all, would soon be lost to view. Cape Grego is distinguished by 
a singular promontory of table land, which is very familiar to the sailors 
of our merchantmen and ships of war : and there is little doubt that the 
woodcut given in one of their manuals of sailing directions 2 represents 
that very " rough, lofty, table-shaped eminence " which Strabo mentions 
in his description of the coast, and which has been identified with the 
Idalium of the classical poets. 

The ground lies low in the neighborhood of Salamis ; and the town 
was situated on a bight of the coast to the north of the river Pediasus. 
This low land is the largest plain in Cyprus, and the Pediseus is the only 
true river in the island, the rest being merely winter-torrents, flowing in 
the wet season from the two mountain ranges which intersect it from east 
to west. This plain probably represents the kingdom of Teucer, which is 
familiar to us in the early stories of legendary Greece. It stretches in- 
wards between the two mountain ranges to the very heart of the country, 
where the modern Turkish capital, Nicosia, is situated. 3 In the days of 
historical Greece, Salamis was the capital. Under the Roman Empire, if 
not the seat of government, it was at least the most important mercantile 

by the current past the island." — Purely, p. Cyprus, if the vessel which conveyed the news 

276. After leaving the Gulf of Scanderoon, could not cross to Antioch. 

the current sets to the westward along the x The Pedaliura of Straho and Ptolemy, 

south coast of Asia Minor, as we- shall have 2 See the sketch of Cape Grego " N. W. 

occasion to notice hereafter. A curious illus- by W., six miles," in Purdy, Pt. ii. p. 253. 

tration of the difficulty sometimes experienced 3 See Pococke's description, vol. ii. pp. 

in making this passage will be found in Meur- 214-217. He gives a rude plan of ancient 

sius, Cyprus, Spc, p. 158 ; where the decree of Salamis. The ruined aqueduct which he 

an early council is cited, directing the course mentions appears to be subsequent to the 

to be adopted on the death of a bishop in time of St. Paul. 



128 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.y. 

town. We have the best reasons for believing that the harbor was con- 
venient and capacious. 1 Thus we can form to ourselves some idea of the 
appearance of the place in the reign of Claudius. A large city by the 
seashore, a wide-spread plain with corn-fields and orchards, and the blue 
distance of mountains beyond, composed the view, on which the eyes 
of Barnabas and Saul rested when they came to anchor in the bay of 
Salamis. 

The Jews, as we should have been prepared to expect, were numerous 
in Salamis. This fact is indicated to us in the sacred narrative ; for we 
learn that this city had several synagogues, while other cities had often 
only one. 2 The Jews had doubtless been established here in considerable 
numbers in the active period which succeeded the death of Alexander. 3 
The unparalleled productiveness of Cyprus, and its trade in fruit, wine, 
flax, and honey, would naturally attract them to the mercantile port. The 
farming of the copper mines by Augustus to Herod may probably have 
swelled their numbers. 4 One of the most conspicuous passages in the 
history of Salamis was the insurrection of the Jews in the reign of 
Trajan, when great part of the city was destroyed. 5 Its demolition was 
completed by an earthquake. It was rebuilt by a Christian emperor, from 
whom it received its mediaeval name of Constantia. 6 

It appears that the proclamation of the Gospel was confined by 
Barnabas and Saul to the Jews and the synagogues. We have no in- 
formation of the length of their stay, or the success of their labors. 
Some stress seems to be laid on the fact that John (i. e. Mark) " was their 
minister." Perhaps we are to infer from this, that his hands baptized 
the Jews and Proselytes, who were convinced by the preaching of the 
Apostles. 

From Salamis they travelled to Paphos, at the other extremity of the 



1 See especially the account in Diodorus on the island, and marched to the assistanco 
Siculus of the great naval victory off Salamis, of the few inhabitants who had been able to 
won by Demetrius Poliorcetes over Ptolemy. act on the defensive. He defeated the Jews, 
Scylax also says that Salamis had a good expelled them from the island, to whose beau- 
harbor, tiful coasts no Jew was ever after permitted to 

2 Acts xiii. 5. Compare vi. 9, ix. 20, and approach. If one were accidentally wrecked on 
contrast xvii. 1, xviii. 4. the inhospitable shore, he was instantly put to 

3 Philo speaks of the Jews of Cyprus. death." — Milman, iii. Ill, 112. The author 

4 See above, p. 16, n. 2. says above (p. 104), that the Rabbinical tradi- 

5 " The flame spread to Cyprus, where the tions are full of the sufferings of the Jews in 
Jews were numerous and wealthy. One Arte- this period. In this island there was a massa- 
mio placed himself at their head. They rose ere before the time of the rebellion, " and the 
and massacred 240,000 of their fellow-citizens ; sea that broke upon the shores of Cyprus was 
the whole populous city of Salamis became a tinged with the red hue of carnage." 

desert. The revolt of Cyprus was first sup- 6 Jerome speaks of it under this name, 

pressed ; Hadrian, afterwards emperor, landed 



chap. v. ROMAN PROVINCIAL SYSTEM. 129 

island. The two towns were probably connected together by a well- 
travelled and frequented road. 1 It is indeed likely that, even under the 
Empire, the islands of the Greek part of the Mediterranean, as Crete and 
Cyprus, were not so completely provided with lines of internal commu- 
nication as those which were nearer the metropolis, and had been longer 
under Roman occupation, such as Corsica and Sardinia. But we cannot 
help believing that Roman roads were laid down in Cyprus and Crete, 
after the manner of the modern English roads in Corfu and the other 
Ionian islands, which islands, in their social and political condition, pre- 
sent many points of resemblance to those which were under the Roman 
sway in the time of St. Paul. On the whole, there is little doubt that his 
journey from Salamis to Paphos, a distance from east to west of not more 
than a hundred miles, was accomplished in a short time and without 
difficulty. 

Paphos was the residence of the Roman governor. The appearance of 
the place (if due allowance is made for the differences of the nineteenth 
century and the first) may be compared with that of the town of Corfu in 
the present day, with its strong garrison of imperial soldiers in the midst 
of a Greek population, with its mixture of two languages, with its symbols 
of a strong and steady power side by side with frivolous amusements, and 
with something of the style of a court about the residence of its governor. 
All tjie occurrences, which are mentioned at Paphos as taking place on 
the arrival of Barnabas and Saul, are grouped so entirely round the 
governor's person, that our attention must be turned for a time to the 
condition of Cyprus as a Roman province, and the position and character 
of Sergius Paulus. 

From the time when Augustus united the world under his own power, 
the provinces were divided into two different classes. The business of the 
first Emperor's life was to consolidate the imperial system under the show 
of administering a republic. He retained the names and semblances of 
those liberties and rights which Rome had once enjoyed. He found two 
names in existence, the one of which was henceforth inseparably blended 
with the Imperial dignity and Military command, the other with the 
authority of the Senate and its Civil administration. The first of these 
names was " Praetor," the second was " Consul." Both of them were 
retained in Italy ; and both were reproduced in the Provinces as " Proprae- 
tor " and "Proconsul." 2 He told the senate and people that he would 

1 On the west of Salamis, in the direction marked between Salamis and Paphos in the 

of Paphos, Pococke saw a church and monas- Peutingerian Table. 

tery dedicated to Barnabas, and a grotto where 2 It is important, as we shall see presently, 

he is said to have been buried, after suffering to notice Dio Cassius's further statement, that 

martyrdom in the reign of Nero. A road is all governors of the Senate's provinces were to 



130 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. v. 

relieve them of all the anxiety of military proceedings, and that he would 
resign to them those provinces where soldiers were unnecessary to secure 
the fruits of a peaceful administration. 1 He would take upon himself all 
the care and risk of governing the other provinces, where rebellion might 
be apprehended, and where the proximity of warlike tribes made the 
presence of the legions perpetually needful. These were his professions 
to the Senate : but the real purpose of this ingenious arrangement was the 
disarming of the Republic, and the securing to himself the absolute con- 
trol of the whole standing army of the Empire. 2 The scheme was suf- 
ficiently transparent ; but there was no sturdy national life in Italy to 
resist his despotic innovations, and no foreign civilized powers to arrest 
the advance of imperial aggrandizement ; and thus it came to pass that 
Augustus, though totally destitute of the military genius either of Crom- 
well or Napoleon, transmitted to his successors a throne guarded by an 
invincible army, and a system of government destined to endure through 
several centuries. 

Hence we find in the reign, not only of Augustus, but of each of his 
successors, from Tiberius to Nero, the provinces divided into these two 
classes. On the one side we have those which are supposed to be under 
the Senate and people. The governor is appointed by lot, as in the times 
of the old republic. He carries with him the lictors and fasces, the 
insignia of a Consul ; but he is destitute of military power. His office 
must be resigned at the expiration of a year. He is styled " Proconsul," 
and the Greeks, translating the term, call him J Avdvnaxoq? On the other 
side are the provinces of Caesar. The Governor may be styled " Proprae- 
tor," or ' Avtiargdzriyog ; but he is more properly " Legatus," or IlQEa^svTr^, 
— the representative or " Commissioner " of the Emperor. He goes out 
from Italy with all the pomp of a military commander, and he does not 
return till the Emperor recalls him. 4 And to complete the symmetry and 
consistency of the system, the subordinate districts of these imperial 
provinces are regulated by the Emperor's " Procurator " ( J 'EmtgoTtog) , or 
" High Steward." The New Testament, in the strictest conformity with 



be called Proconsuls, whatever their previous Acts xiii. 7. " The deputy of the country, 

office might have been, and all governors of Sergius Paulus." " Gallio was the deputy of 

the Emperor's provinces were to be styled Achaia," Ibid, xviii. 12. "There are deputies," 

Legati or Propraetors, even if they had been Ibid. xix. 38. 

Consuls. 4 All these details are stated, and the two 

1 The "unarmed provinces" of Tacitus, kinds of governors very accurately distin- 
in his account of the state of the Empire at guished, in the 53d Book of Dio Cassius, ch. 
the death of Nero. Hist. i. 11. 13. It should be remarked that enapxia (the 

2 Suetonius and Dio Cassius. word still used for the subdivisions of the 
8 Which our English translators have ren- modern Greek Kingdom) is applied indiscriini- 

<Jered by the ambiguous word " deputy." nately to both kinds of provinces. 



chap. v. SERGIUS PAULUS. 131 

the other historical authorities of the period, gives us examples of both 
kinds of provincial administration. We are told by Strabo, and by Dio 
Ca'sius, that" Asia" and "Achaia" were assigned to the Senate; and 
the title, which in each case is given to the Governor in the Acts of the 
Apostles, is " Proconsul." l The same authorities inform us that Syria 
was an imperial province, 2 and no such title as " Proconsul" is assigned 
by the sacred writers to " Cyrenius Governor of Syria," 3 or to Pilate, 
Festus, and Felix, 4 the Procurators of Judaea, which, as we have seen 
(p. 23), was a dependency of that great and unsettled province. 

Dio Cassius informs us, in the same passage where he tells us that 
Asia and Achaia were provinces of the Senate, that Cyprus was retained 
by the Emperor for himself. 5 If we stop here, we naturally ask the 
question, — and some have asked the question rather hastily, — how it 
comes to pass that St. Luke speaks of Sergius Paulus by the style of " Pro- 
consul " ? But any hesitation concerning the strict accuracy of the sacred 
historian's language is immediately set at rest by the very next sentence 
of the secular historian, 6 — in which he informs us that Augustus restored 
Cyprus to the Senate in exchange for another district of the Empire, — a 
statement which he again repeats in a later passage of his work. 7 It is 
evident, then, that the governor's style and title from this time forward 
would be " Proconsul." But this evidence, however satisfactory, is not 
all that we possess. The coin, which is engraved at the end of the chap- 
ter, distinctly presents to us a Cyprian Proconsul of the reign of Claudius. 
And inscriptions, which could easily be adduced, 8 supply us with the 
names of additional governors, 9 who were among the predecessors or 
successors of Sergius Paulus. 

It is remarkable that two men called Sergius Paulus are ''described in 
very similar terms by two physicians who wrote in Greek, the one a 
Heathen, the other a Christian. The Heathen writer is Galen. He 
speaks of his contemporary as a man interested and well versed in philos- 
ophy. 10 The Christian writer is St. Luke, who tells us here that the 

1 'kvdviraTog, xviii. 12, xix. 38. 5 Along with Syria and Cilicia. 

2 Strabo and Dio. 6 Dio Cass. liii. 12. 

3 Luke ii. 2. 1 Ibid. liv. 4. 

4 The word invariably used in the New 8 One is given in the larger editions of this 
Testament is 'Hyepuv. This is a general work. 

term, like the Roman " Praeses " and the_Eng- 9 When we find, either on coins and inscrip- 

lish " Governor ; " as may be seen by eompar- tions, or in Scripture, detached notices of 

ing Luke ii. 2 with iii. 1, and observing that provincial governors not mentioned elsewhere, 

the very same word is applied to the offices we should bear in mind what has been said 

of the Procurator of Judaea, the Legatus of above (p. 131), that the Proconsul was ap- 

Syria, and the Emperor himself. Josephus pointed annually. 

generally uses 'E7urpo7roc for the Procurator of 10 The two were separated by an interval of 

Judaea, and 'Ky£/xdv for the Legatus of Syria. a hundred years. 



132 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.v. 

governor of Cyprus was a " prudent " man, who " desired to hear the 
Word of God." This governor seems to have been of a candid and in- 
quiring mind ; nor will this philosophical disposition be thought inconsis- 
tent with his connection with the Jewish impostor, whom Saul and 
Barnabas found at the Paphian court, by those who are acquainted with 
the intellectual and religious tendencies of the age. 

For many years before this time, and many years after, impostors from 
the East, pretending to magical powers, had great influence over the 
Roman mind. All the Greek and Latin literature of the empire, from 
Horace to Lucian, abounds in proof of the prevalent credulity of this 
sceptical period. Unbelief, when it has become conscious of its weakness, 
is often glad to give its hand to superstition. The faith of educated 
Romans was utterly gone. We can hardly wonder, when the East was 
thrown open, — the land of mystery, — the fountain of the earliest migra- 
tions,^ — the cradle of the earliest religions, — that the imagination both 
of the populace and the aristocracy of Rome became fanatically excited, 
and that they greedily welcomed the most absurd and degrading super- 
stitions. Not only was the metropolis of the empire crowded with " hungry 
Greeks," but " Syrian fortune-tellers " flocked into all the haunts of public 
amusement. Athens and Corinth did not now contribute the greatest or 
the worst part of the " dregs " of Rome ; but (to adopt Juvenal's use of 
that river of Antioch we have lately been describing) " the Orontes itself 
flowed into the Tiber." 

Every part of the East contributed its share to the general superstition. 
The gods of Egypt and Phrygia found unfailing votaries. Before the close 
of the republic, the temples of Isis and Serapis had been more than once 
erected, destroyed, and renewed. Josephus tells us that certain disgrace- 
ful priests of Isis l were crucified at Rome by the second Emperor ; but 
this punishment was only a momentary check to their sway over the 
Roman mind. The more remote districts of Asia Minor sent their 
itinerant soothsayers ; Syria sent her music and her medicines ; Chaldaea 
her " Babylonian numbers " and " mathematical calculations." 2 To 
these corrupters of the people of Romulus we must add one more Asiatic 
nation, — the nation of the Israelites ; — and it is an instructive employ- 
ment to observe that, while some members of the Jewish people were 
rising, by the Divine power, to the highest position ever occupied by 

1 Ant. xviii. 3, 4. Gellius, i. 9. " Vulgus, quos gentilitio vocab- 

2 Babylonii Numeri, Hor. I. Od. xi. 2. ulo Chaldseos dicere oportet, mathematicos 
Chalda'ica3 rationes, Cic. Div. ii. 47. See the dicit." There is some account of their pro- 
whole passage 42-47. The Chaldean astrol- ceedings at the beginning of the fourteenth 
ogers were called " Mathematici " ( Juv. vi. book of the Nodes Atticce. 

562, xir, 248). See the definition in Aulus 



chap.v. OMENTAL IMPOSTORS. 133 

men on earth, others were sinking themselves, and others along with them, 
to the lowest and most contemptible degradation. The treatment and 
influence of the Jews at Rome were often too similar to those of other 
Orientals. One year we find them banished ; l another year we see them 
quietly re-established. 2 The Jewish beggar-woman was the gypsy of the 
first century, shivering and crouching in the outskirts of the city, and 
telling fortunes, 3 as Ezekiel said of old, " for handfuls of barley, and for 
pieces of bread." i All this catalogue of Oriental impostors, whose influx 
into Rome was a characteristic of the period, we can gather from that re- 
volting satire of Juvenal, in which he scourges the follies and vices of the 
Roman women. But not only were the women of Rome drawn aside into 
this varied and multiplied fanaticism ; but the eminent men of the declin- 
ing republic, and the absolute sovereigns of the early Empire, were tainted 
and enslaved by the same superstitions. The great Marius had in his 
camp a Syrian, probably a Jewish, 5 prophetess, by whose divinations he 
regulated the progress of his campaigns. As Brutus, at the beginning of 
the republic, had visited the oracle of Delphi, so Pompey, Crassus, and 
Caesar, at the close of the republic, when the oracles were silent, 6 sought 
information from Oriental astrology. No picture in the great Latin 
satirist is more powerfully drawn than that in which he shows us the 
Emperor Tiberius " sitting on the rock of Capri, with his flock of Chal- 
daeans round him." 7 No sentence in the great Latin historian is more 
bitterly emphatic than that in which he says that the astrologers and 
sorcerers are a class of men who " will always be discarded and always 
cherished." 8 

What we know, from the literature of the period, to have been the case 
in Rome and in the Empire at large, we see exemplified in a province in 
the case of Sergius Paulus. He had attached himself to " a certain sor- 
cerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus, and who had 
given himself the Arabic name of "Elymas," or "The Wise." But the 
Proconsul was not so deluded by the false prophet, 9 as to be unable, or 
unwilling, to listen to the true. " He sent for Barnabas and Saul," of 
whose arrival he was informed, and whose free and public declaration 
of the " Word of God " attracted his inquiring mind. Elymas used 
every exertion to resist them, and to hinder the Proconsul's mind from 
falling under the influence of their Divine doctrine. Truth and falsehood 

1 Acts xviii. 2. 8 Tac. Hist. i. 22. 

2 Acts xxviii. 17. 9 For the good and bad senses in which the 
8 Juv. Sat. iii. 13-16, vi. 542-546. word Mdyof was used, see Professor Trench's 
4 Ezek. xiii. 19. recent book on the Second Chapter of St. 
6 Niebuhr thinks she was a Jewess. Her Matthew. It is worth observing, that Simon 

name was Martha. Magus was a Cyprian, if he is the person. 

6 Cic. Div. ii. 47. 7 Juv. Sat. x. 93. mentioned by Josephus. Ant. xx. 5, 2. 



134 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat. v. 

were brought into visible conflict with each other. It is evident, from the 
graphic character of the narrative, - — the description of Paul " setting 
his eyes" 1 on the sorcerer, — " the mist and the darkness" which fell 
on Barjesus, — the "groping about for some one to lead him," 2 — that the 
opposing wonder-workers stood face to face in the presence of the Pro- 
consul, — as Moses and Aaron withstood the magicians at the Egyptian 
court, — Sergius Paulus being in this respect different from Pharaoh, that 
he did not " harden his heart." 

The miracles of the New Testament are generally distinguished from 
those of the Old by being for the most part works of mercy and restora- 
tion, not of punishment and destruction. Two only of our Lord's mira- 
cles were inflictions of severity, and these were attended with no harm to 
the bodies of men. The same law of mercy pervades most of those 
interruptions of the course of nature which He gave His servants, the 
Apostles, power to effect. One miracle of wrath is mentioned as worked 
in His name by each of the great Apostles, Peter and Paul ; and we can 
see sufficient reasons why liars and hypocrites, like Ananias and Sapphira, 
and powerful impostors, like Elymas Barjesus, should be publicly pun- 
ished in the face of the Jewish and Gentile worlds, and made the exam- 
ples and warnings of overy subsequent age of the Church. 3 A different 
passage in the life of St. Peter presents a parallel which is closer in some 
respects with this interview of St. Paul with the sorcerer in Cyprus. As 
Simon Magus, — who had " long time bewitched the people of Samaria 
with his sorceries," — was denounced by St. Peter" as still in the gall 
of bitterness and bond of iniquity," and solemnly told that " his heart was 
not right in the sight of God ; " 4 — so St. Paul, conscious of his apostolic 
power, and under the impulse of immediate inspiration, rebuked Bar- 
jesus, as a child of that Devil who is the father of lies, 5 as a worker 

1 The word in Acts xiii. 9 is the same thought that " the thorn in his flesh," 2 Cor. 

which is used in xxiii. 1 for " to look in- xii. 7, was an affection of the eyes. Hence, 

tently." Our first impression is, that there perhaps, the statement in Gal. iv. 14-16, and 

was something searching and commanding in the allusion to his large handwriting, Gal. vi. 

St. Paul's eye. But if the opinion is correct 11. (See our Preface.) 

that he suffered from an affection of the eyes, 2 It may be added that these phrases seem 

this word may express a peculiarity connected to imply that the person from whence they 

with his defective Vision. See the Bishop of came was an eye-witness. Some have inferred 

Winchester's note ( Ministerial Character of that Luke himself was present. 
Christ, p. 555), who compares the LXX. in 8 It is not necessary to infer from these 

Numb, xxxiii. 55, Josh, xxiii. 13, and applies passages, or from 1 Cor. v. 3-5, 1 Tim. i. 20, 

this view to the explanation of the difficulty that Peter and Paul had power to inflict these 

in Acts xxiii. 1-5. And it is remarkable, that, judgments at their will. Though, even if they 

in both the traditional accounts of Paul's per- had this power, they had also the spirit of love 

sonal appearance which we possess (viz. those and supernatural knowledge to guide them in 

of Malalas and Nicephorus), he is said to the use of it. 
have had contracted eyebrows. Many have 4 Acts viii. 21-23. 6 John viii. 44. 



chap. v. ELYMAS BAKJESTJS. 135 

of deceit and mischief, 1 and as one who sought to pervert and distort that 
which God saw and approved as right. 2 He proceeded to denounce an 
instantaneous judgment ; and, according to his prophetic word, the u hand 
of the Lord " struck the sorcerer, as it had once struck the Apostle him- 
self on the way to Damascus ; — the sight of Elymas began to waver, 3 
and presently a darkness settled on it so thick, that he ceased to behold 
the sun's light. This blinding of the false prophet opened the eyes of 
Sergius Paulus. That which had been intended as an opposition to the 
Gospel, proved the means of its extension. We are ignorant of the 
degree of this extension in the island of Cyprus. But we cannot doubt 
that when the Proconsul was converted, his influence would make Chris- 
tianity reputable ; and that from this moment the Gentiles of the island, 
as well as the Jews, had the news of salvation brought home to them. 

And now, from this point of the Apostolical history, Paul appears as the 
great figure in every picture. Barnabas, henceforward, is always in the 
background. The great Apostle now enters on his work as the preacher to 
the Gentiles ; and simultaneously with his active occupation of the field 
in which he was called to labor, his name is suddenly changed. As 
" Abram" was changed into " Abraham," when God promised that he 
should be the " father of many nations ; ." — as " Simon " was changed 
into " Peter," when it was said, " On this rock I will build my church ; " 
— so " Saul" is changed into "Paul," at the moment of his first great 
victory among the Heathen. What " the plains of Mamre by Hebron " 
were to the patriarch, — what " Csesarea Philippi," 4 by the fountains of 
the Jordan, was to the fisherman of Galilee, — that was the city of 
" Paphos," on the coast of Cyprus, to the tent-maker of Tarsus. Are w@ 
to suppose that the name was now really given him for the first time, — 
that he adopted it himself as significant of his own feelings, — or that 
Sergius Paulus conferred it on him in grateful commemoration of the 
benefits lie had received, — or that " Paul," having been a Gentile form of 
the Apostle's name in early life conjointly with the Hebrew " Saul," was 
now used to the exclusion of the other, to indicate that he had receded 
from his position as a Jewish Christian, to become the friend and teacher 
of the Gentiles ? All these opinions have found their supporters both in 
ancient and modern times. The question has been alluded to before in 
this work (p. 43). It will be well to devote some further space to it 
now, once for all. 

1 The word in Acts xiii. 10 expresses the of the blindness. Compare the account of the 
cleverness of a successful imposture. recovery of the lame man in iii. 8. 

2 With Acts xiii. 10 compare viii. 21. 4 See Gen. xiii. 18, xvii. 5 ; Matt. xvi. 13- 

3 Acts xiii. 11. This may be used, in 18; and Prof. Stanley's Sermon on St. Peter. 
Luke's medical manner, to express the stages 



136 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.t. 

It cannot be denied that the words in Acts xiii. 9 — " Saul who is also 
Paul " — are the line of separation between two very distinct portions of 
St. Luke's biography of the Apostle, in the former of which he is uniformly 
called " Saul," while in the latter he receives, with equal consistency, the 
name of " Paul." It must also be observed that the Apostle always speaks 
of himself under the latter designation in every one of his Epistles, with- 
out any exception ; and not only so, but the Apostle St. Peter, in the only 
passage where he has occasion to allude to him, 1 speaks of him as " our 
beloved brother Paul." We are, however, inclined to adopt the opinion 
that the Cilician Apostle had this Roman name, as well as his other Hebrew 
name, in his earlier days, and even before he was a Christian. This adop- 
tion of a Gentile name is so far from being alien to the spirit of a Jewish 
family, that a similar practice may be traced through all the periods 
of Hebrew History. Beginning with the Persian epoch (b.c. 550-350) 
we find such names as "Nehemiah," " Schammai," " Belteshazzar," which 
betray an Oriental origin, and show that Jewish appellatives followed 
the growth of the living language. In the Greek period we encounter the 
names of " Philip," 2 and his son " Alexander," 3 and of Alexander's suc- 
cessors, " Antiochus," " Lysimachus," " Ptolemy," " Antipater ; " 4 the 
names of Greek philosophers, such as " Zeno," and " Epicurus ; " 5 even 
Greek mythological names, as " Jason " and " Menelaus." 6 Some of these 
words will have been recognized as occurring in the New Testament itself. 
When we mention Roman names adopted by the Jews, the coincidence is 
still more striking. " Crispus," 7 " Justus," 8 " Niger," 9 are found in 
Josephus 10 as well as in the Acts. " Drusilla " and " Priscilla " might 
have been Roman matrons. The " Aquila " of St. Paul is the counter- 
part of the " Apella " of Horace. 11 Nor need we end our survey of Jewish 
names with the early Roman empire ; for, passing by the destruction of 
Jerusalem, we see Jews, in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, calling 
themselves, " Basil," " Leo," " Theodosius," " Sophia ; " and, in the latter 
part, " Albert," " Benedict," " Crispin," " Denys." We might pursue 

1 2 Pet. iii. 15. 6 Jason, Joseph. Ant. xii. 10, 6 ; perhaps 

2 Matt. x. 3 ; Acts vi. 5, xxi. 8 ; Joseph. Acts xvii. 5-9 ; Rom. xvi. 21 ; Menelaus, 
Ant. xiv. 10, 22. Joseph. Ant. xii. 5, 1. See 2 Mace. iv. 5. 

8 Acts xix. 33, 34. See 2 Tim. iv. 14. 7 Acts xviii. 8. 

Alexander was a common name among the 8 Acts i. 23. 

Asmonseans. It is said that when the great 9 Acts xiii. 1. 

conqueror passed through Judaea, a promise 10 Joseph. Life, 68, 65, War, iv. 6, 1. 

was made to him that all the Jewish children Compare 1 Cor. i. 14 ; Acts xviii. 7 ; Col. 

born that year should be called " Alexander." iv. 11. 

4 1 Mace. xii. 16, xvi. 11 ; 2 Mace. iv. 29; n Hor. i. Sat. v. 100. Priscilla appears 

Joseph. Ant. xiv. 10. under the abbreviated form "Prisca," 2 Tim. 

6 These names are in the Mischna and the iv. 19. 
Berenice Inscription. 



chap. v. HISTORY OF JEWISH NAMES. 137 

our inquiry into the nations of modern Europe ; but enough has been said 
to show, that as the Jews have successively learnt to speak Chaldee, Greek, 
Latin, or German, so they have adopted into their families the appellations 
of those Gentile families among whom they have lived. It is indeed 
remarkable that the Separated Nation should bear, in the very names 
recorded in its annals, the trace of every nation with whom it has come 
in contact and never united. 

It is important to our present purpose to remark that double names 
often occur in combination, the one national, the other foreign. The 
earliest instances are " Belteshazzar-Daniel," and " Esther-Hadasa." 1 
Frequently there was no resemblance or natural connection between the 
two words, as in " Herod-Agrippa," " Salome- Alexandra," " Juda-Aristo- 
bulus," " Simon-Peter." Sometimes the meaning was reproduced, as in 
" Malich-Kleodemus." At other times an alliterating resemblance of 
sound seems to have dictated the choice, as in " Jose-Jason," " Hillel- 
Julus," " Saul-Paulus " — " Saul, who is also Paul" 

Thus it seems to us that satisfactory reasons can be adduced for the 
double name borne by the Apostle, — without having recourse 2 to the 
hypothesis of Jerome, who suggests that, as Scipio was called Africanus 
from the conquest of Africa, and Metellus called Creticus from the con- 
quest of Crete, so Saul carried away his new name as a trophy of his 
victory- over the Heathenism of the Proconsul Paulus — or to that 
notion, which Augustine applies with much rhetorical effect in various 
parts of his writings, where he alludes to the literal meaning of the word 
"Paulus" and contrasts Saul, the unbridled king, the proud self-confi- 
dent persecutor of David, with Paul, the lowly, the penitent, — who delib- 
erately wished to indicate by his very name, that he was " the least of 
the Apostles," 3 and " less than the least of all Saints." 4 Yet we must not 
neglect the coincident occurrence of these two names in this narrative of 
the events which happened in Cyprus. We need not hesitate to dwell on 
the associations which are connected with the name of " Paulus," — or 
on the thoughts which are naturally called up, when we notice the criti- 
cal passage in the sacred history, where it is first given to Saul of Taisus. 
It is surely not unworthy of notice that, as Peter's first Gentile convert 
was a member of the Cornelian House (p. 108), so the surname of the 
noblest family of the Mmilian House 5 was the link between the Apostle 

1 Dan. x. 1 ; Esther ii. 7. So Zerubabbel 8 1 Cor. xv. 9. 
was called Sheshbazzar. Compare Ezra v. 16 4 Eph. iii. 8. 

with Zech. iv. 9. The Oriental practice of 8 Paulus was the cognomen of a family of 

adopting names which were significant must the Gens iEmilia. The stemma is given in 

not be left out of view. Smith's Dictionary of Classical Biography, 

2 See p. 43, n. 7. under Paulus iEmilius. The name must of 



138 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. T. 



of the Gentiles and his convert at Paphos. Nor can we find a nobler 
Christian version of any line of a Heathen poet, than by comparing what 
Horace says of him who fell at Cannae, — " animce magnce prodigum 
Paulum" — with the words of him who said at Miletus, " I count not 
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and 
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." 1 

And though we imagine, as we have said above, that Saul had the 
name of Paul at an earlier period of his life, — and should be inclined to 
conjecture that the appellation came from some connection of his ances- 
tors (perhaps as manumitted slaves) with some member of the Roman 
family of the iEmilian Pauli ; 2 — yet we cannot believe it accidental that 
the words, 3 which have led to this discussion, occur at this particular 
point of the inspired narrative. The Heathen name rises to the surface 
at the moment when St. Paul visibly enters on his office as the Apostle 
of the Heathen. The Roman name is stereotyped at the moment when 
he converts the Roman governor. And the place where this occurs is 
Paphos, the favorite sanctuary of a shameful idolatry. At the very spot 
which was notorious throughout the world for that which the Gospel for- 
bids and destroys, — there, before he sailed for Perga, having achieved 
his victory, the Apostle erected his trophy, 4 — as Moses, when Amalek 
was discomfited, " built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah- 
Nissi, — the Lord my Banner." 5 




Proconsular coin of Cyprus. 6 



course have been given to the first individual 
who bore it from the smallness of his stature. 
It should be observed, that both Malalas and 
Nicephorus (quoted above) speak of St. Paul 
as short of stature. 

1 Hor. i. Od. xii. 37 ; Acts xx. 24. Com- 
pare Phil. iii. 8. 

2 Compare the case of Josephus, alluded 
to above, p. 43. 

3 Acts xiii. 9. 

4 The words of Jerome alluded to above 
are : " Victoria? suae tropcea retulit, erexitque 
vexillum." 



5 Exod. xvii. 15. 

6 The woodcut is from Akerman's Numis- 
matic Illustrations, p. 41. Specimens of the 
coin are in the Imperial Cabinet at Vienna, 
and in the Bibliotheque du Roi. There are 
other Cyprian coins of the Imperial age, with 
PROCOS in Roman characters. Many Cyp- 
rian coins of the reign of Claudius are of 
the red copper of the island : a fact peculiarly 
interesting to us, if the notion, mentioned 
p. 16, n. 2, and p. 128, be correct. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Old and New Paphos. — Departure from Cyprus. — Coast of Pamphylia. — Perga. — Mark's 
Return to Jerusalem. — Mountain Scenery of Pisidia. — Situation of Antioch. — The Syna- 
gogue. — Address to the Jews. — Preaching to the Gentiles. — Persecution by the Jews. — 
History and Description of Iconium. — Lycaonia. — Derbe and Lystra. — Healing of the 
Cripple. — Idolatrous Worship offered to Paul and Barnabas. — Address to the Gentiles. 
— St. Paul stoned. — Timotheus. — The Apostles retrace their Journey. — Perga and 
Attaleia. — Return to Syria. 

THE banner of the Gospel was now displayed on the coasts of the 
Heathen. The Glad Tidings had " passed over to the isles of Chit- 
tim," 1 and had found a willing audience in that island, which, in the 
vocabulary of the Jewish Prophets, is the representative of the trade and 
civilization of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus was the early meeting- 
place of the Oriental and Greek forms of social life. Originally colon- 
ized from Phoenicia, it was successively subject to Egypt, to Assyria, and 
to Persia. The settlements of the Greeks on its shores had begun in a 
remote period, and their influence gradually advanced, till the older links 
of connection were entirely broken by Alexander and his successors. 
But not only in political and social relations, by the progress of conquest 
and commerce, was Cyprus the meeting-place of Greece and the East. 
Here also their forms of idolatrous worship met and became blended 
together. Paphos was, indeed, a sanctuary of Greek religion : on this 
shore the fabled goddess first landed, when she rose from the sea : this 
was the scene of a worship celebrated in the classical poets, from the age 
of Homer, down to the time when Titus, the son of Vespasian, visited 
the spot in the spirit of a Heathen pilgrim, on his way to subjugate 
Judaea. 2 But the polluted worship was originally introduced from 
Assyria or Phoenicia : the Oriental form under which the goddess was 
Worshipped is represented on Greek coins : 3 the Temple bore a curious 

1 The general notion intended by the Citium, which was a Phoenician colony in 

phrases " isles " and " coasts " of " Chittim " Cyprus. 

seems to have been " the islands and coasts 2 Tac. Hist. ii. 2-4. Compare Suet. Tit. 5. 

of the Mediterranean to the west and north- Tacitus speaks of magnificent offerings pre- 

west of Judaea." Numb. xxiv. 24 ; Jer. ii. sented by kings and others to the Temple at 

10 ; Ezek. xxvii. 6. See Gen. x. 4, 5 ; Isai. Old Paphos. 

xxiii. 1 ; Dan. xi. 30. But primarily the 8 A specimen is given in the larger cdi- 

name is believed to have been connected with tions. 

139 



140 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. n. 

resemblance to those of Astarte at Carthage or Tyre : and Tacitus pauses 
to describe the singularity of the altar and the ceremonies, before he pro- 
ceeds to narrate the campaign of Titus. And here it was that we have 
seen Christianity firmly established by St. Paul, — in the very spot where 
the superstition of Syria had perverted man's natural veneration and love 
of mystery, and where the beautiful creations of Greek thought had 
administered to what Athanasius, when speaking of Paphos, well de- 
scribes as the " deification of lust." 

The Paphos of the poets, or Old Paphos, as it was afterwards called, 
was situated on an eminence at a distance of nearly two miles from the 
sea. New Paphos was on the seashore, about ten miles to the north. 1 
But the old town still remained as the sanctuary which was visited by 
Heathen pilgrims ; profligate processions, at stated seasons, crowded the 
road between the two towns, as they crowded the road between Antioch 
and Daphne (p. 116) ; and small models of the mysterious image were 
sought as eagerly by strangers as the little " silver shrines " of Diana at 
Ephesus. (Acts xix. 24.) Doubtless the position of the old town was 
an illustration of the early custom, mentioned by Thucydides, of building 
at a safe distance from the shore, at a time when the sea was infested by 
pirates ; and the new town had been established in a place convenient for 
commerce, when navigation had become more secure. It was situated 
on the verge of a plain, smaller than that of Salamis, and watered by a 
scantier stream than the Pediaeus. 2 Not long before the visit of Paul 
and Barnabas it had been destroyed by an earthquake. Augustus had 
rebuilt it ; and from him it had received the name of Augusta, or 
Sebaste. 3 But the old name still retained its place in popular usage, and 
has descended to modern times. The " Paphos " of Strabo, Ptolemy, 
and St. Luke, became the " Papho " of the Venetians and the " Baffa " 
of the Turks. A second series of Latin architecture has crumbled into 
decay. Mixed up with the ruins of palaces and churches are the poor 
dwellings of the Greek and Mohammedan inhabitants, partly on the beach 
but chiefly on a low ridge of sandstone rock, about two miles 4 from the 

1 Or rather the north-west. See the Admi- ancient remains ; but when so many towns 
ralty Chart. have existed, and so many have severally been 

2 See p. 127. destroyed, all must be left to conjecture. A 
8 The Greek form Sebaste, instead of Au- number of columns broken and much muti- 

gusta, occurs in an ^inscription found on the lated are lying about, and some substantial 
spot, which is further interesting as containing and well-built vaults, or rather subterraneous 
the name of another Paulus. communications, under a hill of slight eleva- 
4 This is the distance between the Ktema tion, are pointed out by the guides as the 
and the Marina given by Captain Graves. In remains of a temple dedicated to Venus. Then 
Purdy's Sailing Directions (p. 251), it is stated there are numerous excavations in the sand- 
to be only half a mile. Captain Graves says : stone hills, which probably served at various 
" In the vicinity are numerous ruins and periods the double purpose of habitations ard 



chap. vi. COAST OF PAMPHYLIA. 141 

ancient port ; for the marsh, which once formed the limit of the port, 
makes the shore unhealthy during the heats of summer by its noxious 
exhalations. One of the most singular features of the neighborhood 
consists of the curious caverns excavated in the rocks, which have been 
used both for tombs and for dwellings. The harbor is now almost 
blocked up, and affords only shelter for boats. " The Venetian strong- 
hold, at the extremity of the Western mole, is fast crumbling into ruins. 
The mole itself is broken up, and every year the massive stones of which 
it was constructed are rolled over from their original position into the 
port." l The approaches to the harbor can never have been very safe, in 
consequence of the ledge of rocks 2 which extends some distance into the 
sea. At present, the eastern entrance to the anchorage is said to be the 
safer of the two. The western, under ordinary circumstances, would be 
more convenient for a vessel clearing out of the port, and about to sail 
for the Gulf of Pamphylia. 

We have remarked in the last chapter, that it is not difficult to imagine 
the reasons which induced Paul and Barnabas, on their departure from 
Seleucia, to visit first the island of Cyprus. It is not quite so easy to 
give an opinion upon the motives which directed their course to the coast 
of Pamphylia, when they had passed through the native island of 
Barnabas, from Salamis to Paphos. It might be one of those circum- 
stances which we call accidents, and which, as they never influence the 
actions of ordinary men without the predetermining direction of Divine 
Providence, so were doubtless used by the same Providence to determine 
the course even of Apostles. As St. Paul, many years afterwards, joined 
at Myra that vessel in which he was shipwrecked, 3 and then was con- 
veyed to Puteoli in a ship which had accidentally wintered at Malta 4 — 
so on this occasion there might be some small craft in the harbor at 
Paphos, bound for the opposite gulf of Attaleia, when Paul and Barnabas 
were thinking of their future progress. The distance is not great, and 
frequent communication, both political and commercial, must have taken 
place between the towns of Pamphylia and those of Cyprus. 5 It is 



tombs. Several monasteries and churches sail in either to the eastward or westward of 

now in ruins, of a low Gothic architecture, it, but the eastern passage is the widest and 

are more easily identified; but the crumbling best." — Purdy, p. 251. The soundings may 

fragments of the sandstone with which they be seen in the Admiralty Chart, 
were constructed, only add to the incongruous 3 Acts xxvii. 5, 6. 4 Acts xxviii. 11-13. 

heap around, that now covers the* palace of 6 And perhaps Paphos more especially, as 

the Paphian Venus." — MS. note by Captain the seat of government. At present Khalan- 

Graves, R.N. dri (Gulnar), to the south-east of Attaleia and 

1 Captain Graves, MS. Perga, is the port from which the Tatars 

2 "A great ledge of rocks lies in the entrance from Constantinople, conveying government 
to Papho, extending about a league ; you may despatches, usually cross to Cyprus. 



142 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vi. 

possible that St. Paul, having already preached the Gospel in Cilicia, 1 
might wish now to extend it among those districts which lay more im- 
mediately contiguous, and the population of which was, in some respects, 
similar to that of his native province. 2 He might also reflect that the 
natives of a comparatively unsophisticated district might be more likely 
to receive the message of salvation, than the inhabitants of those 
provinces which were more completely penetrated with the corrupt 
civilization of Greece and Rome. Or his thoughts might be turning to 
those numerous families of Jews, whom he well knew to be settled in the 
great towns beyond Mount Taurus, such as Antioch in Pisidia, and 
Iconium in Lycaonia, with the hope that his Master's cause would be 
most successfully advanced among those Gentiles, who flocked there, as 
everywhere, to the worship of the Synagogue. Or, finally, he may have 
had a direct revelation from on high, and a vision, like that which had 
already appeared to him in the Temple, 3 or like that which he afterwards 
saw on the confines of Europe and Asia, 4 may have directed the course 
of his voyage. Whatever may have been the calculations of his own 
wisdom and prudence, or whatever supernatural intimations may have 
reached him, he sailed, with his companions Barnabas and John, in some 
vessel, of which the size, the cargo, and the crew, are unknown to us, 
past the promontories of Drepanum and Acamas, and then across the 
waters of the Pamphylian Sea, leaving on the right the cliffs 5 which are 
the western boundary of Cilicia, to the innermost bend of the bay of 
Attaleia. 

This bay is a remarkable feature in the shore of Asia Minor ; and it is 
not without some important relations with the history of this part of the 
world. It forms a deep indentation in the general coast-line, and is 
bordered by a plain, which retreats itself like a bay into the mountains. 
From the shore to the mountains, across the widest part of the plain, 
the distance is a journey of eight or nine hours. Three principal rivers 
intersect this level space : the Catarrhactes, which falls over sea-cliffs 
near Attaleia, in the waterfalls which suggested its name ; and farther to 
the east the Oestrus and Enrymedon, which flow by Perga and Aspen- 
dus to a low and sandy shore. About the banks of these rivers, and on 
the open waters of the bay, whence the eye ranges freely over the ragged 
mountain summits which enclose the scene, armies and fleets had engaged 
in some of those battles of which the results were still felt in the day of 
St. Paul. From the base of that steep shore on the west, where a 

1 See pp. 98-100. 5 About C. Anamour (Anemurium, the 

2 Strabo states this distinctly. southernmost point of Asia Minor), and Alava 
8 Acts xxii. 17-21. See p. 97. (the ancient Coracesium), there are cliffs of 
4 Acts xvi. 9. 500 and 600 feet high. 



chap. vi. THE CITY OF PERGA, 143 

rugged knot of mountains is piled up into snowy heights above the rocks 
of Phaselis, the united squadron of the Romans and Rhodians sailed 
across the bay in the year 190 B. C. ; and it was in rounding that 
promontory near Side on the east, that they caught sight of the ships of 
Antiochus, as they came on by the shore with the dreadful Hannibal on 
board. And close to the same spot where the Latin power then defeated 
the Greek king of Syria, another battle had been fought at an earlier 
period, in which the Greeks gave one of their last blows to the retreating 
force of Persia, and the Athenian Cimon gained a victory both by land 
and sea ; thus winning, according to the boast of Plutarch, in one day 
the laurels of Plataea and Salamis. On that occasion a large navy 
sailed up the river Eurymedon as far as Aspendus. Now, the bar at the 
mouth of the river would make this impossible. The same is the case 
with the river Oestrus, which, Strabo says, was navigable in his day for 
sixty stadia, or seven miles, to the city of Perga. Ptolemy calls this 
city an inland town of Pamphylia ; but so he speaks of Tarsus in Cilicia. 
And we have seen that Tarsus, though truly called an inland town, as 
being some distance from the coast, was nevertheless a mercantile har- 
bor. Its relation with the Cydnus was similar to that of Perga with the 
Oestrus ; and the vessel which brought St. Paul to win more glorious 
victories than those of the Greek and Roman battles of the Eurymedon 
came up the course of the Oestrus to her moorings near the Temple of 
Diana. 

All that Strabo tells us of this city is that the Temple of Diana was on 
an eminence at some short distance, and that an annual festival was held 
in honor of the goddess. The chief associations of Perga are with the 
Greek rather than the Roman period : and its existing remains are 
described as being " purely Greek, there being no trace of any later 
inhabitants." l Its prosperity was probably arrested by the building of 
Attaleia 2 after the death of Alexanaer, in a more favorable situation on the 
shore of the bay. Attaleia has never ceased to be an important town since 
the d^y of its foundation by Attalus Philadelphus. But when the traveller 
pitches his tent at Perga, he finds only the encampments of shepherds, 
who pasture their cattle amidst the ruins. These ruins are walls and 
towers, columns and cornices, a theatre and a stadium, a broken aque- 
duct incrusted with the calcareous deposit of the Pamphylian streams, 
and tombs scattered on both sides of the site of the town. Nothing 
else remains of Perga, but the beauty of its natural situation, " be- 
tween and upon the sides of two hills, with an extensive valley in front, 



1 Perhaps some modification is requisite tural details of the theatre and stadium are 
here. Mr. Falkener noticed that the architec- Roman. 2 Acts xiv. 25. 



144 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap.vi. 

watered by the river Oestrus, and backed by the mountains of the 
Taurus." * 

The coins of Perga are a lively illustration of its character as a city 
of the Greeks. 2 We have no memorial of its condition as a city of the 
Romans ; nor does our narrative require us to delay any longer in 
describing it. The Apostles made no long stay in Perga. This seems 
evident, not only from the words used at this point of the history, 3 but 
from the marked manner in which we are told that they did stay, 4 on 
their return from the interior. One event, however, is mentioned as 
occurring at Perga, which, though noticed incidentally and in few words, 
was attended with painful feelings at the time, and involved the most 
serious consequences. It must have occasioned deep sorrow to Paul and 
Barnabas, and possibly even then some mutual estrangement : and 
afterwards it became the cause of their quarrel and separation. 5 Mark 
" departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the 
work." He came with them up the Oestrus as far as Perga ; but there 
he forsook them, and, taking advantage of some vessel which was sailing 
towards Palestine, he " returned to Jerusalem," 6 which had been his 
home in earlier years. 7 We are not to suppose that this implied an 
absolute rejection of Christianity. A soldier who has wavered in one 
battle may live to obtain a glorious victory. Mark was afterwards not 
unwilling to accompany the Apostles on a second missionary journey ; 8 
and actually did accompany Barnabas again to Cyprus. 9 Nor did St. 
Paul always retain his unfavorable judgment of him (Acts xv. 38), but 
long afterwards, in his Roman imprisonment, commended him to the 
Colossians, as one who was " a fellow-worker unto the Kingdom of God," 
and " a comfort " to himself: 10 and in his latest letter, just before his 
death, he speaks of him again as one " profitable to him for the 
ministry." n Yet if we consider all the circumstances of his life, we 
shall not find it difficult to blame his conduct in Pamphylia, and to see 
good reasons why Paul should afterwards, at Antioch, distrust the 
steadiness of his character. The child of a religious mother, who had 
sheltered in her house the Christian Disciples in a fierce persecution, he 
had joined himself to Barnabas and Saul, when they travelled from 

1 This description is quoted or borrowed Perga, they went down, &c." — Acts xiv. 
from Sir C. Fellows's Asia Minor, 1839, pp. 25. 

190-193. e Acts xv. 37-39. 

2 One of them, with Diana and the stag, is 6 Acts xiii. 13. 
given in ihe larger edition. 7 Acts xii. 12, 25. 

8 This will be seen by comparing the Greek 8 Acts xv. 37. 

of Acts xiii. 14 with xiv. 24. Similarly, a • Acts xv. 39. 10 Col. iv. 10. 

rapid journey is implied in xvii. 1 . n Or rather, " profitable to minister " to 

* " When they had preached the Word in him. 2 Tim. iv. 11. 



chap. vi. PEEILS OF TEAYEL IK PISIDIA. 145 

Jerusalem to Antioch, on their return from a mission of charity. He 
had been a close spectator of the wonderful power of the religion of 
Christ, — he had seen the strength of faith under trial in his mother's 
home, — he had attended his kinsman Barnabas in his labors of zeal and 
love, — he had seen the word of Paul sanctioned and fulfilled by 
miracles, — he had even been the " minister " of Apostles in their suc- 
cessful enterprise ; * and now he forsook them, when they were about 
to proceed through greater difficulties to more glorious success. We 
are not left in doubt as to the real character of his departure. He was 
drawn from the work of God by the attraction of an earthly home. 2 As 
he looked up from Perga to the Gentile mountains, his heart failed him, 
and he turned back with desire towards Jerusalem. He could not 
resolve to continue persevering, " in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, 
in perils of robbers." 3 

"Perils of rivers" and "perils of robbers" — these words express 
the very dangers which St. Paul would be most likely to encounter on 
his journey from Perga in Pamphylia to Antioch in Pisidia. The law- 
less and marauding habits of the population of those mountains which 
separate the table-land in the interior of Asia Minor from the plains on 
the south coast, were notorious in all parts of ancient history. Strabo 
uses the same strong language both of the Isaurians 4 who separated 
Cappadocia from Cilicia, and of their neighbors the Pisidians, whose 
native fortresses were the barrier between Phrygia and Pamphylia. We 
have the same character of the latter of these robber- tribes in Xenophon, 
who is the first to mention them; and in Zosimus, who relieves the 
history of the later empire by telling us of the adventures of a robber- 
chief, who defied the Romans, and died a desperate death in these 
mountains. 5 Alexander the Great, when he heard that Memnon's fleet 
was in the ^Egean, and marched from Perga to rejoin Parmenio in 
Phrygia, found some of the worst difficulties of his whole campaign in 
penetrating through this district. The scene of one of the roughest 
campaigns connected with the wars of Antiochus the Great was among 
the hill-forts near the upper waters of the Oestrus and Eurymedon. No 
population through the midst of which St. Paul ever travelled, abounded 
more in those " perils of robbers," of which he himself speaks, than the 
wild and lawless clans of the Pisidian Highlanders. 



1 See Acts xiii. 5. 5 The beautiful story of St. John and the- 

2 Matthew Henry pithily remarks: " Ei- robber (Euseb. Eccl. Hist. iii. 23) will natu- 
ther he did not like the work, or he wanted to rally occur to the reader. See also the fre- 
tfo and see his mother." quent mention of Isaurian robbers in the 

3 2 Cor. xi. 26. latter part of the life of Chrysostom, prefixed. 

4 See p. 19. to the Benedictine edition of his works. 

10 



146 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.™. 

And if on this journey he was exposed to dangers from the attacks of 
men, there might be other dangers, not less imminent, arising from tho 
natural character of the country itself. To travellers in the East there is 
a reality in " perils of rivers," which we in England are hardly able to 
understand. Unfamiliar with the sudden flooding of thirsty watercourses, 
we seldom comprehend the full force of some of the most striking images 
in the Old and New Testaments. 1 The rivers of Asia Minor, like all the 
rivers in the Levant, are liable to violent and sudden changes. 2 And no 
district in Asia Minor is more singularly characterized by its " water 
floods " than the mountainous tract of Pisidia, where rivers burst out at 
the bases of huge cliffs, or dash down wildly through narrow ravines. 
The very notice of the bridges in Strabo, when he tells us how the Oestrus 
and Eurymedon tumble down from the heights and precipices of Selge to 
the Pamphylian Sea, is more expressive than any elaborate description. 
We cannot determine the position of any bridges which the Apostle may 
have crossed ; but his course was never far from the channels of these two 
rivers : and it is an interesting fact, that his name is still traditionally 
connected with one of them, as we learn from the information recently 
given to an English traveller by the Archbishop of Pisidia. 3 

Such considerations respecting the physical peculiarities of the country 
now traversed by St. Paul, naturally lead us into various trains of thought 
concerning the scenery, the climate, and the seasons. 4 And there are 
certain probabilities in relation to the time of the year when the Apostle 
may be supposed to have journeyed this way, which may well excuse some 
remarks on these subjects. And this is all the more allowable, because 
we are absolutely without any data for determining the year in which 
this first missionary expedition was undertaken. All that we can assert 
with confidence is that it must have taken place somewhere in the interval 
between the years 45 and 50. 5 But this makes us all the more desirous 

1 Thus the true meaning of 2 Cor. xi. 26 had continued its course so far, is lost in the 
is lost in the English translation. Similarly, mountains, &c." — Arundell's Asia Minor, vol. 

■in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. vii. 25, ii. p. 31. The river is probably the Euryme- 

27), the word for "rivers" is translated don. 

" floods," and the image confused. See Ps. 4 The descriptive passages which follow 

xxxii. 6. are chiefly borrowed from "Asia Minor, 1839," 

2 The crossing of the Halys by Croesus, as and " Lycia, 1841," by Sir C. Fellows, and 
told by Herodotus, is an illustration of the " Travels in Lycia, 1847," by Lieutenant Spratt, 
difficulties presented by the larger rivers of R-N., and Professor E. Forbes. The writer 
Asia Minor. desires also to acknowledge his obligations to 

3 " About two hours and a half from Is- various travellers, especially to the lamented 
barta, towards the south-east, is the village of Professor Forbes, also to Mr. Falkener, and 
Sav, where is the source of a river called the Dr. Wolff. 

Sav-Sou. Five hours and a half beyond, and 5 See the Chronological Table in Ap- 

-^till towards tho south-east, is the village of pendix III. 
Paoli (St. Paul) ; and here the river, which 



chap. vi. MOUNTAIN-SCEKEEY OF PISIDIA. 147 

to determine, by any reasonable conjectures, the movements of the Apostle 
in reference to a better chronology than that which reckons by successive 
years, — the chronology which furnishes us with the real imagery round 
his path, — the chronology of the seasons. 

Now we may well suppose that he might sail from Seleucia to Salamis 
at the beginning of spring. In that age and in those waters, the com- 
mencement of a voyage was usually determined by the advance of the 
season. The sea was technically said to be " open " in the month of 
March. If St. Paul began his journey in that month, the lapse of two 
months might easily bring him to Perga, and allow sufficient time for all 
that we are told of his proceedings at Salamis and Paphos. If we suppose 
him to have been at Perga in May, this would have been exactly the most 
natural time for a journey to the mountains. Earlier in the spring, the 
passes would have been filled with snow. 1 In the heat of summer the 
weather would have been less favorable for the journey. In the autumn 
the disadvantages would have been still greater, from the approaching 
difficulties of winter. But again, if St. Paul was at Perga in May, a 
further reason may be given why he did not stay there, but seized all the 
advantages of the season for prosecuting his journey to the interior. The 
habits of a people are always determined or modified by the physical pe- 
culiarities of their country ; and a custom prevails among the inhabitants 
of this part of Asia Minor, which there is every reason to believe has been 
unbroken for centuries. At the beginning of the hot season they move up 
from the plains to the cool basin-like hollows on the mountains. These 
yailalis or summer retreats are always spoken of with pride and satisfac- 
tion, and the time of the journey anticipated with eager delight. When 
the time arrives, the people may be seen ascending to the upper grounds, 
men, women, and children, with flocks and herds, camels and asses, like 
the patriarchs of old. 2 If then St. Paul was at Perga in May, he would 



1 " March 4. — The passes to the Yailahs seer make of such a pilgrimage ! The snowy 
from the upper part of the valley heing still tops of the mountains were seen through the 
shut up by snow, we have no alternative but lofty and dark-green fir-trees, terminating in 
to prosecute our researches amongst the low abrupt cliffs. . . . From clefts in these gushed 
country and valleys which border the coast." out cascades . . . and the waters were-carried 
— Sp. and F. i. p. 48. The valley referred to away by the wind in spray over the green 
is that of the Xanthus, in Lycia. woods. ... In a zigzag course up the wood 

2 "April 30. — We passed many families en lay the track leading to the cool places. In 
route from Adalia to the mountain plains for advance of the pastoral groups were the strag- 
the summer." — Sp. and F. i. p. 242. Again, gling goats, browsing on the fresh blossoms of 
p. 248 (May 3). See p. 64. During a halt the wild almond as they passed. In more 
in the valley of the Xanthus (May 10), Sir steady courses followed the small black cattle 
C. Fellows says that an almost uninterrupted . . . then came the flocks of sheep, and the 
train of cattle and people (nearly twenty fami- camels . . . bearing piled loads of ploughs, 
lies) passed by. " What a picture would Land- tent-poles, kettles . . . and amidst this rustic 



148 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. yi. 

find the inhabitants deserting its hot and silent streets. " They would be 
moving in the direction of his own intended journey. He would be under 
no temptation to stay. And if we imagine him as joining ! some such 
company of Pamphylian families on his way to the Pisidian mountains, it 
gives much interest and animation to the thought of this part of his prog- 
ress. 

Perhaps it was in such company that the Apostle entered the first passes 
of the mountainous district, along some road formed partly by artificial 
pavement, and partly by the native marble, with high cliffs frowning on 
either hand, with tombs and inscriptions, even then ancient, on the pro- 
jecting rocks around, and with copious fountains bursting out " among 
thickets of pomegranates and oleanders." 2 The oleander, " the favorite 
flower of the Levantine midsummer," abounds in the lower watercourses ; 
and in the month of May it borders all the banks with a line of brilliant ' 
crimson. 3 As the path ascends, the rocks begin to assume the wilder 
grandeur of mountains, the richer fruit-trees begin to disappear, and the 
pine and walnut succeed ; though the plane-tree still stretches its wide 
leaves over the stream which dashes wildly down the ravine, crossing and 
recrossing the dangerous road. The alteration of climate which attends 
on the traveller's progress is soon perceptible. A few hours will make the 
difference of weeks, or even months. When the corn is in the ear on the 
lowlands, ploughing and sowing are hardly well begun upon the highlands. 
Spring flowers may be seen in the mountains by the very edge of the 

load was always seen the rich Turkey carpet which had been perfected with large stones at 
and damask cushions, the pride even of the a very remote age ; the deep ( ruts of chariot- 
tented Turk." — Lycia, pp. 238, 239. wheels were apparent in many places. The 

1 It has always been customary for travel- road is much worn by time ; and the people 
lers in Asia Minor, as in the patriarchal East, of a later age, diverging from the track, have 
to join caravans, if possible. formed a road with stones very inferior both 

2 In ascending from Limyra, a small plain in size and arrangement. About half an hour 
on the coast not far from Phaselis, Spratt and before I reached the plain ... a view burst 
Forbes mention "a rock-tablet with a long upon me through the cliffs. ... I looked 
Greek inscription ... by the side of an an- down from the rocky steps of the throne of 
cient paved road, at a spot where numerous winter upon the rich and verdant plain of 
and copious springs gush out among thickets summer, with the blue sea in the distance. . . . 
of pomegranates and oleanders." (i. p. 160.) Nor was the foreground without its interest; 
Fellows, in coming to Attaleia from the north, on each projecting rock stood an ancient sar- 
" suddenly entered a pass between the moun- cophagus, and the trees half concealed the lids 
tains, which diminished in width until cliffs and broken sculptures of innumerable tombs." 
almost perpendicular enclosed us on either — A. M. pp. 174, 175. This may very proba- 
side. The descent became so abrupt that we bly have been the pass and road by which 
were compelled to dismount and walk for two St. Paul ascended. 

hours, during which time we continued rapidly 3 See the excellent Chapter on the "Bota- 

descending an ancient paved road, formed ny of Lycia " in Spratt and Forbes, vol. II. 
principally of the native marble rock, but ch. xiii. 



chap. vi. TABLE-LAND OF ASIA MIKOE. 149 

snow, 1 when the anemone is withered in the plain, and the pink veins in 
the white asphodel flower are shrivelled by the heat. When the cottages 
are closed and the grass is parched, and every thing is silent below in the 
purple haze and stillness of midsummer, clouds are seen drifting among 
the Pisidian precipices, and the cavern is often a welcome shelter from a 
cold and penetrating wind. 2 The upper part of this district is a wild 
region of cliffs, often isolated and bare, and separated from each other by 
valleys of sand, which the storm drives with blinding violence among the 
shivered points. The trees become fewer and smaller at every step. 
Three belts of vegetation are successively passed through in ascending 
from the coast : first the oak-woods, then the forests of pine, and lastly 
the dark scattered patches of the cedar-juniper: and then we reach the 
treeless plains of the interior, which stretch in dreary extension to the 
north and the east. 

After such a journey as this, separating, we know not where, from the 
companions they may have joined, and often thinking of that Christian 
companion who had withdrawn himself from their society when they needed 
him most, Paul and Barnabas emerged from the rugged mountain- 
passes, and came upon the central table-land of Asia Minor. The whole 
interior region of the peninsula may be correctly described by this term ; 
for, though intersected in various directions by mountain-ranges, it is, on 
the whole, a vast plateau, elevated higher than the summit of Ben Nevis 
above the level of the sea. 3 This is its general character, though a long 
journey across the district brings the traveller through many varieties of 
scenery. Sometimes he moves for hours along the dreary margin of an 
inland sea of salt, 4 — sometimes he rests in a cheerful hospitable town 

1 "May 9. — Ascending through a winterly Sp. and F. i. p. 242. Again, p. 293, "Every 
climate, with snow by the side of our path, step led us from spring into summer ; " and 
and only the crocus and anemones in bloom . . . the following pages. See also Fellows : " Two 
we beheld a new series of cultivated plains to months since at Syria the corn was beginning 
the west, being in fact table-lands, nearly upon to show the>ear, whilst here they have only in 
a level with the tops of the mountains which a few places now begun to plough and sow." 
form the eastern boundary of the valley of — A. M. 158. "The corn, which we had the 
the Xanthus. . . . Descending to the plain, day before seen changing color for the har- 
probably 1,000 feet, we pitched our tent, after vest, was here not an inch above the ground, 
a ride of 7^ hours. . . . Upon boiling the and the buds of the bushes were not yet burst- 
thermometer, I found that we were more than nig." — Lycia, p. 226. 

4,000 feet above the sea, and, cutting down 3 The yailah of Adalia is 3,500 feet above 

some dead trees, we provided against the the sea: Sp. and F. i. p. 244. The vast plain, 

coming cold of the evening by lighting three " at least 50 miles long and 20 wide," south 

large fires around our encampment." — Fell. of Kiutayah in Phrygia, is about 6,000 feet 

Lycia, p. 234. This was in descending from above the sea. Fell. A. M. p. 155. This may 

Almalee, in the great Lycian yailah, to the be overstated, but the plain of Erzcroum is 

south-east of Cibyra. quite as much. 

2 For further illustrations of the change of * We shall have occasion to mention the 
season caused by difference of elevation, see salt lakes hereafter. 



150 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL, chap.vl 

by the shore of a fresh-water lake. 1 In some places the ground is burnt 
and volcanic, in others green and fruitful. Sometimes it is depressed 
into watery hollows, where wild swans visit the pools, and storks are seen 
fishing and feeding among the weeds : 2 more frequently it is spread out 
into broad open downs, like Salisbury Plain, which afford an inter- 
minable pasture for flocks of sheep. 3 To the north of Pamphylia, the 
elevated plain stretches through Phrygia for a hundred miles from Mount 
Taurus to Mount Olympus. 4 The southern portion of these bleak up- 
lands was crossed by St. Paul's track, immediately before his arrival at 
Antioch in Pisidia. The features of human life which he had around 
him are probably almost as unaltered as the scenery of the country, — 
dreary villages with flat-roofed huts and cattle-sheds in the day, and at 
night an encampment of tents of goat's hair, — tents of cilicium (see 
p. 45), — a blazing fire in the midst, — horses fastened around, — and in 
the distance the moon shining on the snowy summits of Taurus. 5 

The Sultan TareeJc, or Turkish Royal Road from Adalia to Kiutayah 
and Constantinople, passes nearly due north by the beautiful lake of 
Buldur. 6 The direction of Antioch in Pisidia bears more to the east. 
After passing somewhere near Selge and Sagalassus, St. Paul approached 
by the margin of the much larger, though perhaps not less beautiful, lake 
of Eyerdir. 7 The position of the city is not far from the northern shore 
of this lake, at the base of a mountain-range which stretches through 
Phrygia in a south-easterly direction. It is, however, not many years 
since this statement could be confidently made. Strabo, indeed, de- 
scribes its position with remarkable clearness and precision. His words 
are as follows: — "In the district of Phrygia called Paroreia, there is a 
certain mountain-ridge, stretching from east to west. On each side 
there is a large plain below this ridge : and it has two cities in its neigh- 
borhood ; Philomelium on the north, and on the other side Antioch, called 
Antioch near Pisidia. The former lies entirely in the plain, the latter 
(which has a Roman colony) is on a height." With this description 

1 The two lakes of Buldur and Eyerdir many stately wild swans (near Almalee, 3,000 
are mentioned below. Both are described as feet above the sea)." — Fell. Lycia, p. 228. 
very beautiful. 3 We shall have occasion to return pres- 

2 " March 27 (near Kiutayah). — I counted ently to this character of much of the interior 
180 storks fishing or feeding in one small of Asia Minor when we come to the mention 
swampy place not an acre in extent. The of Lycaonia (Acts xiv. 6). 

land here is used principally for breeding and 4 Fellows's Asia Minor, p. 155, &c. 

grazing cattle, which are to be seen in herds 5 See Fellows's Asia Minor, p. 177, and es- 

of many hundreds." Fell. Asia Minor, p. 155. pecially the mention of the goat's-hair tents. 

" May 8. — The shrubs are the rose, the bar- 6 See above, n. 1. 

bary, and wild almond ; but all are at present 7 See the descriptions in Arundell's Asia 

fully six weeks later than those in the country Minor i ch. xiii., and especially ch. xv. 

we have lately passed. I observed on the lake 



chap. vi. SITUATION OF ANTIOCH. 151 

before him, and taking into account certain indications of distance 
furnished by ancient authorities, Colonel Leake, who has perhaps done 
more for the elucidation of Classical Topography than any other man, 
felt that Ak-Sher, the position assigned to Antioch by D'Anville and 
other geographers, could not be the true place : Ak-Sher is on the north 
of the ridge, and the position could not be made to harmonize with the 
Tables. 1 But he was not in possession of any information which could 
lead him to the true position ; and the problem remained unsolved till 
Mr. Arundell started from Smyrna, 'in 1883, with the deliberate purpose 
of discovering the scene of St. Paul's labors. He successfully proved 
that Ak-Sher is Philomelium, and that Antioch is at Yalobatch, on the 
other side of the ridge. The narrative of his successful journey is very 
interesting : and every Christian ought to sympathize in the pleasure with 
which, knowing that Antioch was seventy miles from Apamea, and forty- 
five miles from Apollonia, he first succeeded in identifying Apollonia ; 
and then, exactly at the right distance, perceived, in the tombs near a 
fountain, and the vestiges of an ancient road, sure indications of his ap- 
proach to a ruined city ; and then saw, across the plain, the remains of 
an aqueduct at the base of the mountain ; and, finally, arrived at 
Jalobatch, ascended to the elevation described by Strabo, and felt, as he 
looked on the superb ruins around, that he was "really on the spot con- 
secrated by the labors and persecution of the Apostles Paul and 
Barnabas." 2 

The position of the Pisidian Antioch being thus determined by the con- 
vergence of ancient authority and modern research, we perceive that it 
lay on an important line of communication, westward by Apamea with 
the valley of the Maeander, and eastward by Iconium with the country 
behind the Taurus. In this general direction, between Smyrna and 
Ephesus on the one hand, and the Cilician Gates which lead down to 
Tarsus on the other, conquering armies and trading caravans, Persian 
satraps, Roman proconsuls, and Turkish pachas, have travelled for cen- 
turies. 3 The Pisidian Antioch was situated about half way between these 
extreme points. It was built (as we have seen in an earlier chapter, TV. 

1 See Leake's Asia Minor, p. 41. The 3 In illustration of this we may refer to the- 
same difficulties were perceived by Mannert. caravan routes and Persian military roads as- 

2 See Arundeli's Asia Minor, ch. xii., xiii., indicated in Kiepert's Hellas, to Xenophon's 
xiv., and the view as given in our quarto edi- Anabasis, to Alexander's campaign and Cice- 
tion. There is also a view in Laboi-de. The ro's progress, to the invasion of Tamerlane,, 
opinion of Mr. Arundell is fully confirmed by and the movements of the Turkish and Egyp- 
Mr. Hamilton, Researches in Asia Minor, vol. tian armies in 1832 and 1833. 

i. ch. xxvii. The aqueduct conveyed water 
to the town from the Sultan Dagh (Strabo's 
"mountain ridge"). 



152 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vi. 

p. 113) by the founder of the Syrian Antioch ; and in the age of the 
Greek kings of the line of Seleucus it was a town of considerable impor- 
tance. But its appearance had been modified, since the campaigns of 
Scipio and Manlius, and the defeat of Mithridates, 1 by the introduction 
of Roman usages,. and the Roman style of building. This was true, to 
a certain extent, of all the larger towns of Asia Minor: but this change 
had probably taken place in the Pisidian Antioch more than in many 
cities of greater importance ; for, like Philippi, 2 it was a Roman Colonia. 
Without delaying, at present, to explain the full meaning of this term, 
we may say that the character impressed on any town in the Empire 
which had been made subject to military colonization was particularly 
Roman, and that all such towns were bound by a tie of peculiar closeness 
to the Mother City. The insignia of Roman power were displayed more 
conspicuously than in other towns in the same province. In the prov- 
inces where Greek was spoken, while other towns had Greek letters on 
their coins, the money of the colonies was distinguished by Latin super- 
scriptions. Antioch must have had some eminence among the eastern 
colonies, for it was founded by Augustus, and called Ceesarea. 3 Such 
coins as that represented at the end of this chapter were in circulation 
here, though not at Perga or Iconium, when St. Paul visited these cities : 
and, more than at any other city visited on this journey, he would hear 
Latin spoken side, by side with the Greek and the ruder Pisidian 
dialect. 4 

Along with this population of Greeks, Romans, and native Pisidians, 
a greater or smaller number of Jews was intermixed. They may not 
have been a very numerous body, for only one synagogue 5 is mentioned 
in the narrative. But it is evident, from the events recorded, that they 
were an influential body, that they had made many proselytes, and that 
they had obtained some considerable dominion (as in the parallel cases 
of Damascus recorded by Josephus, 6 and Beroea and Thessalonica in the 
Acts of the Apostles) 7 over the minds of the Gentile women. 

On the Sabbath days the Jews and the proselytes met in the synagogue. 

1 See p. 13. oxen, which illustrate the Roman mode of 

2 Acts xvi. 12. The constitution of a Co- marking out by a plough the colonial limits. 
ilonia will be explained when we come to this 4 We shall have to return to this subject 
passage. of language again, in speaking of the " speech 

3 We should learn this from the inscription of Lycaonia." Acts xiv. 11. 

on the coins, COL. C^S. ANTIOCHLE, if 6 See remarks on Salamis, p. 127. 

we did not learn it from Strabo and Pliny. 6 The people of Damascus were obliged to 

Mr. Hamilton found an inscription at Yalo- use caution in their scheme of assassinating 

(batch, with the letters ANTIOCH EAE the Jews ; — "through fear of their women, 

■CAESARE. Another coin of this colony, all of whom, except a few, were attached to 

-exhibiting the wolf with Romulus and Remus, the Jewish worshippers." — War, ii. 20, 2. 
iis engraved in this volume. Others exhibit two 7 Acts xvii. 4, 12. 



chap.ti. THE SYNAGOGUE. 153 

It is evident that at this time full liberty of public worship was permitted 
to the Jewish people in all parts of the Roman Empire, whatever limita- 
tions might have been enacted by law or compelled by local opposition, 
as relates to the. form and situation of the synagogues. We infer from 
Epiphanius that the Jewish places of worship were often erected in open 
and conspicuous positions. 1 This natural wish may frequently have been 
checked by the influence of the Heathen priests, who would not will- 
ingly see the votaries of an ancient idolatry forsaking the temple for the 
synagogue : and feelings of the same kind may probably have hindered 
the Jews, even if they had the ability or desire, from erecting religious 
edifices of any remarkable grandeur and solidity. No ruins of the 
synagogues of imperial times have remained to us, like those of the tem- 
ples in every province, from which we are able to convince ourselves of 
the very form and size of the sanctuaries of Jupiter, Apollo, and Diana. 
There is little doubt that the sacred edifices of the Jews have been modi- 
fied by the architecture of the remote countries through which they have 
been dispersed, and the successive centuries through which they have con- 
tinued a separated people. Under the Roman Empire it is natural to 
suppose that they must have varied, according to circumstances, through 
all gradations of magnitude and decoration, from the simple proseucha 
at Philippi 2 to the magnificent prayer-houses at Alexandria. 3 Yet there 
are certain traditional peculiarities which have doubtless united together 
by a common resemblance the Jewish synagogues of all ages and coun- 
tries. 4 The arrangement for the women's places in a separate gallery, or 
behind a partition of lattice-work, — the desk in the centre, where the 
Reader, like Ezra in ancient days, from his "pulpit of wood," may " open 
the Book in the sight of all the people . . . and read in the Book the 
Law of* God distinctly, and give the sense, and cause them to under- 
stand the reading," 5 — the carefully closed Ark on the side of the build- 
ing nearest to Jerusalem, for the preservation of the rolls or manuscripts 
of the Law — the seats all round the building, whence " the eyes of all 
them that are in the synagogue " may be "fastened" on him who speaks, 6 
— the " chief seats,"- 7 which were appropriated to the " ruler " or 

1 He is speaking of the synagogue at Na- 4 Besides the works referred to in the notes 
blous. Such buildings were frequently placed to Ch. II., Allen's Modern Judaism and Ber- 
by the water-side for the sake of ablution. nard's Synagogue and Church may be consulted 
Compare Acts xvi. 13, with Joseph. Ant. xiv. with advantage on subjects connected with 
10, 23. the synagogue. 

2 Acts xvi. 13. The question of the iden- 5 Nehem. viii. 4-8. 
tity or difference of the proseucha and synagogue 6 See Luke iv. 20. 

will be considered hereafter. Probably the 7 Tbese chief seats (Matt, xxiii. 6; seem to 

former is a general term. have faced the rest of the congregation. See 

3 Mentioned by Philo. Jam. ii. 3. 



ll>4 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.v*. 

" rulers " of the synagogue, according as its organization might be 
more or less complete, 1 and which were so dear to the hearts of those 
who professed to be peculiarly learned or peculiarly devout, — these are 
some of the features of a synagogue, which agree at once with the notices 
of Scripture, the descriptions in the Talmud, and the practice of modern 
Judaism. 

The meeting of the congregations in the ancient synagogues may be 
easily realized, if due allowance be made for the change of costume, by 
those who have seen the Jews at their worship in the large towns of 
Modern Europe. On their entrance into the building, the four-cornered 
Tallith 2 was first placed like a veil over the head, or like a scarf over the 
shoulders. 3 The prayers were then recited by an officer called the 
" Angel," or " Apostle," of the assembly. 4 These prayers were doubtless 
many of them identically the same with those which are found in the 
present service-books of the German and Spanish Jews, though their 
liturgies, in the course of ages, have undergone successive developments, 
the steps of which are not easily ascertained. It seems that the prayers 
were sometimes read in the vernacular language of the country where 
the synagogue was built ; but the Law was always read in Hebrew. The 
sacred roll 5 of manuscript was handed from the Ark to the Reader by 
the Chazan, or " Minister ; " 6 and then certain portions were read 
according to a fixed cycle, first from the Law and then from the Proph- 
ets. It is impossible to determine the period when the sections from 
these two divisions of the Old Testament were arranged as in use at 
present ; 7 but the same necessity for translation and explanation existed 
then as now. The Hebrew and English are now printed in parallel 
columns. Then, the reading of the Hebrew was elucidated by the 
Targum or the Septuagint, or followed by a paraphrase in the spoken 



1 With Luke xiii. 14, Acts xviii. 8, 17, veil their heads during their exhortations in 
compare Luke vii. 3, Mark v. 22, and Acts the synagogues/' It is quite possible that the 
xiii. 15. Some are of opinion that the smaller Tallith, though generally worn in the congre- 
synagogues had one " ruler," the larger many. gation, might be removed by any one who 
It is more probable that the " chief ruler " rose to speak or who prayed aloud. 

with the "elders" formed a congregational 4 Vitringa, who compares Rev. ii. 1. 

council, like the kirk-session in Scotland. 5 The words in Luke iv. 1 7, 20, imply 

2 The use of the Tallith is said to have the acts of rolling and unrolling. See 1 
arisen from the Mosaic commandment direct- Mace. iii. 48. 

ing that fringes should be worn on the four 6 Luke iv. 17, 20. 

corners of the garment. 7 A full account both of the Paraschioth or 

3 When we read 1 Cor. xi. 4, 7, we must Sections of the Law, and the Haphtaroth or 
feel some doubt concerning the wearing of the Sections of the Prophets, as used both by the 
Tallith on the head during worship at that Portuguese and German Jews, may be seen hi 
period. De Wette says that " it is certain Home's Introduction, vol. iii. pp. 254-258. 
that in the Apostolic age the Jews did not 



CHAP. YI. 



THE SYNAGOGUE. 155 



language of the country. 1 The Reader stood 2 while thus employed, and 
all the congregation sat around. The manuscript was rolled up and 
returned to the Chazan. 3 Then followed a pause, during which strangers 
or learned men, who had " any word of consolation " or exhortation, rose 
and addressed the meeting. And thus, after a pathetic enumeration of 
the sufferings of the chosen people 4 or an allegorical exposition 5 of some 
dark passage of Holy Writ, the worship was closed with a benediction 
and a solemn " Amen." 6 

To such a worship in such a building a congregation came together at 
Antioch in Pisidia, on the Sabbath which immediately succeeded the 
arrival of Paul and Barnabas. Proselytes came and seated themselves 
with the Jews : and among the Jewesses behind the lattice were " honor- 
able women " 7 of the colony. The two strangers entered the synagogue, 
and, wearing the Tallith, which was the badge of an Israelite, 8 " sat 
down " 9 with the rest. The prayers were recited, the extracts from " the 
Law and the Prophets " were read ; 10 the " Book " returned to the 
" Minister," u and then we are told that " the rulers of the synagogue " 
sent to the new-comers, on whom many eyes had already been fixed, and 
invited them to address the assembly, if they had words of comfort or 
instruction to speak to their fellow-Israelites.12 The very attitude of St. 
Paul, as he answered the invitation, is described to us. He " rose " from 
his seat, and, with the animated and emphatic gesture which he used on 
other occasions, 13 " beckoned with his hand." 14 

After thus graphically bringing the scene before our eyes, St. Luke 
gives us, if not the whole speech delivered by St. Paul, yet at least the 
substance of what he said. For into however short a space lie may have 
condensed the speeches which he reports, yet it is no mere outline, no dry 
analysis of them, which he gives. He has evidently preserved, if not all 
the words, yet the very words uttered by the Apostle ; nor can we fail to 

1 See p. 34. In Palestine the Syro-Chal- 6 See Neh. viii. 6 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 16. 
daic language would be used ; in the Disper- 7 Acts xiii. 50. 

sion, usually the Greek. Lightfoot seems to 8 " As I entered the synagogue [at Blidah 

think that the Pisidian language was used in Algeria], they offered me a Tallith, saying 

here. Strabo speaks of a dialect as peculiar in French, 'Etes-vous Israelite ?' I could not 

to this district. wear the Tallith, but I opened my English 

2 Acts xiii. 16. On the other hand, our Bible and sat down, thinking of Paul and 
Lord was seated during solemn teaching, Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia." — Extract 
Luke iv. 20. from a private journal. 

8 See Luke iv. 20. 9 Acts xiii. 14. 

4 The sermon in the synagogue in "He- 10 Acts xiii. 15. n Luke iv. 20. 
Ion's Pilgrimage "is conceived in the true Jew- 12 Acts xiii. 15. The word is the same as 
ish feeling. Compare the address of St. that which is used in the descriptive title of 
Stephen. Barnabas, p. 115. 

5 We see how an inspired Apostle uses al- 13 Acts xxvi. 1, xxi. 40. See xx. 34. 
legory. Gal. iv. 21-31. 1* Acts xiii. 16. 



156 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.v* 

recognize in all these speeches a tone of thought, and even of expres- 
sion, which stamps them with the individuality of the speaker. 

On the present occasion we find St. Paul beginning his address by 
connecting the Messiah whom he preached with the preparatory dis- 
pensation which ushered in His advent. He dwells upon the previous 
history of the Jewish people, for the same reasons which had led St. 
Stephen to do the like in his defence before the Sanhedrin. He endeav- 
ors to conciliate the minds of his Jewish audience by proving to them 
that the Messiah whom he proclaimed was the same whereto their 
own prophets bare witness ; come, not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil ; 
and that His advent had been duly heralded by His predicted messenger. 
He then proceeds to remove the prejudice which the rejection of 
Jesus by the authorities at Jerusalem (the metropolis of their faith) 
would naturally raise in the minds of the Pisidian Jews against His 
divine mission. He shows that Christ's death and resurrection had 
accomplished the ancient prophecies, and declares this to be the 
" Glad Tidings " which the Apostles were charged to proclaim. Thus 
far the speech contains nothing which could offend the exclusive spirit of 
Jewish nationality. On the contrary, St. Paul has endeavored to carry his 
hearers with him by the topics on which he has dwelt ; the Saviour whom 
he declares is " a Saviour unto Israel ; " the Messiah whom he announces 
is the fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets. But having thus concili- 
ated their feelings, and won their favorable attention, he proceeds in a 
bolder tone to declare the Catholicity of Christ's salvation, and the 
antithesis between the Gospel and the Law. His concluding words, as 
St. Luke relates them, might stand as a summary representing in outline 
the early chapters of the Epistle to the Romans ; and therefore, con- 
versely, those chapters will enable us to realize the manner in which St. 
Paul would have expanded the heads of argument which his disciple here 
records. The speech ends with a warning against that bigoted rejection 
of Christ's doctrine, which this latter portion of the address was so likely 
to call forth. 

The following were the words (so far as they have been preserved to 
us) spoken by St. Paul on this memorable occasion : — 

acts it ]^ en f i sra el, and ye, proselytes of the Gentiles, who j e d ^fand° 

16 worship the God of Abraham, give audience. rioseiytes. 

God's choice 

17 " The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and raised of israei to 

■*■• r r 7 be His people, 

up His people, when they dwelt as strangers in the land of ?obe°t£>r£ 
Egypt ; and with an high arm brought He them out therefrom. fieTsiah? 

18 And about the time of forty years, even as a nurse beareth her child, 



chap. vi. ABDEESS TO TBE JEWS. 157 

so bare He them 1 through the wilderness. And He destroyed seven 19 
nations in the land of Canaan, and gave their land as a portion unto 
His people. And after that He gave unto them Judges about the 20 
space 2 of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the Prophet ; 
then desired they a king, and He gave unto them Saul, the son of 21 
Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, 3 to rule them for forty years. 
And when He had removed Saul, He raised up unto them David to be 22 
their king ; to whom also He gave testimony, and said : Jf fyatre fotttlu" 

gabitr, tlje sent of Jesse, n trait after mg oixrit Ijeart, iotjttl; shall 

fulfil all'tntr failL 4 Of this man's seed hath God, according to His 23 
promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour Jesus. 

us?Vas e b£~ " And J o lm was % nussmger toJKr fomt brfbr* gts fact 5 24 

Forerunner, ffj ptepre J|b foag btfoxt J|im ? and he preached the bap- 
tism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his 
course 6 his saying was, ' Whom think ye that I am? I am not He. But 25 
behold there cometh one after me whose shoes' latchet I am not worthy to 
loose.' 7 
The rulers of " Men and Brethren, 8 whether ye be children of the stock of 26 

Jerusalem ful- 

phefs b h \ e c^u°i Abraham, or proselytes of the Gentiles, to you have been sent 
oFjesus. the tidings of this salvation : for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 27 
and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the 
prophets which are read in their synagogues every Sabbath day, have ful- 
filled the Scriptures in condemning Him. And though they found in Him 28 
no cause of death, yet besought they Pilate that He should be slain. And 

1 The beauty of this metaphor has been the tribe of Benjamin, see pp. 41, 42, and 
lost to the Authorized Version on account of 49. — H.] 

the reading adopted in the Eeceived Text. * Compare Ps. lxxxix. 20, with 1 Sam. 

There is an evident allusion to Deut. i. 31. xiii. 14. The quotation is from the LXX., 

2 We need not trouble our readers with the but not verbatim, being apparently made from 
difficulties which have been raised concerning memory. 

the chronology of this passage. Supposing 5 Mai. iii. 1, as quoted Matt. xi. 10, not 

it could be proved that St. Paul's knowledge exactly after the LXX., but rather according 

of ancient chronology was imperfect, this need to the literal translation of the Hebrew, 
not surprise us; for there seems no reason to 6 [Here, and in the speech at Miletus (xiii. 

suppose (and we have certainly no right to 25), it is worthy of notice that St. Paul uses 

assume a priori) that Divine inspiration would one of his favorite and characteristic metaphors 

instruct the Apostles in truth discoverable by drawn from the foot-race. — H.] 
uninspired research, and non-essential to their 7 The imperfect is used here, 

religious mission. See note on Galatians iii. 8 Literally " men that are my brethren." So 

1 7. in Acts xvii. 22, — " men of Athens." It might 

8 [For the speaker's own connection with be rendered simply " Brethren." 



158 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vi. 

29 when they had fulfilled all which was written of Him, they took Him 
down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulchre. 

30 " But God raised Him from the dead. his resur- 

rection. 

31 " And He was seen for many days by them who came up with Attested b 

Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now * His witnesses to nesses. wlt " 
the people of Israel. 2 

32 " And while they 3 proclaim it in Jerusalem, we declare unto xSuSJ^f the 
you the same Glad Tidings concerning the promise which was i£nounce- the 
made to our fathers ; even that God hath fulfilled the same unto Christ's resur- 

recdon had 

us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus from the p U r omfo d e£ od ' 8 

33 dead; 4 as it is also written in the second psalm, CljOlt ttrf mi) Sfftt, 

34 tjjig ban Ijaiie Jf fagotto tjiet. 5 And whereas He hath raised Him from 
the grave, no more to return unto corruption, He hath said on this wise, 

Clje blessings of gabiir fotll $ jifo gmt, tfcrett % blessings toljirb 

35 sfaitir fast in holiness. 6 Wherefore it is written also in another psalm, 

36 CIjou; sjjalt not suffer tfjine fMg &m to m .corruption- 7 Now David, 

after he had ministered in his own generation 8 to the will of God, fell 

37 asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption ; but He whom 
God raised from the dead saw no corruption. 9 

38 " Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that catholicity of 

J ' ' ' Christ's salva- 

through this Jesus is declared unto you the forgiveness of sins. S between 11 * 

39 And in Him all who have faith are justified from all transgres- the Law. 
sions, wherefrom in the Law of Moses ye could not be justified. 

40 " Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken Final warning. 

1 The word for "now," evidently very ? Ps. xvi. 10 (LXX.). 

important here, is erroneously omitted by the 8 David's ministration was performed (like 

Textus Receptus. that of other men) in his own generation; but 

2 " The people " always means the Jewish the ministration of Christ extended to all 
people. generations. The thought is similar to Heb. 

3 Observe, " we preach to you " emphati- vii. 23, 24. We depart here from the Author- 
cally contrasted with .^e preceding " they to ized Version, because the use of the Greek 
the Jewish nation " (Humphry). words, for "to serve one's own generation," 

4 " Raised up from the dead." We cannot does not accord with the analogy of the N. T. 
agree with Mr. Humphry that the word can 9 We are here reminded of the arguments 
here (consistently with the context) have the of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, just as 
same meaning as in vii. 37. the beginning of the speech recalls that of 

5 Ps. ii. 7, according to LXX. trans. St. Stephen before the Sanhedrim Possibly, 

6 Isaiah lv. 3 (LXX.). The verbal connec- St. Paul himself had been an auditor of the 
tion {holy — Holy One) between vv. 34 and first, as he certainly was of the last. 

35 6hould be carefully noticed. 



chap. vi. ADDEESS TO THE JEWS 159 

in the Prophets, §W{roIb, ££ tospfejers,. anb foonbjer, mtb perislj ; fox 40 
I toorh a towh in ptrr bags, a foork toljirfi ge sfrall in no fobe 
foliefa, %:trgjj a man b&clare it nnta gou." 1 

This address made a deep and thrilling impression on the audience. 
While the congregation were pouring out of the synagogue, many of them 2 
crowded round the speaker, begging that " these words," which had moved 
their deepest feelings, might be repeated to them on their next occasion 
of assembling together. 3 And when at length the mass of the people had 
dispersed, singly or in groups, to their homes, many of the Jews and 
proselytes still clung to Paul and Barnabas, who earnestly exhorted them 
(in the form of expression which we could almost recognize as St. Paul's, 
from its resemblance to the phraseology of his Epistles) " to abide in # the 
grace of God." 4 

" With what pleasure can we fancy the Apostles to have observed these 
hearers of the Word, who seemed to have heard it in such earnest ! How 
gladly must they have talked with them, — entered into various points more 
fully than was possible in any public address, — appealed to them in various 
ways which no one can touch upon who is speaking to a mixed multitude ! 
Yet with all their pleasure and their hope, their knowledge of man's heart 
must have taught them not to be over-confident ; and therefore they would 
earnestly urge them to continue in the grace of God ; to keep up the im- 
pression which had already outlasted their stay within the synagogue ; — 
to feed it, and keep it alive, and make it deeper and deeper, that it should 
remain with them forever. What the issue was we know not, — nor does 
that concern us, — only we may be sure that here, as in other instances, 
there were some in whom their hopes and endeavors were disappointed ; 
there were some in whom they were to their fullest extent realized." 5 

The intervening week between this Sabbath and the next had not only 
its days of meeting in the synagogue, 6 but would give many opportunities 
for exhortation and instruction in private houses ; the doctrine would be 
noised abroad, and, through the proselytes, would come to the hearing of 
the Gentiles. So that " on the following Sabbath almost the whole city 

1 Habak. i. 5 (LXX.). meeting during the week. The Jews were 

2 The words rendered "Gentiles" (Auth. accustomed to meet in the synagogues on 
Vers.) in the Textus Receptus have caused a Monday and Thursday as well as on Saturday. 
great confusion in this passage. They are * Acts xiii. 43. Compare Acts xx. 24 ; 1 
omitted in the best MSS. See below, p. 164, Cor. xv. 10 ; 2 Cor. vi. 1 ; Gal. ii. 21. 

n. 2. 5 Dr. Arnold's Twenty-fourth Sermon on 

8 It is not quite certain whether we are to the Interpretation of Scripture. 
understand the words in v. 42 to mean " the 6 See n. 3 on this page, 

next Sabbath " or some intermediate days of 



160 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chat, vt 

came together to hear the Word of God." The synagogue was crowded. 1 
Multitudes of Gentiles were there in addition to the Proselytes. This was 
more than the Jews could bear. Their spiritual pride and exclusive 
bigotry was immediately roused. They could not endure the notion of 
others being freely admitted to the same religious privileges with them- 
selves. This was always the sin of the Jewish people. Instead of realizing 
their position in the world as the prophetic nation for the good of the whole 
earth, they indulged the self-exalting opinion, that God's highest blessings 
were only for themselves. Their oppressions and their dispersions had 
not destroyed this deeply-rooted prejudice ; but they rather found comfort 
under the yoke, in brooding over their religious isolation : and even in 
their remote and scattered settlements, they clung with the utmost tenacity 
to the feeling of their exclusive nationality. Thus, in the Pisidian 
Antioch, they who on one Sabbath had listened with breathless interest to 
the teachers who spoke to them of the promised Messiah, were on the next 
Sabbath filled with the most excited indignation, when they found that 
this Messiah was " a light to lighten the Gentiles," as well as " the glory 
of His people Israel." They made an uproar, and opposed the words of 
Paul 2 with all maimer of calumnious expressions, " contradicting and 
blaspheming." 

Then the Apostles, promptly recognizing in the willingness of the Gentiles 
and the unbelief of the Jews the clear indications of the path of duty, 
followed that bold 3 course which was alien to all the prejudices of a Jewish 
education. They turned at once and without reserve to the Gentiles. 
St. Paul was not unprepared for the events which called for this decision. 
The prophetic intimations at his first conversion, his vision in the Temple 
at Jerusalem, his experience at the Syrian Antioch, his recent success in 
the island of Cyprus, must have led him to expect the Gentiles to listen 
to that message which the Jews were too ready to scorn. The words with 
which he turned from his unbelieving countrymen were these : "It was' 
needful that the Word of God should first be spoken unto you : but inas- 
much as ye reject it, and deem yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo ! we 
turn to the Gentiles." And then he quotes a prophetical passage from 
their own sacred writings. " For thus hath the Lord commanded us, 
saying, I have set thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for 
salvation to the ends of the earth." 4 This is the first recorded instance 
of a scene which was often re-enacted. It is the course which St. Paul 
himself defines in his Epistle to the Romans, when he describes the Gospel 

1 Acts xiii. 44. • 3 Compare 1 Thess. ii. 2, where the circum« 

2 The words in Acts xiii. 45 imply indi- stances appear to have been very similar, 
rectly that Paul was the " chief speaker," as 4 Isai.xlix. 6, quoted with a slight variation 
we are told, xiv. 12. from the LXX. See Isai. xiii. 6 ; Luke ii. 32. 



chap. vi. PREACHING TO THE GENTILES. 161 

as coming first to the Jew, and then to the Gentile ; * and it is the course 
which he followed himself on various occasions of his life, at Corinth, 2 at 
Ephesus, 3 and at Rome. 4 

That which was often obscurely foretold in the Old Testament, — that 
those should " seek after God who knew Him not," and that He should be 
honored by " those who were not a people ; " 5 — that which had already 
seen its first fulfilment in isolated cases during our Lord's life, as in the 
centurion and the Syrophcenician woman, whose faith had no parallel in 
all the people of " Israel ; " 6 — that which had received an express ac- 
complishment through the agency of two of the chiefest of the Apostles, in 
Cornelius, the Roman officer at Csesarea, and in Sergius Paulus, the 
Roman governor at Paphos, — began now to be realized on a large scale 
in a whole community. While the Jews blasphemed and rejected Christ, 
the Gentiles " rejoiced, and glorified the Word of God." The counsels of 
God were not frustrated by the unbelief of His chosen people. A new 
" Israel," a new " election," succeeded to the former. 7 A Church was 
formed of united Jews and Gentiles ; and all who were destined to enter 
the path of eternal life 8 were gathered into the Catholic brotherhood of 
the hitherto separated races. The synagogue had rejected the inspired 
missionaries, but the apostolic instruction went on in some private house 
or public building belonging to the Heathen. And gradually the knowl- 
edge of Christianity began to be disseminated through the whole vicinity. 9 

The enmity of the Jews, however, was not satisfied by the expulsion 
of the Apostles from their synagogue. What they could not accomplish 
by violence and calumny, they succeeded in effecting by a pious intrigue. 
That influence of women in religious questions, to which our attention 
will be repeatedly called hereafter, is here for the first time brought 
before our notice in the sacred narrative of St. Paul's life. Strabo, who 
was intimately acquainted with the social position of the female sex in 
the towns of Western Asia, speaks in strong terms of the power which 
they possessed and exercised in controlling and modifying the religious 
opinions of -the men. This general fact received one of its most striking 
illustrations in the case of Judaism. We have already more than once 
alluded to the influence of the female proselytes at Damascus : 10 and the 
good service which women contributed towards the early progress of 

1 Rom. i. 16, ii. 9. Compare xi. 12, 25. passage has been made the subject of much 

2 Acts xviii. 6. 8 Acts xix. 9. controversy with reference- to the doctrine of 
4 Acts xxviii. 28. predestination. Its bearing on the question is 
6 See Hosea, i. 10, ii. 23, as quoted inKom. very doubtful. The same participle is used in 

ix. 25, 26. Acts xx. 13, and also in Luke iii. 13, and 

6 Matt. viii. 5-10, xv. 21-28. Rom. xiii.. 1. 

7 See Rom. xi. 7 ; and Gal. vi. 16. a Acts xiii. 49. 

8 Acts xiii. 48. It is well known that this 10 See above,,p. IS,, and p. 152, n. 6. 

11 



162 THE LIl'E AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vi. 

Christianity is abundantly known both from the Acts and the Epistles. 1 
Here they appear in a position less honorable, but not less influential. 
The Jews contrived, through the female proselytes at Antioch, to win 
over to their cause some influential members of their sex, and through 
them to gain the ear of men who occupied a position of eminence in the 
city. Thus a systematic persecution was excited against Paul and 
Barnabas. Whether the supreme magistrates of the colony were in- 
duced by this unfair agitation to pass a sentence of formal banishment, 
we are not informed ; 2 but for the present the Apostles were compelled to 
retire from the colonial limits. 

In cases such as these, instructions had been given by our Lord himself 
how His Apostles were to act. During His life on earth, He had said to 
the Twelve, " Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye 
depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against 
them. Yerily, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and 
Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city." 3 And while Paul 
and Barnabas thus fulfilled our Lord's words, shaking off from their feet 
the dust of the dry and sunburnt road, 4 in token of God's judgment on 
wilful unbelievers, and turning their steps eastwards in the direction of 
Lycaonia, another of the sayings of Christ was fulfilled, in the midst of 
those who had been obedient to the faith : " Blessed are ye when men shall 
revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against 
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad : for great is 
your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the prophets which were 
before you." 5 Even while their faithful teachers were removed from them, 
and travelling across the bare uplands 6 which separate Antioch from the 
plain of Iconium, the disciples of the former city received such manifest 

1 See Acts xvi. 14, xviii. 2; Philipp. iv. 3 ; 5 Matt. v. 11, 12.* 

1 Cor.vii. 16. 6 Leake approached Iconium from the 

2 We should rather infer the contrary, northern side of the mountains which separate 
since they revisited the place on their return Antioch from Philomelium (see p. 204). He 
from Derbe (xiv. 21). says : "On the descent from a ridge branching 

3 Markvi. 11 ; Matt. x. 14, 15; Luke ix. 5. eastward from these mountains, we came in 
For. other symbolical acts expressing the same sight of the vast plain around Konieh, and of 
thing, see Nehem. v. 13 ; Acts xviii. 6. It the lake which occupies the middle of it ; and 
was taught in the schools of the Scribes that we saw the city with its mosques and ancient 
the dust of a Heathen land defiled by the walls, still at the distance of twelve or fourteen 
touch. Hence the shaking of the dust off the miles from us," p. 45. Ainsworth travelled 
feet implied that the eity was regarded as in the same direction, and says : " We trav- 
profane. elled three hours along the plain of Konieh, 

4 " Literally may they have shaken off the always in sight of the city of the Sultans of 
dust of their feet, for even now (Nov. 9) the Roum, before we reached it." — Trav. in Asia 
roads abound with it, and in the summer Minor, ii. p. 58. 

months it must be a plain of dust" — Arun- 
dell's Asia. Minor, .vol. i. *p. 3L9. 



chap. vi. ICONIUM. 163 

tokens of the love of God, and the power of the " Holy Ghost," that they 
were " filled with joy " in the midst of persecution. 

Iconium has obtained a place in history far more distinguished than 
that of the Pisidian Antioch. It is famous as the cradle of the rising 
power of the conquering Turks. 1 And the remains of its Mohammedan 
architecture still bear a conspicuous testimony to the victories and strong 
government of a tribe of Tatar invaders. But there are other features in 
the view of modern Konieh which to us are far more interesting. To the 
traveller in the footsteps of St. Paul, it is not the armorial bearings of the 
Knights of St. John, carved over the gateways in the streets of Rhodes, 
which arrest the attention, but the ancient harbor and the view across 
the sea to the opposite coast. And at Konieh his interest is awakened, not 
by minarets and palaces and Saracenic gateways, but by the vast plain 
and the distant mountains. 2 

These features remain what they were in the first century, while the 
town has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, and its architectural 
character entirely altered. Little, if any thing, remains of Greek ^r Roman 
Iconium, if we except the ancient inscriptions and the fragments of sculp- 
tures which are built into the Turkish walls. 3 At a late period of the 
Empire it was made a Oolonia, like its neighbor, Antioch ; but it was 
not so in the time of St. Paul. These is no reason to suppose that its 
character was different from that of the other important towns on the 
principal lines of communication through Asia Minor. The elements of 
its population would be as follows : — a large number of trifling and frivo- 
lous Greeks, whose principal places of resort would be the theatre and the 
market-place ; some remains of a still older population, coming in occa- 
sionally from the country, or residing in a separate quarter of the town ; 
some few Roman officials, civil or military, holding themselves proudly 
aloof from the inhabitants of the subjugated province ; and an old 
established colony of Jews, who exercised their trade during the week, 
and met on the Sabbath to read the Law in the Synagogue. 

The same kind of events took place here as in Antioch, and almost in 

1 Iconium was the capital of the Seljukian have been built from the ruins of more an- 
Sultans, and had a great part in the growth cient buildings, as broken columns, capitals, 
of the Ottoman empire. pedestals, bass-reliefs, and other pieces of 

2 " Konieh extends to the east and south sculpture, contribute towards its construction. 
over the plain far beyond the walls, which are It has eighty gates, of a square form, each 
about two miles in circumference. . . . Moun- known by a separate name, and, as well as 
tains covered with snow rise on every side, most of the towers, embellished with Arabic 
excepting towards the east, where a plain, as inscriptions. ... I observed a few Greek 
flat as the desert of Arabia, extends far be- characters on the walls, but they were in so 
yond the reach of the eye." — Capt. Kinneir. elevated a situation that I could not de- 

3 "The city wall is said to have been cipher them." — Capt. Kinneir. 
erected by the Seljukian Sultans : it seems to 



164 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.tI. 

the same order. 1 The Apostles went first to the Synagogue, and the 
effect of their discourses there was such, that great numbers both of 
the Jews and Greeks (i. e. Proselytes or Heathens, or both) 2 believed the 
Gospel. The unbelieving Jews raised up an indirect persecution by 
exciting the minds of the Gentile population against those who received 
the Christian doctrine. But the Apostles persevered and remained in the 
city some considerable time, having their confidence strengthened by the 
miracles which God worked through their instrumentality, in attestation 
of the truth of His Word. There is an apocryphal narrative of certain 
events assigned to this residence at Iconium : 3 and we may innocently 
adopt so much of the legendary story, as to imagine St. Paul preaching- 
long and late to crowded congregations, as he did afterwards at Assos, 4 
and his enemies bringing him before the civil authorities, with the cry 
that he was disturbing their households by his sorcery, or with complaints 
like those at Philippi and Ephesus, that he was " exceedingly troubling 
their city," and " turning away much people." 5 We learn from an in- 
spired source 6 that the whole population of Iconium was ultimately 
divided into two great factions (a common occurrence, on far less impor- 
tant occasions, in these cities of Oriental Greeks), and that one party 
took the side of the Apostles, the other that of the Jews. But here, as 
at Antioch, the influential classes were on the side of the Jews. A 
determined attempt was at last made to crush the Apostles, by loading 
them with insult and actually stoning them. Learning this wicked con- 
spiracy, in which the magistrates themselves were involved, 7 they fled to 
some of the neighboring districts of Lycaonia, where they might be more 
secure, and have more liberty in preaching the Gospel. 

It would be a very natural course for the Apostles, after the cruel 
treatment they had experienced in the great towns on a frequented route, 
to retire into a wilder region and among a ruder population. In any 
country, the political circumstances of which resemble those of Asia 
Minor under the early emperors, there must be many districts, into 
which the civilization of the conquering and governing people has hardly 
penetrated. An obvious instance is furnished by our Eastern presi- 
dencies, in the Hindoo villages, which have retained their character with- 
out alteration, notwithstanding the successive occupations by Moham- 
medans and English. Thus, in the Eastern provinces of the Roman 

1 See Acts xiv. 1-5. * Acts xx. 7-11. 

2 Perhaps " Greeks " (v. 1 ) may mean & Acts xvi. 20, xix. 26. 
"proselytes/' as opposed to the " Gentiles " of 6 Acts x j v> 4 # 

v. 2. 7 it i s impossible to determine exactly the 

3 The legend of Paul and Thecla. The meaning of the word rendered " rulers." 
story will be found in Jones on the Canon (vol. 

ii. pp. 353-403). 



chap. vi. LYCAONIA. 165 

Empire there must have been many towns and villages where local customs 
were untouched, and where Greek, though certainly understood, was not 
commonly spoken. Such, perhaps, were the places which now come 
before our notice in the Acts of the Apostles, — small towns, with a ijude 
dialect and primitive superstition * — " Lystra and Derbe, cities of 
Lycaonia." 2 

The district of Lycaonia extends from the ridges of Mount Taurus and 
the borders of Cilicia, on the south, to the Cappadocian hills, on the 
north. It is a bare and dreary region, unwatered by streams, though in 
parts liable to occasional inundations. Strabo mentions one place where 
water was even sold for money. In this respect there must be a close 
resemblance between this country and large tracts of Australia. Nor is 
this the only particular in which the resemblance may be traced. Both 
regions afford excellent pasture for flocks of sheep, and give opportunities 
for obtaining large possessions by trade in wool. It was here, on the 
downs of Lycaonia, that Amyntas, while he yet led the life of a nomad 
chief, before the time of his political elevation, 8 fed his three hundred 
flocks. Of the whole district Iconium 4 was properly the capital : and 
the plain round Iconium may be reckoned as its great central space, 
situated midway between Cilicia and Cappadocia. This plain is spoken 
of as the largest in Asia Minor. 5 It is almost like the steppes of Great 
Asia, of which the Turkish invaders must often have been reminded, 6 
when they came to these level spaces in the west ; and the camels which 
convey modern travellers to and from Konieh, find by the side of their 
path tufts of salt and prickly herbage, not very dissimilar to that which 
grows in their native deserts. 7 

Across some portion of this plain Paul and Barnabas travelled before 
as well as after their residence in Iconium. After leaving the high land 
to the north-west, 8 during a journey of several hours before arriving at 
the city, the eye ranges freely over a vast expanse of level ground to the 
south and the east. The two most eminent objects in the view are cer- 
tain snowy summits, 9 which rise high above all the intervening hills in 
the direction of Armenia, — and, in the nearer horizon, the singular 

1 Acts xiv. 11, 12, &c. as he crossed this plain, eagerly eating the tnfts 

2 Acts xiv. 6. of Mesembryanthemum and Salicornia, " re- 
8 See above, Ch. I. p. 21. minding them of plains with which they were 
4 Xenophon, who is the first to mention probably more familiar than those of Asia 

Iconium, calls it " the last city of Phrygia," Minor." The plain, however, is naturally 

in the direction of " Lycaonia." ■ rich. 

6 See Leake, p. 93. 8 See above, p. 150. 

6 The remark is made by Texier in his 9 Leake supposed these summits to be those 
" Asie Mineure." of Mount Argaeus, but Hamilton thinks he 

7 Ainsworth (ii. p. 68) describes the camels, was in error. 



166 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. vr. 



mountain mass called the " Kara-Dagh," or " Black Mount," south- 
eastwards in the direction of Cilicia. 1 And still these features continue 
to be conspicuous after Iconium is left behind, and the traveller moves 
on over the plain towards Lystra and Derbe. Mount Argseus still rises 
far to the north-east, at the distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The 
Black Mountain is gradually approached, and discovered to be an 
isolated mass, with reaches of the plain extending round it like channels 
of the sea. 2 The cities of Lystra and Derbe were somewhere about the 
bases of the Black Mountain. We have dwelt thus minutely on the 
physical characteristics of this part of Lycaonia, because the positions of 
its ancient towns have not been determined. We are only acquainted 
with the general features of the scene. While the site of Iconium has 
never been forgotten, and that of Antioch in Pisidia has now been clearly 
identified, those of Lystra and Derbe remain unknown, or at best are 
extremely uncertain. 3 No conclusive coins or inscriptions have been 
discovered ; nor has there been any such convergence of modern investi- 
gation and ancient authority as leads to an infallible result. Of the 



1 See Leake, p. 45. " To the south-east the 
same plains extend as far as the mountains of 
Karaman (Laranda). At the south-east ex- 
tremity of the plains beyond Konieh, we are 
much struck with the appearance of a remark- 
able insulated mountain, called Kara-Dagh 
(Black Mountain), rising to a great height, 
covered at the top with snow [Jan. 31], and 
appearing like a lofty island in the midst of 
the sea. It is about sixty miles distant." The 
lines marked on the Map are the Roman roads 
mentioned in the Itineraries. 

A view of the Kara-Dagh is given in Ch. 
VIII. 

2 See Leake, pp. 93-97. "{Feb. 1. From 
Konieh to Tshumra.) — Our road pursues a 
perfect level for upwards of twenty miles. 
(Feb. 2. From Tshumra to Kassaba.) — Nine 
hemrs over the same uninterrupted level of the 
finest soil, but quite uncultivated, except in 
the immediate neighborhood of a few widely 
dispersed villages. It is painful to behold 
such desolation in the midst of a region so 
highly favored by nature. Another character- 
istic of these Asiatic plains is the exactness of 
the level, and the peculiarity of their extend- 
ing, without any previous slope, to the foot of 
the mountains, which rise from them like lofty 
islands out of the surface of the ocean. The 
Karamanian ridge seems to recede as we ap- 
proach it, and the snowy summits of Argaeus 



[?] are still to be seen to the north-east. . . . 
At three or four miles short of Kassaba, we 
are abreast of the middle of the very lofty 
insulated mountain already mentioned, called 
Kara-Dagh. It is said to be chiefly inhabited 
by Greek Christians, and to contain 1,001 
churches ; but we afterwards learnt that these 
1,001 churches (Bin-bir-Kilisseh) was a name 
given to the extensive ruins of an ancient city 
at the foot of the mountain. (Feb. 3. From 
Kassaba to Karaman.) — Four hours ; the road 
still passing over a plain, which towards the 
mountains begins to be a little intersected with 
low ridges and ravines. . . . Between these 
mountains and the Kara-Dagh there is a 
kind of strait, which forms the communica- 
tion between the plain of Karaman and the 
great levels lying eastward of Konieh. . . . 
Advancing towards Karaman, I perceive a 
passage into the plains to the north-west, round 
the northern end of Kara-Dagh, similar to that 
on the south, so that this mountain is com- 
pletely insulated. We still see to the north- 
east the great snowy summit of Argseus, [?] 
which is probably the highest point of Asia 
Minor." See a similar description of the iso- 
lation of the Kara-Dagh in Hamilton (n. 315, 
320), who approached it from the east. 

3 Col. Leake wrote thus in 1824 : " Noth- 
ing can more strongly show the little progress 
that has hitherto been made in a knowledge 



ST. PAUL AT LYSTKA. 



107 



different hypotheses which have been proposed, we have been content in 
the accompanying map to indicate those x which appear the most probable. 
We resume the thread of our narrative with the arrival of Paul 
and Barnabas at Lystra. One peculiar circumstance strikes us immedi- 
ately in what we read of the events in this town; that no mention occurs 
of any synagogue or of any Jews. It is natural to infer that there were 
few Israelites in the place, though (as we shall see hereafter) it would be 
a mistake to imagine that there were none. We are instantly brought 
in contact with a totally new subject, — with Heathen superstition and 
mythology ; yet not the superstition of an educated mind, as that of Ser- 
gius Paulus, — nor the mythology of a refined and cultivated taste, like 
that of the Athenians, — but the mythology and superstition of a rude 
and unsophisticated people. Thus does the Gospel, in the person of St. 
Paul, successively clash with opposing powers, with sorcerers and philoso- 
phers, cruel magistrates and false divinities. Now it is the rabbinical 
master of the Synagogue, now the listening proselyte from the Greeks, 



of the ancient geography of Asia Minor, than 
that, of the cities which the journey of St. 
Paul has made so interesting to us, the site 
of one only (Iconium) is yet certainly known. 
Perga, Antioch of Pisidia, Lystra, and Derbe, 
remain to be discovered." — P. 103. We have 
seen that two of these four towns have been 
fully identified, — Perga by Sir C. Fellows, 
and Antioch by Mr. Arundell. It is to be 
hoped that the other two will yet be clearly 
ascertained. 

1 The general features of the map here 
given are copied from Kiepert's large map of 
Asia Minor, and his positions for Lystra and 
Derbe are adopted. Lystra is marked near the 
place where Leake conjectured that it might 
be, some twenty miles S. of Iconium. It does 
not appear, however, that he saw any ruins on 
the spot. There are very remarkable Chris- 
tian ruins on the N. side of the Kara-Dagh, 
at Bin-bir-Kilisseh ("the 1,001 churches"), 
and Leake thinks that they may mark the site 
of Derbe. We think Mr. Hamilton's conjec- 
ture much more probable, that they mark the 
site of Lystra, which has a more eminent ec- 
clesiastical reputation than Derbe. 

While this was passing through the press, 
the writer received an indirect communication 
from Mr. Hamilton, which will be the best 
commentary on the map. " There are ruins 
(though slight) at the 6pot wh^re Derbe 
is marked on Kiepert's map, and as this spot 



is certainly on a line of Roman road, it is not 
unlikely that it may represent Derbe. He did 
not actually visit Divle, but the coincidence 
of name led him to think it might be Derbe. 
He does not know of any ruins at the place 
where Kiepert writes Lystra, but was not on 
that spot. There may be ruins there, but he 
thinks they cannot be of importance, as be did 
not hear of them, though in the neighbor- 
hood; and he prefers Bin-bir-Kilisseh as the 
site of Lystra." 

The following description of the Bin-bir- 
Kilisseh is supplied by a letter from Mr. E. 
Falkener. " The principal group of the Bin- 
bir-Kilisseh lies at the foot of Kara-Dagh. . . . 
Perceiving ruins on the slope of the mountain, 
I began to ascend, and on reaching the.;e dis- 
covered they were churches ; and, looking 
upwards, descried others yet above me, and 
climbing from one to the other I at length 
gained the summit, where I found two church- 
es. On looking down, I perceived churches 
on all sides of the mountain, scattei-ed about 
in various positions. The number ascribed to 
them by the Turks is of course metaphorical ; 
but including those in the plain below, there 
are about two dozen in tolerable preservation, 
and the remains of perhaps forty may be 
traced altogether. . . . The mountain must 
have been considered sacred ; all the ruins are 
of Christian epoch, and, with the exception of 
a huge palace, every building is a church." 



168 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vi. 

that is resisted or convinced, — now the honest inquiry of a Roman 
officer, now the wild fanaticism of a rustic credulity, that is addressed 
with bold and persuasive eloquence. 

It was a common belief among the ancients that the gods occasionally 
visited the earth in the form of men. Such a belief with regard to Jupi- 
ter, " the father of gods and men," would be natural in any rural dis- 
trict : but nowhere should we be prepared to find the traces of it more 
than at Lystra ; for Lystra, as it appears from St. Luke's narrative, 1 was 
under the tutelage of Jupiter, and tutelary divinities were imagined to 
haunt the cities under their protection, though elsewhere invisible. 
The temple of Jupiter was a conspicuous object in front of the city- 
gates : 2 what wonder if the citizens should be prone to believe that their 
" Jupiter, which was before the city," would willingly visit his favorite 
people ? Again, the expeditions of Jupiter were usually represented as 
attended by Mercury. He was the companion, the messenger, the ser- 
vant of the gods. 3 Thus the notion of these two divinities appearing 
together in Lycaonia is quite in conformity with what we know of the 
popular belief. But their appearance in that particular district would be 
welcomed with more than usual credulity. Those who are acquainted 
with the literature of the Roman poets are familiar with a beautiful tra- 
dition of Jupiter and Mercury visiting in human form these very regions 4 
in the interior of Asia Minor. And it is not without a singular interest 
that we find one of Ovid's stories re-appearing in the sacred pages of the 
Acts of the Apostles. In this instance, as in so many others, the Scrip- 
ture, in its incidental descriptions of the Heathen world, presents 
"undesigned coincidences" with the facts ascertained from Heathen 
memorials. 

These introductory remarks prepare us for considering the miracle 
recorded in the Acts. We must suppose that Paul gathered groups of 
the Lystrians about him, and addressed them in places of public resort, as 
a modern missionary might address the natives of a Hindoo village. 5 

1 It is more likely that a temple than a always used the nearest Latin equivalents for the 
statue of Jupiter is alluded to. The temple Greek divinities, i. e. Jupiter, Mercury, Diana, 
of the tutelary divinity was outside the walls Minerva, for Zeus, Hermes, Artemis, Athene, 
at Perga (see p. 143) and at Ephesus, as we 4 See the story of Baucis and Philemon, 
learn from the story in Herodotus (i. 26), who Ovid. Met. viii. 611, &c. Even if the Lycao- 
tells us that in a time of danger the citizens nians were a Semitic tribe, it is not unnatural 
put themselves under the protection of Diana, to suppose them familiar with Greek mytholo- 
by attaching her temple by a rope to the city gy. An identification of classical and "bar- 
wall, barian " divinities had taken place in innumer- 

2 Acts xiv. 13. able instances, as in the case of the Tyrian 

3 See the references in Smith's Dictionary Hercules and Paphian Venus. * 

of Classical Biography and Mythology, under 5 See for instance Fox's Chapters on Missions, 

" Hermes." We may remark here that we have p. 153, &c. 



ohap.vi. HEALING OF THE CRIPPLE. 169 

But it would not be necessary in his case, as in that of Schwartz or Mar- 
tyn, to have learnt the primitive language of those to whom he spoke. 
He addressed them in Greek, for Greek was well understood in this 
border-country of the Lystrians, though their own dialect was either a 
barbarous corruption of that noble language, or the surviving remainder 
of some older tongue. He used the language of general civilization, as 
English may be used now in a Welsh country-town like Dolgelly or Car- 
marthen. The subjects he brought before these illiterate idolaters of 
Lycaonia were doubtless such as would lead them, by the most natural 
steps, to the knowledge of the true God, and the belief in His Son's 
resurrection. He told them, as he told the educated Athenians, 1 of Him 
whose worship they had ignorantly corrupted ; whose unity, power, and 
goodness they might have discerned through the operations of nature ; 
whose displeasure against sin had been revealed to them by the admoni- 
tions of their natural conscience. 

On one of these occasions 2 St. Paul observed a cripple, who was 
earnestly listening to his discourse. He was seated on the ground, for 
he had an infirmity in his feet, and had never walked from the hour of 
his birth. St. Paul looked at him attentively, with that remarkable 
expression of the eye which we have already noticed (p. 134). The 
same Greek word is used as when the Apostle is described as " ear- 
nestly beholding the council," and " as setting his eyes on Elymas the 
sorcerer." 3 On this occasion that penetrating glance saw, by the power 
of the Divine Spirit, into the very secrets of the cripple's soul. Paul 
perceived " that he had faith to be saved." 4 These words, implying so 
much of moral preparation in the heart of this poor Heathen, rise above 
all that is told us of the lame Jew, whom Peter, " fastening his eyes upon 
him with John," had once healed at the temple gate in Jerusalem. 5 In 
other respects the parallel between the two cases is complete. As Peter 
said in the presence, of the Jews, " In the name of Jesus Christ of Naza- 
reth, rise up and walk," so Paul said before his idolatrous audience at 
Lystra, " Stand upright on thy feet." And in this case, also, the word 
which had been suggested to the speaker by a supernatural intuition was 
followed by a supernatural result. The obedient alacrity in the spirit, 
and the new strength in the body, rushed together simultaneously. The 
lame man sprang up in the joyful consciousness of a power he had 
never felt before, and walked like those who had never had experience 
of infirmity. 

1 It is very important to compare together 4 Acts xiv. 9. The word is the same as in 
the speeches at Lystra and Athens, and both xvi. 30. 

with the first chapter of the Romans. See 6 Acts iii. Wetstein remarks on the greater 

pp. 171, 172. faith manifested by the Heathen at Lystra than 

2 Acts xiv. 8, &c. 8 Acts xxiii. 1, xiii. 9. the Jew at Jerusalem. 



170 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vt. 

And now arose a great tumult of voices from the crowd. Such a cure 
of a congenital disease, so sudden and so complete, would have con- 
founded the most skilful and sceptical physicians. An illiterate people 
would be filled with astonishment, and rush immediately to the conclu- 
sion that supernatural powers were present among them. These Lyca- 
onians thought at once of their native traditions, and crying out vocifer- 
ously in their mother-tongue, 1 — and we all know how the strongest feel- 
ings of an excited people find vent in the language of childhood, — they 
exclaimed that the gods had again visited them in the likeness of men, 
— that Jupiter and Mercury were again in Lycaonia, — that the persua- 
sive speaker was Mercury, and his companion Jupiter. They identified 
Paul with Mercury, because his eloquence corresponded with one of that 
divinity's attributes. Paul was the " chief speaker," and Mercury was 
the god of eloquence. And if it be asked why they identified Barnabas 
with Jupiter, it is evidently a sufficient answer to say that these two 
divinities were always represented as companions 2 in their terrestrial 
expeditions, though we may well believe (with Chrysostom and others) 
that there was something majestically benignant in his appearance, while 
the personal aspect of St. Paul (and for this we can quote his own state- 
ments) 3 was comparatively insignificant. 

How truthful and how vivid is the scene brought before us ! and how 
many thoughts it suggests to those who are at once conversant with 
Heathen mythology and disciples of Christian theology ! Barnabas, 
identified with the Father of Gods and Men, seems like a personification 
of mild beneficence and provident care; 4 while Paul appears invested 
with more active attributes, flying over the world on the wings of faith 
and love, with quick words of warning and persuasion, and ever carry- 
ing in his hand the purse of the " unsearchable riches." 5 

The news of a wonderful occurrence is never long in spreading through 
a small country town. At Lystra the whole population was presently 
in an uproar. They would lose no time in paying due honor to their 
heavenly visitants. The priest attached to that temple of Jupiter before 
the city gates, to which we have before alluded, 6 was summoned to do 
sacrifice to the god whom he served. Bulls and garlands, and whatever 

1 Some are of opinion that the " speech of 4 See Acts iv. 36, 37, ix. 27, xi. 22-25, 30. 
Lycaonia " was a Semitic language ; others It is also very possible that Barnabas was older.; 
that it was a corrupt dialect of Greek. • See and therefore more venerable in appearance, 
the Dissertations of Jablonski and Giihling in than St. Paul. 

Iken's Thesaurus. 5 The winged heels and the purse are the 

2 See, for instance, Ovid. Fast. v. 495. well-known insignia of Mercury. 

3 See 2 Cor. x. 1, 10, where, however, we 6 P. 168. 
must remember that he is quoting the state- 
ments of his adversaries. 



chap. vi. ADDEESS TO THE GENTILES. 171 

else was requisite to the performance of the ceremony, were duly pre- 
pared, and the procession moved amidst crowds of people to the residence 
of the Apostles. They, hearing the approach of the multitude, and learn- 
ing their idolatrous intention, were filled with the utmost horror. They 
" rent their clothes," and rushed out 1 of the house in which they lodged, 
and met the idolaters approaching the vestibule. 2 There, standing at the 
doorway, they opposed the entrance of the crowd ; and Paul expressed 
his abhorrence of their intention, and earnestly tried to prevent their 
fulfilling it, in a speech of which only the following short outline is 
recorded by St. Luke : — 

" Sirs, why do ye these things ? We also are men, of like pas- ^5vf 
sions with you ; and we are come to preach to you the Glad Tidings, 15 
that you may turn from these vain idols to the living God, who 
made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all things that 
are therein. For in the generations that are past, He suffered all 16 
the nations of the Gentiles to walk in their own ways. Never- 
theless He left not Himself without witness, in that He blessed 17 
you, and gave you rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling 
your hearts with food and gladness." 3 

This address held tnem listening, but they listened impatiently. Even 
with this energetic disavowal of his divinity and this strong appeal to 
their reason, St. Paul found it difficult to dissuade the Lycaonians from 
offering to him and Barnabas an idolatrous worship. 4 There is no doubt 
that St. Paul was the speaker, and, before we proceed further in the 
narrative, we cannot help pausing to observe the essentially Pauline 
character which this speech manifests, even in so condensed a summary 
of its contents. It is full of undesigned coincidences in argument, and 
even in the expressions employed, with St. Paul's language in other 
parts of the Acts, and in his own Epistles. Thus, as here he declares 
the object of his preaching to be that the idolatrous Lystrians should 

1 " Ran out," not " ran in," is the reading lodged at Joppa ; Acts xii. 13, of the house 
sanctioned by the later critics on full manu- of Mary the mother of John Mark. It is 
script authority. See Tischendorf. nowhere used for the gate of a city except in 

2 The word used here does not mean the the Apocalypse. Moreover, it seems obvious 
gate of the city, but the vestibule or gate that if the priest had only brought the victims 
which gave admission from the public street to sacrifice them at the city gates, it would 
into the court of the house. So it is used, have been no offering to Paul and Barnabas. 
Matt. xxvi. 71, for the vestibule of the high 3 "You" and "your" are the correct 
priest's palace ; Luke xvi. 20, for that of readings, not " us " and " our." 

Dives; Acts x. 17, of the house where Peter 4 Acts xiv. 18. 



172 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chajp. vt. 

" turn from these vain idols to the living God," so he reminds the 
Thessalonians how they, at his preaching, had " turned from idols to 
serve the living and true God." l Again, as he tells the Lystrians that 
" God had, in the generations that were past, suffered the nations of the 
Gentiles to walk in their own ways," so he tells the Romans that " God 
in His forbearance had passed over the former sins of men, in the times 
that were gone by;" 2 and so he tells the Athenians, 3 that "the past 
times of ignorance God had overlooked." Lastly, how striking is the 
similarity between the natural theology with which the present speech 
concludes, and that in the Epistle to the Romans, where, speaking of the 
Heathen, he says that atheists are without excuse ; "for that which can 
be known of God is manifested in their hearts, God himself having shown 
it to them. For His eternal power and Godhead, though they be invisi- 
ble, yet are seen ever since the world was made, being understood by the 
works which He hath wrought." 

The crowd reluctantly retired, and led the victims away without 
offering them in sacrifice to the Apostles. It might be supposed that at 
least a command had been obtained over their gratitude and reverence, 
which would not easily be destroyed ; but we have to record here one of 
those sudden changes of feeling, which are humiliating proofs of the 
weakness of human nature and of the superficial character of religious 
excitement. The Lycaonians were proverbially fickle and faithless ; but 
we may not too hastily decide that they were worse than many others 
might have been under the same circumstances. It would not be diffi- 
cult to find a parallel to their conduct among the modern converts from 
idolatry to Christianity. And certainly no later missionaries have had 
more assiduous enemies than the Jews whom the Apostles had every- 
where to oppose. Certain Jews from Iconium, and even from Antioch, 4 
followed in the footsteps of Paul and Barnabas, and endeavored to 
excite the hostility of the Lystrians against them. When they heard of 
the miracle worked on the lame man, and found how great an effect it 
had produced on the people of Lystra, they would be ready with a new 
interpretation of this occurrence. They would say that it had been 
accomplished, not by Divine agency, but by some diabolical magic ; as 
once they had said at Jerusalem, that He who came " to destroy the 
works of the Devil" cast out devils " by Beelzebub the prince of the 
devils." 5 And this is probably the true explanation of that sudden 

1 1 Thess. i. 9. The coincidence is more in the Authorized Version entirely alters its 
striking in the Greek, because the very same meaning. 

■verb is used in each passage, and is intransi- 3 Acts xvii. 30. 

tive in both. 4 Acts xiv. 19. 

2 Rom. iii. 25 : the mistranslation of which 5 Matt. xii. 24. 



^ 



chap. vi. ST. PAUL STONED. 173 

change of feeling among the Lystrians, which at first sight is very- 
surprising. Their own interpretation of what they had witnessed having 
been disavowed by the authors of the miracle themselves, they would 
readily adopt a new interpretation, suggested by those who appeared to 
be well acquainted with the strangers, and who had followed them from 
distant cities. Their feelings changed with a revulsion as violent as that 
which afterwards took place among the " barbarous people " of Malta, 1 
who first thought St. Paul was a murderer, and then a God. The Jews, 
taking advantage of the credulity of a rude tribe, were able to accom- 
plish at Lystra the design they had meditated at Iconium. 2 St. Paul was 
stoned, — not hurried out of the city to execution like St. Stephen, 3 the 
memory of whose death must have come over St. Paul at this moment 
with impressive force, — but stoned somewhere in the streets of Lystra, 
and then dragged through the city-gate, and cast outside the walls, under 
the belief that he was dead. This is that occasion to which the Apostle 
afterwards alluded in the words, " once I was stoned," 4 in that long 
catalogue of sufferings, to which we have already referred in this 
chapter. 5 Thus was he " in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by 
the Heathen," — " in deaths oft," — " always bearing about in the body 
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be 
made manifest in his body. . . . Alway delivered unto death for 
Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in his 
mortal flesh." 6 

On the present occasion these last words were literally realized, for by 
the power and goodness of God he rose from a state of apparent death as 
if by a sudden resurrection. 7 Though " persecuted," he was not " for- 
saken," — though " cast down," he was " not destroyed." " As the disciples 

1 Acts xxviii. 4-6. that Paul and his companions were - aware of 

2 Acts xiv. 5. the danger and fled,' a contradiction between 
8 See the end of Ch. II. At Jerusalem the history and the epistles would have ensued. 

the law required that these executions should Truth is necessarily consistent ; but it la 

take place outside the city. It must be re- scarcely possible that independent accounts, 

membered that stoning was a Jewish punish- not having truth to guide them, should thus 

ment, and that it was proposed by Jews at advance to the very brink of contradiction 

Iconium, and instigated and begun by Jews without falling into it." — Horce Paulince, 

at Lystra. p. 69. 

4 See Paley's remark on the expression 5 See pp. 145, 146. 

"mice I was stoned," in reference to the pre- 6 Compare 2 Corinthians iv. 8-12 and xi. 

vious design of stoning St. Paul at Iconium. 23-27. 

" Had the assault been completed, had the 7 The natural inference from the narrative 
history related that a stone was thrown, as it is, that the recovery was miraculous ; and it is 
relates that preparations were made both by evident that such a recovery must have pro- 
Jews and Gentiles to stone Paul and his com- duced a strong effect on the minds of the 
panions, or even had the account of this trans- Christians who witnessed it. 
action stopped, without going on to inform us 



174 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. vi. 

stood about him, he rose up, and came into the city." ! We see from this 
expression that his labors in Lystra had not been in vain. He had found 
s6me willing listeners to the truth, some " disciples " who did not hesitate 
to show their attachment to their teacher by remaining near his body, 
which the rest of their fellow-citizens had wounded and cast out. These 
courageous disciples were left for the present in the midst of the enemies 
of the truth. Jesus Christ had said, 2 " when they persecute you in one 
city, flee to another ; " and the very " next day " 3 Paul " departed with 
Barnabas to Derbe." 

But before we leave Lystra, we must say a few words on one spectator 
of St. Paul's sufferings, who is not yet mentioned by St. Luke, but who 
was destined to be the constant companion of his after-years, the zealous 
follower of his doctrine, the faithful partner of his danger and distress. 
St. Paul came to Lystra again after the interval of one or two years, and 
on that occasion we are told 4 that he found a certain Christian there, 
" whose name was Timotheus, whose mother was a Jewess, while his 
father was a Greek," and whose excellent character was highly esteemed 
by his fellow-Christians of Lystra and Iconium. It is distinctly stated 
that at the time of this second visit Timothy was already a Christian ; and 
since we know from St. Paul's own expression, — " my own son in the 
faith," 5 — that he was converted by St. Paul himself, we must suppose 
this change to have taken place at the time of the first visit. And the 
reader will remember that St. Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy 
(iii. 10, 11) reminds him of his own intimate and personal knowledge of 
the sufferings he had endured, " at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra" — 
the places (it will be observed) being mentioned in the exact order in 
which they were visited, and in which the successive persecutions took 
place. We have thus the strongest reasons for believing that Timothy 
was a witness of St. Paul's injurious treatment, and this too at a time of 
life when the mind receives its deepest impressions from the spectacle of 
innocent suffering and undaunted courage. And it is far from impossible 
that the generous and warm-hearted youth was standing in that group of 
disciples, who surrounded the apparently lifeless body of the Apostle at the 
outside of the walls of Lystra. 

We are called on to observe at this point, with a thankful acknowledg- 



1 Acts xi v. 20. through the recollection of St. Paul's suffer- 

2 Matt. x. 23. ings ; but the common view is the most natu- 

3 Acts xiv. 20. 4 Ibid. xvi. 1. ral. See what is said 1 Cor. iv. 14, 15 : " As 
5 1 Tim i. 2. Compare i. 18 and 2 Tim. my beloved sons I warn you; for though ye 

ii. 1. It is indeed possible that these expres- have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet 

*ions migbt be used, if Timothy became a have ye not many fathers ; for in Christ Jesus 

'. Christian by his mother's influence, and I have begotten you through the Gospel." 



I •' 



chap. vi. TIMOTHEUS. — DEEBE. 175 

ment of God's providence, that the flight fromlconium, and the cruel per- 
secution at Lystra, were events which involved the most important and 
beneficial consequences to universal Christianity. It was here, in the 
midst of barbarous idolaters, that the Apostle of the Gentiles found an 
associate, who became to him and the Church far more than Barnabas, 
the companion of his first mission. As we have observed above, 1 there 
appears to have been at Lystra no synagogue, no community of Jews and 
proselytes, among whom such an associate might naturally have been ex- 
pected. Perhaps Timotheus and his relations may have been almost the 
only persons of Jewish origin in the town. And his " grandmother 
Lois " and " mother Eunice " 2 may have been brought there originally by 
some accidental circumstance, as Lydia 3 was brought from Thyatira to 
Philippi. 4 And, though there was no synagogue at Lystra, this family 
may have met with a few others in some proseucha, like that in which 
Lydia and her fellow-worshippers met " by the river-side." 5 Whatever 
we conjecture concerning the congregational life to which Timotheus may 
have been accustomed, we are accurately informed of the nature of that 
domestic life which nurtured him for his future labors. The good soil of 
his heart was well prepared before Paul came, by the instructions 6 of 
Lois and Eunice, to receive the seed of Christian truth, sown at the 
Apostle's first visit, and to produce a rich harvest of faith and good works 
before the time of his second visit. 

Derbe, as we have seen, is somewhere not far from the " Black Moun- 
tain," which rises like an island in the south-eastern part of the plain of 
Lycaonia. A few hours would suffice for the journey between Lystra and 
its neighbor-city. We may, perhaps, infer from the fact that Derbe is 
not mentioned in the list of places which St. Paul 7 brings to the recollec- 
tion of Timothy as scenes of past suffering and distress, that in this town 
the Apostles were exposed to no persecution. It may have been a quiet 
resting-place after a journey full of toil and danger. It does not appear 
that they were hindered in " evangelizing " the city : and the fruit of 
their labors was the conversion of " many disciples." 8 

And now we have reached the limit of St. Paul's first missionary 
journey. About this part of the Lycaonian plain, where it approaches, 
through gradual undulations, 9 to the northern bases of Mount Taurus, he 



i See p. 167. 7 2 Tim. iii. 11. 

2 2 Tim. i. 5. 8 Acts xiv. 21. 

8 Acts xvi. 14. 9 So Leake describes the neighborhood of 

4 See also the remarks on the Jews settled Karaman (Laranda), pp. 96, 97. Hamilton, 
in Asia Minor, Ch. I. p. 16 ; and on the Hel- speaking of the same district, mentions " low 
lenistic and Aramean Jews, Ch. II. p. 35. ridges of cretaceous limestone, extending into 

5 Acts xvi. 13. 6 2 Tim. i. 5. the plain from the mountains." 11. 324. 



176 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, tl 

was not far from that well-known pass 1 which leads down from the 
central table-land to Cilicia and Tarsus. But his thoughts did not centre 
in an earthly home. He turned back upon his footsteps ; and revisited 
the places, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 2 where he himself had been 
reviled and persecuted, but where he had left, as sheep in the desert, the 
disciples whom his Master had enabled him to gather. They needed 
building up and strengthening in the faith, 3 comforting in the midst of 
their inevitable sufferings, and fencing round by permanent institutions. 
Therefore Paul and Barnabas revisited the scenes of their labors, un- 
daunted by the dangers which awaited them, and using words of 
encouragement, which none but the founders of a true religion would 
have ventured to address to their earliest converts, that " we can only 
enter the kingdom of God by passing through much tribulation." But 
not only did they fortify their faith by passing words of encouragement ; 
they ordained elders in every church after the pattern of the first 
Christian communities in Palestine, 4 and with that solemn observance 
which had attended their own consecration, 5 and which has been trans- 
mitted tc later ages in connection with ordination, — " with fasting and 
prayer," — they "made choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred 
ministry of the Church." 6 

Thus, having consigned their disciples to Him " in whom they had 
believed," and who was " able to keep that which was intrusted to 
Him," 7 Paul and Barnabas descended through the Pisidian mountains to 
the plain of Pamphylia. If our conjecture is correct (see pp. 147, 148), 
that they went up from Perga in spring, and returned at the close of 
autumn, 8 and spent all the hotter months of the year in the elevated dis- 
tricts, they would again pass in a few days through a great change of 
seasons, and almost from winter to summer. The people of Pamphylia 
would have returned from their cold residences to the warm shelter of the 
plain by the seaside ; and Perga would be full of its inhabitants. The 
Gospel was preached within the walls of this city, through which the 
Apostles had merely passed 9 on their journey to the interior. But from 



1 The " Cilician Gates," to which we shall 6 Ch. V. p. 123. 

return at the beginning of the second mission- 6 The First Collect for the Ember Weeks, 

ary journey (Acts xv. 41). See the Map. 7 Acts xiv. 23. Compare 2 Tim. i. 12. 

2 Mentioned (Acts xiv. 21) in the inverse 8 Wieseler thinks the events on this journey 
order from that in which they had been visited must have occupied more than one year. It 
before (xiii. 14, 51, xiv. 6). is evident that the case does not admit of any 

3 Acts xiv. 22. thing more than conjecture. 

* The first mention of presbyters in the 9 See above, p. 143, and notes. 
Christian, opposed to the Jewish sense, occurs 
Acts xi. 30, in reference to the church at Jeru- 
salem. See Chapter XIII. 



' 



cnAP.vi. PERGA AND ATTALEIA. 177 

St. Luke's silence it appears that the preaching was attended with no 
marked results. We read neither of conversions nor persecutions. The 
Jews, if any Jews resided there, were less inquisitive and less tyrannical 
than those at Antioch and Iconium ; and the votaries of " Diana before 
the city " at Perga (see p. 143) were less excitable than those who 
worshipped " Jupiter before the city " at Lystra. 1 When the time came 
for returning to Syria, they did not sail down the Oestrus, up the channel 
of which river they had come on their arrival from Cyprus, 2 but travelled 
across the plain to Attaleia, 3 which was situated on the edge of the 
Pamphylian gulf. 

Attaleia had something of the same relation to Perga which Cadiz has 
to Seville. In each case the latter city is approached by a river-voyage, 
and the former is more conveniently placed on the open sea. Attalus 
Philadelphus, king of Pergamus, whose dominions extended from the 
north-western corner of Asia Minor to the Sea of Pamphylia, had built 
this city in a convenient position for commanding the trade of Syria or 
Egypt. When Alexander the Great passed this way, no such city was in 
existence : but since the days of the kings of Pergamus, who inherited a 
fragment of his vast empire, Attaleia has always existed and nourished, 
retaining the name of the monarch who built it. 4 Behind it is the plain 
through which the calcareous waters of the Catarrhactes flow, perpetually 
constructing and destroying and reconstructing their fantastic channels. 5 
In front of it, and along the shore on each side, are long lines of cliffs, 6 
over which the river finds its way in waterfalls to the sea, and which 
conceal the plain from those who look toward the land from the inner 
waters of the bay, and even encroach on the prospect of the mountains 
themselves. 

When this scene is before us, the mind reverts to another band of 
Christian warriors, who once sailed from the bay of Satalia to the Syrian 
Antioch. Certain passages, in which the movements of the Crusaders 
and Apostles may be compared with each other, are among the striking 
contrasts of history. Conrad and Louis, each with an army consisting; 
at first of 70,000 men, marched through part of the same districts which 
were traversed by Paul and Barnabas alone and unprotected. The' 
shattered remains of the French host had come down to Attaleia through 

1 Acts xiv. 13. 2 Pp. 143, 144. 4 Its modern name is Satalia. 

8 A view may be seen in the work of Ad- 5 See Spratt and Forbes for a full account: 

miral Beaufort, who describes the city as of the irregular deposits and variations of 

" beautifully situated round a small harbor, channel observable in this river, 
the streets appearing to rise behind each other 6 There are also ancient sea-cliffs at some: 

like the seats of a theatre . . . with a double distance behind the present coast-line, 
wall and a series of square towers on the level 
summit of the hill." 

12 



178 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



" the abrupt mountain-passes and the deep valleys " which are so well 
described by the contemporary historian. 1 They came to fight the battle 
of the Cross with a great multitude, and with the armor of human 
power : their journey was encompassed with defeat and death ; their 
arrival at Attaleia was disastrous and disgraceful ; and they sailed to 
Antioch a broken and dispirited army. But the Crusaders of the first 
century, the Apostles of Christ, though they too passed " through much 
tribulation," advanced from victory to victory. Their return to the 
place " whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the 
work which they fulfilled," 2 was triumphant and joyful, for the weapons 
of their warfare were " not carnal." 3 The Lord Himself was their 
tower and their shield. 



C5H& 





Coin of Antioch in Pisidia.* 



l William of Tyre. 2 Acts xiv. 26. 8 See 2 Cor. x. 4. 4 See note, p. 152. 



' 



CHAPTER VII. 

Controversy in the Church. — Separation of Jews and Gentiles. — Difficulty in the Narrative. — 
Discontent at Jerusalem. — Intrigues of the Judaizers at Antioch. — Mission of Paul and 
Barnabas to Jerusalem. — Divine Revelation to St. Paul. — Titus. — Private Conferences. 
— Public Meeting. — Speech of St, Peter. — Narrative of Barnabas and Paul. — Speech of 
St. James. — The Decree. — Public Recognition of St. Paul's Mission to the Heathen. — St. 
John. — Return to Antioch with Judas, Silas, and Mark. — Reading of the Letter. — Weak 
Conduct of St. Peter at Antioch. — He is rebuked by St. Paul. — Personal Appearance of 
the two Apostles. — Their Reconciliation. 

IF, when we contrast the voyage of Paul and Barnabas across the bay 
of Attaleia with the voyage of those who sailed over the same 
waters in the same direction, eleven centuries later, our minds are power- 
fully drawn towards the pure age of early Christianity, when the power 
of faith made human weakness irresistibly strong ; — the same thoughts 
are not less forcibly presented to us, when we contrast the reception of 
the Crusaders at Antioch, with the reception of the Apostles in the 
same city. We are told by the chroniclers, that Raymond, " Prince 
of Antioch," waited with much expectation for the arrival of the 
French king ; and that when he heard of his landing at Seleucia, he 
gathered together all the nobles and chief men of the people, and went 
out to meet him, and brought him into Antioch with much pomp and 
magnificence, showing him all reverence and homage, in the midst of a 
great assemblage of the clergy and people. All that St. Luke tells us 
of the reception of the Apostles after their victorious campaign, is, that 
they entered into the city and " gathered together the Church, and told 
them how God had worked with them, and how He had opened a door 
of faith to the Gentiles." * Thus the kingdom of God came at the first 
"without observation," 2 — with the humble acknowledgment that all 
power is given from above, — and with a thankful recognition of our 
Father's merciful love to all mankind. 

No age, however, of Christianity, not even the earliest, has been with- 
out its difficulties, controversies, and corruptions. The presence of Judas 
among the Apostles, and of Ananias and Sapphira among the first dis- 
ciples, 3 were proofs of the power which moral evil possesses to combine 

1 Acts xiv. 27 2 Luke xvii. 20. 8 Acts v. 

179 



180 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



itself with the holiest works. The misunderstanding of " the Grecians 
and Hebrews " in the days of Stephen, 1 the suspicion of the Apostles 
when Paul came from Damascus to Jerusalem, 2 the secession of Mark at 
the beginning of the first missionary journey, 3 were symptoms of the preju- 
dice, ignorance, and infirmity, in the midst of which the Gospel was to 
win its way in the hearts of men. And the arrival of the Apostles at 
Antioch at the close of their journey was presently followed by a troubled 
controversy, which involved the most momentous consequences to all 
future ages of the Church ; and led to that visit to Jerusalem which, 
next after his conversion, is perhaps the most important passage in St. 
Paul's life. 

We have seen (Ch. I.) that great numbers of Jews had long been 
dispersed beyond the limits of their own land, and were at this time 
distributed over every part of the Roman Empire. " Moses had of old 
time, in every city, them that preached him, being read in the syna- 
gogues every Sabbath day." 4 In every considerable city, both of the 
East and West, were established some members of that mysterious peo- 
ple, — who had a written Law, which they read and re-read, in the midst 
of the contempt of those who surrounded them, week by week, and year 
by year, — who were bound everywhere by a secret link of affection to 
one City in the world, where alone their religious sacrifices could be 
offered, — whose whole life was utterly abhorrent from the temples and 
images which crowded the neighborhood of their Synagogues, and from 
the gay and licentious festivities of the Greek and Roman worship. 

In the same way it might be said that Plato and Aristotle, Zeno 
and Epicurus, 5 " had in every city those that preached them." Side by 
side with the doctrines of Judaism, the speculations of Greek philoso- 
phers were — not indeed read in connection with religious worship — but 
orally taught and publicly discussed in the schools. Hence the Jews, in 
their foreign settlements, were surrounded, not only by an idolatry which 
shocked all their deepest feelings, and by a shameless profligacy unfor- 
bidden by, and even associated with, that which the Gentiles called 
religion, — but also by a proud and contemptuous philosophy that 
alienated the more educated classes of society to as great a distance as 
the unthinking multitude. 

Thus a strong line of demarcation between the Jews and Gentiles ran 
through the whole Roman Empire. Though their dwellings were often 
contiguous, they were separated from each other by deep-rooted feelings 
of aversion and contempt. The " middle wall of partition " 6 was built 

i P. 61. 8 P. 145. 6 See Acts xvii. 18. 

2 P. 96. 4 Acts xv. 21. 6 Eph. ii. 14. 



CHAP.vn. SEPARATION OF JEWS AND GENTILES. 181 

up by diligent hands on both sides. This mutual alienation existed, not- 
withstanding the vast number of proselytes, who were attracted to the 
Jewish doctrine and worship, and who, as we have already observed 
(Ch. I.), were silently preparing the way for the ultimate union of the 
two races. The breach was even widened, in many cases, in consequence 
of this work of proselytism : for those who went over to the Jewish 
camp, or hesitated on the neutral ground, were looked on with some 
suspicion by the Jews themselves, and thoroughly hated and despised by 
the Gentiles. 

It must be remembered that the separation of which we speak was both 
religious and social. The Jews had a divine Law, which sanctioned the 
principle, and enforced the practice, of national isolation. They could 
not easily believe that this Law, with which all the glorious passages of 
their history were associated, was meant only to endure for a limited 
period: and we cannot but sympathize in the difficulty they felt in 
accepting the notion of a cordial union with the uncircumcised, even 
after idolatry was abandoned and morality observed. And again, the 
peculiar character of the religion which isolated the Jews was such as 
to place insuperable obstacles in the way of social union with other men. 
Their ceremonial observances precluded the possibility of their eating 
with the Gentiles. The nearest parallel we can find to this barrier be- 
tween the Jew and Gentile, is the institution of caste among the ancient 
populations of India, which presents itself to our politicians as a perplex- 
ing fact in the government of the presidencies, and to our missionaries 
as the great obstacle to the progress of Christianity in the East. 1 A 
Hindoo cannot eat with a Parsee, or a Mohammedan, — and among the 
Hindoos themselves the meals of a Brahmin are polluted by the presence 
of a Pariah, — though they meet and have free intercourse in the ordinary 
transaction of business. So it was in the patriarchal age. It was u an 
abomination for the Egyptians to eat bread with the, Hebrews." 2 The 
same principle was divinely sanctioned for a time in the Mosaic In- 
stitutions. The Israelites, who lived among the Gentiles, met them 
freely in the places of public resort, buying and selling, conversing and 
disputing: but their families were separate: in the relations of domestic 
life, it was " unlawful," as St. Peter said to Cornelius, " for a man that 
was a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation." 3 
When St. Peter returned from the centurion at Caesarea to his brother- 
Christians at Jerusalem, their great charge against him was that he had 

1 See for instance the Memoir of the Rev. cerning the slaughtering of animals for food 

E. W. Fox (1850), pp. 123-125. A short and the sale of the meat, is given in Allen's 

statement of the strict regulations of the mod- Modern Judaism, ch. xxii. 
ern Jews, in their present dispersed state, con- 2 Gen. xliii. 32. 3 Acts x. 28. 



182 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vii. 

" gone in to men uncircumcised, and had eaten with them: " ! and the 
weak compliance of which he was guilty, after the true principle of social 
unity had been publicly recognized, and which called forth the stern 
rebuke of his brother-apostle, was that, after eating with the Gentiles, 
he " withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the 
circumcision." 2 

How these two difficulties, which seem to forbid the formation of a 
united Church on earth, were ever to be overcome, — how the Jews and 
Gentiles were to be religiously united, without the enforced obliga- 
tion of the whole Mosaic Law, — how they were to be socially united as 
equal brethren in the family of a common Father, — the solution of this 
problem must in that day have appeared impossible. And without the 
direct intervention of Divine grace it would have been impossible. We 
now proceed to consider how that grace gave to the minds of the Apostles 
the wisdom, discretion, forbearance, and firmness which were required ; 
and how St. Paul was used as the great instrument in accomplishing a 
work necessary to the very existence of the Christian Church. 

We encounter here a difficulty, well known to all who have examined 
this subject, in combining into one continuous narrative the statements 
in the Epistle to the Galatians and in the Acts of the Apostles. In the 
latter book we are informed of five distinct journeys made by the Apostle 
to Jerusalem after the time of his conversion; — first, when he escaped 
from Damascus, and spent a fortnight with Peter ; 3 secondly, when he 
took the collection from Antioch with Barnabas in the time of the famine ; 4 
thirdly, on the occasion of the Council, which is now before us in the 
fifteenth chapter of the Acts ; fourthly, in the interval between his sec- 
ond and third missionary journeys ; 5 and, fifthly, when the uproar was 
made in the Temple, and he was taken into the custody of the Roman 
garrison. 6 In the Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul speaks of two jour- 
neys to Jerusalem, — the first being "three years" after his conversion, 7 
the second "fourteen years" later, 8 when his own Apostleship was 
asserted and recognized in a public meeting of the other Apostles. 9 
Now, while we have no difficulty in stating, as we have done (p. 95), 
that the first journey of one account is the first journey of the other, 
theologians have been variously divided in opinion, as to whether the sec- 
ond journey of the Epistle must be identified with the second, third, or 

1 Acts xi. 3. 5 Acts xviii. 22. conversion. This question, as well as that 

2 Gal. ii. 12. 6 Acts xxi. &c. of the reading " four," is discussed in Appen- 

3 P. 95. 7 Gal. i. 18. dix I. See also the Chronological Table in 

4 P. 117. Appendix III. 

8 We take the " fourteen " (Gal. ii. 1) to 9 Gal. ii. 1-10. 

refer to the preceding journey, and not to the 



chap. vii. DIFFICULTY IN THE NAEEATIVE. 183 

fourth of the Acts ; or whether it is a separate journey, distinct from any 
of them. It is agreed by all that the fifth cannot possibly be intended. 1 
The view we have adopted, that the second journey of the Epistle is the 
third of the Acts, is that of the majority of the best critics and commen- 
tators. For the. arguments by which it is justified, and for a full discus- 
sion of the whole subject, we must refer the reader to Appendix I. 
Some of the arguments will be indirectly presented in the following nar- 
rative. So far as the circumstances combined together in the present 
chapter appear natural, consecutive and coherent, so far some reason will 
be given for believing that we are not following an arbitrary assumption 
or a fanciful theory. 

It is desirable to recur at the outset to the first instance of a Gentile's 
conversion to Christianity. 2 After the preceding remarks, we are prepared 
to recognize the full significance of the emblematical 3 vision which St. 
Peter saw at Joppa. The trance into which he fell at the moment of his 
hunger, — the vast sheet descending from heaven, — the promiscuous 
assemblage of clean and unclean animals, 4 — the voice from heaven 
which said, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat" — the whole of this imagery is 
invested with the deepest meaning, when we recollect all the details of 
religious and social life, which separated, up to that moment, the Gentile 
from the Jew. The words heard by St. Peter in his trance came like a 
shock on all the prejudices of his Jewish education. 5 He had never so 
broken the Law of his forefathers as to eat any thing it condemned as 
unclean. And though the same voice spoke to him " a second time,' 6 
and " answered him from heaven," 7 — - " What God has made clean that 
call not thou common," — it required a wonderful combination of natu- 
ral 8 and supernatural evidence to convince him that God is "no respecter 
of persons," but " in every nation " accepts him that " feareth Him and 



1 Some writers, e.g. Paley and Schrader, consequently lay no longer a claim to holiness; 
have contended that an entirely different jour- for the term ' holiness/ applied to mortals, 
ney, not mentioned in the Acts, is alluded to. means only a framing of our desires by the 
This also is discussed in Appendix I. will of God. . . . Have we not enough 

2 Acts x., xi. to eat without touching forbidden things ? 
8 The last emblematical visions (properly Let me beseech my dear fellow-believers not to 

so called) were those seen by the prophet deceive themselves by saying, ' there is no sin 

Zachariah. in eating of aught that lives ; ' on the con- 

4 See Levit. xi. trary, there is sin and contamination too." — 

5 The feeling of the Jews in all ages is Leeser's Jeivs and the Mosaic Laic; ch. on ; 
well illustrated by the following extract from a " The forbidden Meats." Philadelphia, 5594. 
modern Jewish work : "If we disregard this 6 Acts x. 15. 7 Acts xi. 9. 
precept, and say, ' What difference can it make 8 The coincidence of outward events and 
to God if I eat the meat of an ox or swine 1 ' inward admonitions was very similar to the cir- 
we offend against His will, we pollute our- cumstances connected with St. Paul's baptism, 
selves by what goes into the mouth, and can by Ananias at Damascus. See above, p. 87. 



18'4 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vii. 

worketh righteousness," 1 — that all such distinctions as depend on 
" meat and drink," on " holydays, new moons, and sabbaths," were to 
pass away, — - that these things were only " a shadow of things to come," 
— that " the body is of Christ," — and that " in Him we are complete 
. . . circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands . . . buried 
with Him in baptism," and risen with Him through faith. 2 

The Christians " of the circumcision," 3 who travelled with Peter from 
Joppa to Caesarea, were " astonished " when they saw " the gift of the 
Holy Ghost poured out " on uncircumcised Gentiles : and much dissatis- 
faction was created in the Church, when intelligence of the whole trans- 
action came to Jerusalem. On Peter's arrival, his having " gone in to 
men uncircumcised, and eaten with them," was arraigned as a serious 
violation of religious duty. When St. Peter "rehearsed the matter from 
the beginning, and expounded it by order," appealing to the evidence 
of the " six brethren" who had accompanied him, — his accusers were 
silent; and so much conviction was produced at the time, that they 
expressed their gratitude to God, for His mercy in " granting to the 
Gentiles repentance unto life." 4 But subsequent events too surely 
proved that the discontent at Jerusalem was only partially allayed. 
Hesitation and perplexity began to arise in the minds of the Jewish 
Christians, with scrupulous misgivings concerning the rectitude of St. 
Peter's conduct, and an uncomfortable jealousy of the new converts. 
And nothing could be more natural than all this jealousy and perplexity. 
To us, with our present knowledge, it seems that the slightest relaxation 
of a ceremonial law should have* been willingly and eagerly welcomed. 
But the view from the Jewish standing-point was very different. The 
religious difficulty in the mind of a Jew was greater than we can easily 
imagine. We Can well believe that the minds of many may have been 
perplexed by the words and the conduct of our Lord Himself: for He 
had not been sent " save to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and 
He had said that it was " not meet to take the children's bread and cast 
sit to dogs." 5 Until St. Paul appeared before the Church in his true 
.character as the Apostle of the uncircumcision, few understood that 
■"the law of the commandments contained in ordinances" had been 
abolished by the cross of Christ; 6 and that the "other sheep," not of 
the Jewish fold, should be freely united to the " one flock " by the 
"One Shepherd." 1 

The smouldering feeling of discontent, which had existed from the first, 
increased and became more evident as new Gentile converts were admitted 

1 Acts x. 34, 35. 2 See Col. ii. 8-23. «> Matt. xv. 24, 26. 

3 Acts x. 45 with xi. 12. 6 Eph. ii. 15. 

4 Acts xi. 1-18. 7 Not literally " one fold." John x. 16. 



chap, vn. DISCONTENT AT JERUSALEM. 185 

into the Church. To pass over all the other events of the interval which 
had elapsed since the baptism of Cornelius, the results of the recent 
journey of Paul and Barnabas through the cities of Asia Minor must 
have excited a great commotion among the Jewish Christians. " A door 
of faith" had been opened "unto the Gentiles." 1 " He that wrought 
effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the same had 
been mighty in Paul toward the Gentiles." 2 And we cannot well doubt 
that both he and Barnabas had freely joined in social intercourse with 
the Gentile Christians, at Antioch in Pisidia, at Iconium, Lystra, and 
Derbe, as Peter " at the first " 3 "a good while ago " 4 had eaten with 
Cornelius at Caesarea. At Antioch in Syria, it seems evident that both 
parties lived together in amicable intercourse and in much "freedom." 5 
Nor, indeed, is this the city where we should have expected the Jewish 
controversy to have come to a crisis : for it was from Antioch that Paul 
and Barnabas had first been sent as missionaries to the Heathen : 6 and it 
was at Antioch that Greek proselytes had first accepted the truth, 7 
and that the united body of believers had first been called " Chris- 
tians." 8 

Jerusalem was the metropolis of the Jewish world. The exclusive 
feelings which the Jews carried with them wherever they were diffused, 
were concentrated in Jerusalem in their most intense degree. It was there, 
in the sight of the Temple, and with all the recollections of their ancestors 
surrounding their daily life, that the impatience of the Jewish Christians 
kindled into burning indignation. They saw that Christianity, instead of 
being the purest and holiest form of Judaism, was rapidly becoming a 
universal and indiscriminating religion, in which the Jewish element 
would be absorbed and lost. This revolution could not appear to them 
in any other light than as a rebellion against all they had been taught to 
hold inviolably sacred. And since there was no doubt that the great 
instigator of this change of opinion was that Saul of Tarsus whom they 
had once known as a young Pharisee at the " feet of Gamaliel," the con- 
test took the form of an attack made by " certain of the sect of the 
Pharisees " upon St. Paul. The battle which had been fought and lost 
in the " Cilician synagogue" was now to be renewed within the Church 
itself. 

Some of the " false brethren" (for such is the name which St. Paul 
gives to the Judaizers) 9 went down "from Judaea" to Antioch. 10 The 
course they adopted, in the first instance, was not that of open antagonism 
to St. Paul, but rather of clandestine intrigue. They came as " spies" 



1 Acts xiv. 27. 8 Acts xv. 14. 6 See Gal. ii. 4. 7 Acts xi. 19-21. 9 Gal. ii. 4. 

2 Gal. ii. 8. * Acts xv. 7. 6 Acts xiii. 1, &c. 8 Acts xi. 26. 10 Acts xv. 



186 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vh. 

into an enemy's camp, creeping in " unawares," * that they might ascertain 
how far the Jewish Law had been relaxed by the Christians at Antioch ; 
their purpose being to bring the whole Church, if possible, under the 
" bondage " of the Mosaic yoke. It appears that they remained some 
considerable time at Antioch, 2 gradually insinuating, or openly inculcat- 
ing, their opinion that the observance of the Jewish Law was necessary to 
salvation. It is very important to observe the exact form which their 
teaching assumed. They did not merely recommend or enjoin, for 
prudential reasons, the continuance of certain ceremonies in themselves 
indifferent : but they said, " Except ye be circumcised after the manner 
of Moses, ye cannot be saved" Such a doctrine must have been instantly 
opposed by St. Paul with his utmost energy. He was always ready to go 
to the extreme verge of charitable concession, when the question was one 
of peace and mutual understanding : but when the very foundations of 
Christianity were in danger of being undermined, when the very con- 
tinuance of " the truth of the Gospel " 3 was in jeopardy, it was impossible 
that he should " give place by subjection," even " for an hour." 

The "dissension and disputation," 4 which arose between Paul and 
Barnabas and the false brethren from Judaea, resulted in a general anxiety 
and perplexity among the Syrian Christians. The minds of " those who 
from among the Gentiles were turned unto God " were " troubled " and 
unsettled. 5 Those "words" which "perverted the Gospel of Christ" 
tended also to " subvert the souls " of those who heard them. 6 It was 
determined, therefore, "that Paul and Barnabas, with certain others, 
should go up to Jerusalem unto the Apostles and elders about this ques- 
tion." It was well known that those who were disturbing the peace of 
the Church had their headquarters in Judaea. Such a theological party 
could only be successfully met in the stronghold of Jewish nationality. 
Moreover, the residence of the principal Apostles was at Jerusalem, and 
the community over which " James " presided was still regarded as the 
Mother Church of Christendom. 

In addition to this mission with which St. Paul was intrusted by the 
Church at Antioch, he received an intimation of the Divine Will, com- 
municated by direct revelation. Such a revelation at so momentous a 
crisis must appear perfectly natural to all who believe that Christianity 
was introduced into the world by the immediate power of God. If " a 
man of Macedonia " appeared to Paul in the visions of the night, when 
he was about to carry the Gospel from Asia into Europe : 7 if " the angel 

1 Gal. ii. 4. 4 Acts xv. 2. 

2 This may be inferred from the imperfect 5 Acts xv. 19. 

in the Greek. Compare xiv. 28. 6 Gal. i. 7. Acts xv. 24. 

3 Gal. ii. 5. 7 Acts xvi. 9 




chap.vh. DIVINE EEVELATION TO ST. PAUL. 187 

of God " stood by him in the night, when the ship that was conveying 
him to Rome was in danger of sinking ; x we cannot wonder when he tells 
us that, on this occasion, when he " went up to Jerusalem with Barna- 
bas," he went " by revelation." 2 And we need not be surprised, if we 
find that St. Paul's path was determined by two different causes; that he 
went to Jerusalem partly because the Church deputed him, and partly 
because he was divinely admonished. Such a combination and co-opera- 
tion of the natural and the supernatural we have observed above, 3 in the 
case of that vision which induced St. Peter to go from Joppa to Caesarea. 
Nor in adopting this view of St. Paul's journey from Antioch to 
Jerusalem, need we feel any great difficulty — from this circumstance, 
that the two motives which conspired to direct him are separately men- 
tioned in different parts of Scripture. It is true that we are told in the 
Acts 4 simply that it was " determined " at Antioch that Paul should go 
to Jerusalem ; and that in Galatians 5 we are informed by himself that 
he went " by revelation." But we have an exact parallel in an earlier 
journey, already related, 6 from Jerusalem to Tarsus. In St. Luke's 
narrative 7 it is stated that " the brethren," knowing the conspiracy 
against his life, " brought him down to Cassarea and sent him forth ; " 
while in the speech of St. Paul himself, 8 we are told that in a trance he 
saw Jesus Christ, and received from Him a command to depart " quickly 
out of Jerusalem." 

Similarly directed from without and from within, he travelled to 
Jerusalem on the occasion before us. It would seem that his companions 
were carefully chosen with reference to the question in dispute. On the 
one hand was Barnabas, 9 a Jew and " a Levite " by birth, 10 a good repre- 
sentative of the church of the circumcision. On the other hand was 
Titus, 11 now first mentioned 12 in the course of our narrative, a convert 
from Heathenism, an uncircumcised " Greek." From the expression 
used of the departure of this company it seems evident that the majority 
of the Christians at Antioch were still faithful to the truth of the Gospel. 
Had the Judaizers triumphed, it would hardly have been said that Paul 
and his fellow-travellers were " brought on their way by the Church." 13 

1 Ibid, xxvii. 23. 8 Acts xxii. 17, 18. 

2 Gal. ii. 2. Schrader (who does not. how- 9 Acts xv. 2. 

ever, identify this journey with that in Acts 10 Acts iv. 36. n Gal. ii. 1-5. 

xv.) translates thus — " to make a revelation," 12 Titus is not mentioned at all in the Acts 

which is a meaning the words can scarcely of the Apostles, and besides the present Epistle 

bear. and that to Titus himself, he is only mentioned 

3 Pp. 183, 184. in 2 Cor. and 2 Tim. In a later part of this 

4 Acts xv. 2. work he will be noticed more particularly as 

5 Gal. ii. 2. St. Paul's "fellow-laborer" (2 Cor. v : ii. 23). 

6 Ch. III. p. 97. 7 Acts ix. 30. * 8 Acts xv. 3. So the phrase in xv. 40 may 



188 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.yxl 

Their course was along the great Roman Road, which followed the 
Phoenician coast-line, and traces of which are still seen on the cliffs over- 
hanging the sea : l and thence through the midland districts of Samaria 
and Judaea. When last we had occasion to mention Phceniee, 2 we were 
alluding to those who were dispersed on the death of Stephen, and 
preached the Gospel " to Jews only " on this part of the Syrian coast. 
Now, it seems evident that many of the heathen Syro-Phoenicians had 
been converted to Christianity : for, as Paul and Barnabas passed through, 
" declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, they caused great joy unto all 
the brethren." As regards the Samaritans, 3 we cannot be surprised that 
they who, when Philip first " preached Christ unto them," had received 
the Glad Tidings with " great joy," should be ready to express their 
sympathy in the happiness of those who, like themselves, had recently 
been " aliens from the commonwealth of Israel." 

Fifteen years 4 had now elapsed since that memorable journey, when 
St. Paul left Jerusalem, with all the zeal of a Pharisee, to persecute and 
destroy the Christians in Damascus. 5 He had twice entered, as a Chris- 
tian, the Holy City again. Both visits had been short and hurried, and 
surrounded with danger. The first was three years after his conversion, 
when he spent a fortnight with Peter, and escaped assassination by a pre- 
cipitate flight to Tarsus. 6 The second was in the year 44, when Peter 
himself was in imminent danger, and when the messengers who brought 
the charitable contribution from Antioch were probably compelled to 

be reasonably adduced as a proof that the hence is Bey rut. The principal of its 50 

feeling- of the majority was with Paul rather Jewish inhabitants are R. Solomon, R. Oba- 

than Barnabas. diah, and R. Joseph. It is hence one day's 

1 Dr. Robinson passed two Roman mile- journey to Saida, which is Sidon of Scripture 
stones between Tyre and Sidon (iii. 415), and [Acts xxvii. 3], a large city, with about 20 
observed traces of a Roman road between Sidon Jewish families. . . . One day's journey to 
and Beyrout. See also Fisher's Syria (i. 40) New Sur [Tyre, Acts xxi. 3], a very beautiful 
for a notice of the Via Antonina between city. . . . The Jews of Sur are ship-owners 
Beyrout and Tripoli. and manufacturers of the celebrated Tyrian 

2 P. 109. Acts xi. 19, 20. It may be glass. . . . It is one day hence to Acre [Ptole- 
interesting here to allude to the journey of a mais, Acts xxi. 7]. It is the frontier town 
Jew in the Middle Ages from Antioch to of Palestine ; and, in consecpience of its situa- 
Jerusalem. It is probable that the stations, tion on the shore of the Mediterranean, and 
the road, and the rate of travelling, were the of its large port, it is the principal place of 
same, and the distribution of the Jews not disembarkation of all pilgrims who visit Jeru- 
very different. We find the following passage salem by sea." — Early Travels to Palestine, 
in the Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, who pp. 78-81. 

travelled in 1163. "Two days bring us from 3 See p. 74. 

Antioch to Lega, which is Latachia, and con- * Gal. ii. 1, where we ought probably to 

tains about 200 Jews, the principal of whom reckon inclusively. See Appendix I. 

are R. Chiia and R. Joseph One day's 6 See Ch. III. 

journey to Gebal of the children of Ammon ; 6 P. 94. Compare p. 182. 

it contains about 150 Jews. . . . Two days 



chap. vii. JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. 189 

return immediately. 1 Now St. Paul carne, at a more peaceful period of 
the Church's history, to be received as the successful champion of the 
Gospel, and as the leader of the greatest revolution which the world has 
seen. It was now undeniable that Christianity had spread to a wide 
extent in the Gentile world, and that he had been the great instrument 
in advancing its progress. He came to defend his own principles and 
practice against an increasing torrent of opposition, which had disturbed 
him in his distant ministrations at Antioch, but the fountain-head of 
which was among the Pharisees at Jerusalem. 

The Pharisees had been the companions of St. Paul's younger days. 
Death had made many changes in the course of fifteen years ; but some 
must have been there who had studied with him " at the feet of 
Gamaliel." Their opposition was doubtless imbittered by remembering 
what he had been before his conversion. Nor do we allude here to those 
Pharisees who opposed Christianity. These were not the enemies whom 
St. Paul came to resist. The time was past when the Jews, unassisted 
by the Roman power, could exercise a cruel tyranny over the Church. 
Its safety was no longer dependent on the wisdom or caution of Gamaliel. 
The great debates at Jerusalem are no longer between Jews and Chris- 
tians in the Hellenistic synagogues, but between the Judaizing and 
spiritual parties of the Christians themselves. Many of the Pharisees, 
after the example of St. Paul, had believed that Jesus was Christ. 2 But 
they had not followed the example of their school-companion in the 
surrender of Jewish bigotry. The battle, therefore, which had once been 
fought without, was now to be renewed within, the Church. It seems 
that, at the very first reception of Paul and Barnabas at Jerusalem, some 
of these Pharisaic Christians ,; rose up," and insisted that the observance 
of Judaism was necessary to salvation. They said that it was absolutely 
'• needful to circumcise " the new converts, and to i; command them to 
keep the Law of Moses." The whole course of St. Paul's procedure 
among the Gentiles was here openly attacked. Barnabas was involved 
in the same suspicion and reproach ; and with regard to Titus, who was 
with them as the representative of the Gentile Church, it was asserted 
that, without circumcision, he could not hope to be partaker of the bless- 
ings of the Gospel. 

But far more was involved than any mere opposition, however factious, 
to individual missionaries, or than the severity of any conditions imposed 
on individual converts. The question of liberty or bondage for all future 
ages was to be decided ; and a convention of the whole Church at Jeru- 
salem was evidently called for. In the mean time, before " the Apostles 

i P. 117. Compare p. 182. 2 Acts xv. 5. 



190 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vn. 

and elders came together to consider of this matter," 1 St. Paul had 
private conferences with the more influential members of the Christian 
community, 2 and especially with James, Peter, and John, 3 the Great 
Apostles and " Pillars " of the Church. Extreme caution and manage- 
ment were required, in consequence of the intrigues of the " false 
brethren," both in Jerusalem and Antioch. He was, moreover, himself 
the great object of suspicion ; and it was his duty to use every effort to 
remove the growing prejudice. Thus, though conscious of his own in- 
spiration, and tenaciously holding the truth which he knew to be 
essential, he yet acted with that prudence which was characteristic of his 
whole life, 4 and which he honestly avows in the Epistle to the Galatians. 

If we may compare our own feeble imitations of Apostolic zeal and 
prudence with the proceedings of the first founders of the Church of 
Christ, we may say that these preliminary conferences were like the pri- 
vate meetings which prepare the way for a great religious assembly in Eng- 
land. Paul and Barnabas had been deputed from Antioch ; Titus was 
with them as a sample of Gentile conversions, and a living proof of 
their reality ; and the great end in view was to produce full conviction in 
the Church at large. At length the great meeting was summoned, 5 which 
was to settle the principles of missionary action among the Gentiles. It 
was a scene of earnest debate, and perhaps, in its earlier portion, of angry 
" disputing : " 6 but the passages which the Holy Spirit has caused to be 
recorded for our instruction are those which relate to the Apostles them- 
selves, — the address of St. Peter, the narrative of Barnabas and Paul, 
and the concluding speech of St. James. These three passages must be 
separately considered in the order of Scripture. 

St. Peter was the first of the Apostles who rose to address the 
assembly. 7 He gave his decision against the Judaizers, and in favor of 
St. Paul. He reminded his hearers of the part which he himself had 
taken in admitting the Gentiles into the Christian Church. They were 
well aware, he said, that these recent converts in Syria and Cilicia were 



1 Acts xv. 6. however, in this verse, is disputed. See note 

2 Gal. ii. 2. below, on the superscription of the decree, p. 

3 Gal. ii. 9. 197.] Hence we must suppose, either that 

4 See, for instance, the sixth and seventeenth the decision was made by the synod of the 
verses of Acts xxiii. Apostles and Elders, and afterwards ratified 

5 This meeting is described (Acts xv. 6) as by another larger meeting of the whole 
consisting of the " Apostles and Elders ; " but Church, or that there was only one meeting, 
the decision afterwards given is said to be the in which the whole Church took part, although 
decision of " the Apostles and Elders with the only the " Apostles and Elders " are men- 
whole Church " (ver. 22), and the decree was tioned. 

sent in the names of "the Apostles, and Eld- 6 Acts xv. 7. 

ers, and Brethren" (ver. 23). [The reading, i Acts xv. 7-11. 



CHAP.vn. PUBLIC MEETING. 191 

not the first Heathens who had believed the Gospel, and that he himself 
had been chosen by God to begin the work which St. Panl had only been 
continuing. The communication of the Holy Ghost was the true test of 
God's acceptance : and God had shown that He was no respecter of per- 
sons, by shedding abroad the same miraculous gifts on Jew and Gentile, 
and purifying by faith the hearts of both alike. And then St. Peter 
went on to speak, in touching language, of the yoke of the Jewish Law. 
Its weight had pressed heavily on many generations of Jews, and was 
well known to the Pharisees who were listening at that moment. They 
had been relieved from legal bondage by the salvation offered through 
faith ; and it would be tempting God, to impose on others a burden which 
neither they nor their fathers had ever boen able to bear. 

The next speakers were Paul and Barnabas. There was great silence 
through all the multitude, 1 and every eye was turned on the missionaries, 
while they gave the narrative of their journeys. Though Barnabas is 
mentioned here before Paul, 2 it is most likely that the latter was " the 
chief speaker. But both of them appear to have addressed the audience. 3 
They had much to relate of what they had done and seen together : and 
especially they made appeal to the miracles which God had worked among 
the Gentiles by them. Such an appeal must have been a persuasive argu- 
ment to the Jew, who was familiar, in his ancient Scriptures, with many 
Divine interruptions of the course of nature. These interferences had 
signalized all the great passages of Jewish history. Jesus Christ had 
proved His Divine mission in the same manner. And the events at 
Paphos, 4 at Iconium, 5 and Lystra, 6 could not well be regarded in any 
other light than as a proof that the same Power had been with Paul and 
Barnabas, which accompanied the words of Peter and John in Jerusalem 
and Judaea. 7 

But the opinion of another speaker still remained to be given. This 
was James, the brother of the Lord, 8 who, from the austere sanctity of his 
character, was commonly called, both by Jews and Christians, " James 
the Just." No judgment could have such weight with the Judaizing party 
as his. Not only in the vehement language in which he denounced the 

1 Acts xv. 12. The imperfect, which is 4 Acts xiii. 11. 
here used, implies attention to a continued 5 Acts xiv. 3. 
narrative. 6 Acts xiv. 8. 

2 This order of the names in the narrative, 7 Acts ii., v., ix. 

xv. 12, and in the letter helow, ver. 25 (not in * See Acts xv. 13-22. It is well knovvn 

ver. 22), is a remarkable exception to the that there is much perplexity connected with 

phrase " Paul and Barnabas," which has been those apostles who bore the name of James, 

usual since Acts xiii. See below, p. 197, We are not required here to enter into the 

n. 4. investigation, and are content to adopt the 

8 See ver. 13, " after they were silent." opinion which is most probable. 



192 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.vit 

sins of the age, but even in garb and appearance, he resembled John the 
Baptist, or one of the older prophets, rather than the other Apostles of 
the new dispensation. " Like the ancient saints, even in outward aspect, 
with the austere features, the linen ephod, the bare feet, the long locks 
and unshorn head of the Nazarite," * — such, according to tradition, was 
the man who now came forward, and solemnly pronounced that Mosaic 
rites were not of eternal obligation. After alluding to the argument of 
Peter (whose name we find him characteristically quoting in its Jewish 
form), 2 he turns to the ancient prophets, and adduces a passage from 
Amos 3 to prove that Christianity is the fulfilment of Judaism. And then 
he passes to the historical aspect of the subject, contending that this ful- 
filment was predetermined by God Himself, and that the Jewish dispen- 
sation was in truth the preparation for the Christian. 4 Such a decision, 
pronounced by one who stood emphatically on the confines of the two 
dispensations, came with great force on all who heard it, and carried with 
it the general opinion of the assembly to the conclusion that those " who 
from among the Gentiles had turned unto God " should not be " trou- 
bled" with any Jewish obligations, except such as were necessary for 
peace and the mutual good understanding of the two parties. 

The spirit of charity and mutual forbearance is very evident in the 
decree which was finally enacted. Its spirit was that expressed by St. 
Paul in his Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians. He knew, and was 
persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: but to 
him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. He 
knew that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God 
but one. But all men have not this knowledge : some could not eat that 
which had been offered in sacrifice to an idol without defiling their con- 
science. It is good to abstain from every thing whereby a weaker brother 
may be led to stumble. To sin thus against our brethren is to sin against 
Christ. 5 In accordance with these principles it was enacted that the Gen- 
tile converts should be required to abstain from that which had been 
polluted by being offered in sacrifice to idols, from the flesh of animals 
which had been strangled, and generally from the eating of blood. The 
reason for these conditions is stated in the verse to which particular 

1 Stanley's Sermons and Essays, &c., p. ecy to the future destiny of the Jews; but we 
295. We must refer here to the whole of the must observe, that the Apostles themselves ap- 
Sermcn on the Epistle of St. James, and of the ply such prophecies as this to the Christian 
Essay on the Traditions of James the Just, espe- Dispensation. See Acts ii. 17. 

daily pp. 292, 302, 327. 4 " Known from the beginning," &c, 18. 

2 Acts xv. 14. So St. Peter names himself Compare Acts xvii. 26 ; Eom. i. 2 ; Eph. i. 10, 
at the beginning of his Second Epistle. iii. 9, 10 ; Col. i. 26. 

8 Amos ix. 11, 12. We are not required to 5 Rom. xiv ; 1 Cor. viii. 

express any opinion on the application of proph- 



chap. vn. THE DECKEE. 193 

allusion Las been made at the beginning of the present chapter. 1 The 
Law of Moses was read every Sabbath in all the cities where the Jews 
were dispersed. 2 A due consideration for the prejudices of the Jews made 
it reasonable for the Gentile converts to comply with some of the restric- 
tions which the Mosaic Law and ancient custom had imposed on every 
Jewish meal. In no other way could social intercourse be built up and 
cemented between the two parties. If some forbearance were requisite 
on the part of the Gentiles in complying with such conditions, not less 
forbearance was required from the Jews in exacting no more. And to 
the Gentiles themselves the restrictions were a merciful condition : for it 
helped them to disentangle themselves more easily from the pollutions 
connected with their idolatrous life. We are not merely concerned here 
with the question of social separation, the food which was a delicacy 3 to 
the Gentile being abominated by the Jew, — nor with the difficulties of 
weak and scrupulous consciences, who might fear too close a contact 
between " the table of the Lord " and " the table of Demons," 4 — but 
this controversy had an intimate connection with the principles of univer- 
sal morality. The most shameless violations of purity took place in con- 
nection with the sacrifices and feasts ' celebrated in honor of Heathen 
divinities. 5 Every thing, therefore, which tended to keep the Gentile 
converts even from accidental or apparent association with these scenes 
of vice, made their own recovery from pollution more easy, and enabled 
the Jewish converts to look on their new Christian brethren with less 
suspicion and antipathy. This seems to be the reason why we find an 
acknowledged sin mentioned in the decree along with ceremonial observ- 
ances which were meant to be only temporary 6 and perhaps local. 7 We 

1 Above, p. 180. There is some difference 2 Acts xv. 21. 

of opinion as to the connection of this verse 3 We learn from Athengeus that the meat- 

with the context. Some consider it to imply from "things strangled" was regarded as a 

that, while it was necessary to urge these con- delicacy among the Greeks, 
ditions on the Gentiles, it was needless to say 4 1 Cor. x. 21. 

any thing to the Jews on the subject, since they 5 See Tholuck in his Nature and Mora/ In-.. 

had the Law of Moses, and knew its require- Jluence of Heathenism, part iii. 
ments. Dean Milman infers that the regula- 6 We cannot, however, be surprised that one 

tions were made because the Christians in gene- great branch of the Christian Church takes a, 

ral met in the same places of religious worship different view. The doctrine of the Greek 

with the Jews. " These provisions were neces- Church, both Ancient and Modern, is in har-. 

sary, because the Mosaic Law was universally mony with the letter, as well as the spirit, of 

read, and from immemorial usage, in the the Apostolic council. 

synagogue. The direct violation of its most » At least the decree (Acts xv. 23) is ad-, 

vital principles by any of those who joined in dressed only to the churches of " Syria and 

the common worship would be incongruous, Cilicia ; " and we do not see the subject alluded 

and of course highly offensive to the more to again after xvi. 4. 
zealous Mosaists." — Hist, of Christianity, vol. 
i. p. 426, n. 

13 



194 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vd 

must look on the whole subject from the Jewish point of view, and con- 
sider how violations of morality and contradictions of the ceremonial law 
were associated together in the Gentile world. It is hardly necessary to 
remark that much additional emphasis is given to the moral part of the 
decree, when we remember that it was addressed to those who lived in 
close proximity to the profligate sanctuaries of Antioch and Paphos. 1 

We have said that the ceremonial part of the decree was intended for 
a temporary and perhaps only a local observance. It is not for a moment 
implied that any Jewish ceremony is necessary to salvation. On the con- 
trary, the great principle was asserted, once for all, that man is justified, 
not by the law, but by faith : one immediate result was that Titus, the 
companion of Paul and Barnabas, " was not compelled to be circum- 
cised." 2 His case was not like that of Timothy at a later period, 3 whose 
circumcision was a prudential accommodation to circumstances, without 
endangering the truth of the Gospel. To have circumcised Titus at the 
time of the meeting in Jerusalem, would have been to have asserted that 
he was "bound to keep the whole law." 4 And when the alternative wa's 
between " the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free," and the re- 
imposition of " the yoke of bondage," St. Paul's language always was, 5 
that if Gentile converts were circumcised, Christ could "profit them 
nothing." By seeking to be justified in the law, they fell from grace. 6 
In this firm refusal to comply with the demand of the Judaizers, the case 
of all future converts from Heathenism was virtually involved. It was 
asserted once for all, that in the Christian Church there is "neither Greek 
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor 
free : but that Christ is all and in all." 7 And St. Paul obtained the vic- 
tory for that principle, which, we cannot doubt, will hereafter destroy the 
distinctions that are connected with the institutions of slavery in America 
■ and of caste in India. 

Certain other points decided in this meeting had a more direct personal 
'reference to St. Paul himself. His own independent mission had been 
called in question. Some, perhaps, said that he was antagonistic to the 
Apostles at Jerusalem, others that he was entirely dependent on them. 8 
All the Judaizers agreed in blaming his course of procedure among the 
Gentiles. This course was now entirely approved by the other Apostles. 
'His independence was fully recognized. Those who were universally 
regarded as " pillars of the truth," James, Peter, and John, 9 gave to him 

1 See above, pp. 116 and 140. 8 The charges brought against St. Paul by 

2 Gal. ii. 3. 8 Acts xvi. 3. the Judaizers were very various at different 
4 Gal. v. 3. 6 Gal. y. 2. times. 

6 Gal. v. 4. 9 It should be carefully observed here that 

7 ' Col. iii. 11. James is mentioned first of these Apostles who 



chap.vii. RECOGNITION OF ST. PAUL'S MISSION. 195 

and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, and agreed that they should 
be to the Heathen what themselves were to the Jews. Thus was St. Paul 
publicly acknowledged as the Apostle of the Gentiles, and openly placed 
in that position from which " he shall never more go out," as a pillar of 
the Temple of the " New Jerusalem," inscribed with the " New Name " 
which proclaims the union of all mankind in one Saviour. 1 

One of those who gave the right hand of fellowship to St. Paul was 
the " beloved disciple " of that Saviour. 2 This is the only meeting of St. 
Paul and St. John recorded in Scripture. It is, moreover, the last notice 
which we find there of the life of St. John, until the time of the apoca- 
lyptic vision in the island of Patmos. For both these reasons the mind 
seizes eagerly on the incident, though it is only casually mentioned in the 
Epistle to the Galatians. Like other incidental notices contained in Scrip- 
ture, it is very suggestive of religious thoughts. St. John had been silent 
during the discussion in the public assembly ; but at the close of it he 
expressed his cordial union with St. Paul in " the truth of the Gospel." 3 
That union has been made visible to all ages by the juxtaposition of their 
Epistles in the same Sacred Volume. They stand together among the 
pillars of the Holy Temple ; and the Church of God is thankful to learn 
how Contemplation may be united with Action, and Faith with .Love, 
in the spiritual life. 

To the decree with which Paul and Barnabas were charged, one con- 
dition was annexed, with which they gladly promised to comply. We 
have already had occasion to observe (p. 61) that the Hebrews of Judasa 
were relatively poor, compared with those of the dispersion, and that the 
Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were exposed to peculiar sufferings from 
poverty ; and we have seen Paul and Barnabas once before the bearers 
of a contribution from a foreign city for their relief (p. 118). They 
were exhorted now to continue the same charitable work, and in their 
journeys among the Gentiles and the dispersed Jews, " to remember the 
poor " at Jerusalem. 4 In proof of St. Paul's faithful discharge of this 

were " pillars," and that Peter is mentioned by in the passage quoted from Revelation : " I 

the name of Cephas, as in I Cor. i. 12. will write upon him ... my new name." 

1 See Rev. iii. 12. The same metaphor is 2 Gal. ii. 9. 

found in 1 Tim. iii. 15, where Timothy is called 3 Gal ii. 5. 

(for this seems the natural interpretation) 4 " Only that we should remember the poor ; 
"a pillar and support of the truth." In these which also I was forward to do." Gal. ii. 10, 
passages it is important to bear in mind the where the change from the plural to the singu- 
peculiarity of ancient architecture, which was lar should be noticed. Is this because Barnabas 
characterized by vertical columns, supporting was soon afterwards separated from St. Paul 
horizontal entablatures. Inscriptions were often (Acts xv. 39), who had thenceforth to prose- 
engraved on these columns. Hence the words cute the charitable work alone i 



TJ6 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vu. 

promise, we need only allude to his zeal in making " the contribution for 
the poor saints at Jerusalem " in Galatia, Macedonia, and Achaia, 1 and 
to that last journey to the Holy Land, when he went, " after many years," 
to take " alms to his nation." 2 It is more important here to consider 
(what indeed we have mentioned before) the effect which this charitable 
exertion would have in binding together the divided parties in the 
Church. There cannot be a doubt that the Apostles had this result 
in view. Their anxiety on this subject is the best commentary on the 
spirit in which they had met on this great occasion ; and we may rest 
assured that the union of the Gentile and Jewish Christians was largely 
promoted by the benevolent efforts which attended the diffusion of the 
Apostolic Decree. 

Thus the controversy being settled, Paul's mission to the Gentiles 
being fully recognized, and his method of communicating the Gospel 
approved by the other Apostles, and the promise being given, that, in 
their journeys among the Heathen, they would remember the necessities 
of the Hebrew Christians in Judaea, the two missionaries returned from 
Jerusalem to Antioch. They carried with them the decree which was to 
give peace to the consciences that had been troubled by the Judaizing 
agitators ; and the two companions, Judas and Silas, 3 who travelled with 
them, were empowered to accredit their commission and character. It 
seems also that Mark was another companion of Paul and Barnabas on 
this journey ; for the last time we had occasion to mention his name was 
when he withdrew from Pamphylia to Jerusalem (p. 144), and presently 
we see him once more with his kinsman at Antioch. 4 

The reception of the travellers at Antioch was full of joy and satis- 
faction. 5 The whole body of the Church was summoned together to hear 
the reading of the letter ; and we can well imagine the eagerness with 
which they crowded to listen, and the thankfulness and " consolation " 
with which such a communication was received, after so much anxiety 
and perplexity. The letter indeed is almost as interesting to us as to 
them, not only because of the principle asserted and the results secured, 
but also because it is the first document preserved to us from the acts of 
the Primitive Church. The words of the original document, literally 
translated, are as follows : — 



1 "As I have given order to the Churches 2 Acts xxiv. 17. 

of Galatia," &c, 1 Cor. xvi. 1-4. " It hath 8 Acts xv. 22, 27, 32. 

pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia," &c 4 Acts xv. 37. ° Acts xv, 31. 

Rom. xv. 25, 26. See 2 Cor. viii., ix. 



ciiap. nr. THE LETTER. 197 

" The Apostles, a.nd the Elders, and the Brethren, 1 to the Gen- ^ a 
tile Brethren in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia, Greeting. 2 23 

" Whereas we have heard that certain men who went out from us have 2-1 
troubled you with words, and unsettled your souls 3 by telling you to cir- 
cumcise yourselves and keep the Law, although we gave them no such 
commission : 

" It has been determined by us, being assembled with one accord, to 25 
choose some from amongst ourselves and send them to you with our 
beloved 4 Barnabas and Saul, men that have offered up their lives for the 26 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, 27 
who themselves also 5 will tell you by word the same which we tell you 
by letter. 

" For it has been determined by the Holy Spirit and by us, to lay upon 28 
you no greater burden than these necessary things : that ye abstain from 29 
meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and 
from fornication. Wherefrom if ye keep yourselves it shall be well with 
you. Farewell." 

The encouragement inspired by this letter would be increased by the 
sight of Judas and Silas, who were ready to confirm its contents by word 
of mouth. These two disciples remained some short time at Antioch. 
They were possessed of that power of " prophecy " which was one of the 
forms in which the Holy Spirit made His presence known : and the 

1 We adhere to the Textus Beceptus, al- 3 Although the best MSS. omit the words 
though the " and " before " Brethren " is omit- " by telling . . . Law," yet we think they 
ted in many weighty MSS. But it is supported cannot possibly be an interpolation. 

by Chrysostom, by several of the uncial MSS., 4 It is another undesigned coincidence that 

and by many of the most ancient versions. Its the names of these two Apostles are here in the 

omission might have been caused by hierarchi- reverse order to that which, in St. Luke's nar- 

cal tendencies. It should be observed that the rathe (except when he speaks of Jerusalem), 

phrase without the conjunction is entirely un- they have assumed since chap. xiii. In the 

known elsewhere, which is a strong argument view of the Church at Jerusalem, Paul's name 

against its being the correct reading here. would naturally come after that of Barnabas. 

Also the omission appears to render the super- See above, p. 191, n. 2. 

scription of this document inconsistent with the 5 The present participle may be explained 

enumeration of the three distinct parties to it by the ancient idiom of letter-writing, by which 

in verse 22. the writer transferred himself into the time of 

2 " Greeting." The only other place where the reader, 
this salutation occurs is James i. 1 ; an unde- 
signed coincidence tending to prove the genu* 

ineness of this document. 



198 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, vjj 

Syrian Christians were " exhorted and confirmed " by the exercise of this 
miraculous gift. 1 The minds of all were in great tranquillity when the 
time came for the return of these messengers " to the Apostles " at Jeru- 
salem. Silas, however, either remained at Antioch, or soon came back 
thither. 2 He was destined, as we shall see, to become the companion of 
St. Paul, and to be at the beginning of the second missionary journey 
what Barnabas had been at the beginning of the first. 

Two painful scenes were witnessed at Antioch before the Apostle 
started on that second journey. We are informed 3 that Paul and Barna- 
bas protracted their stay in this city, and were dilligently occupied, with 
many others, in making the glad tidings of the Gospel known, and in the 
general work of Christian instruction. It is in this interval of time that 
we must place that visit of St. Peter to Antioch, 4 which St. Paul men- 
tions in the Epistle to the Galatians, 5 immediately after his notice of 
the affairs of the Council. It appears that Peter, having come to Antioch 
for some reason which is unknown to us, 6 lived at first in free and unre- 
strained intercourse with the Gentile converts, meeting them in social 
friendship, and eating with them, in full consistency with the spirit of the 
recent decree, and with his own conduct in the case of Cornelius. At 
this time certain Jewish brethren came " from James," who presided over 
the Church at Jerusalem. Whether they were really sent on some 
mission by the Apostle James, or we are merely to understand that they 
came from Jerusalem, they brought with them their old Hebrew repug- 
nance against social intercourse with the uncircumcised ; and Peter in 
their society began to vacillate. In weak compliance with their preju- 
dices, he " withdrew and separated himself" from those whom he had 
lately treated as brethren and equals in Christ. Just as in an earlier 

1 Acts xv. 32. Compare xiii. 1 . objection to say that his conduct here was 

2 Acts xv. 34. The reading here is doubt- equally inconsistent with his own previous con- 
ful. The question, however, is immaterial. If duct in the case of Cornelius. 

the verse is genuine, it modifies the phrase Abp. Whately (in the work quoted below, p. 

" they were let go " in the preceding verse ; if 201, n. 1) assumes that Peter went to meet 

not, we have merely to suppose that Silas went Paul at Jerusalem after the scene at Antioch, 

to Jerusalem and then returned. and sees a close resemblance between Peter's 

3 Acts xv. 35. words (Acts xv. 11) and those of Paul (Gal. ii. 

4 Neander places this meeting of Peter and 14-16). 

Paul later; but his reasons are far from satis- 5 Gal. ii. 11, &c. 

factory. Prom the order of narration in the 6 The tradition which represents Peter as 

Epistle to the Galatians, it is most natural to having held the See of Antioch before that of 

infer that the meeting at Antioch took place Pome has been mentioned before, p. 119, n. 1. 

soon after the Council at Jerusalem. Some Tillemont places the period of this episcopate 

writers wish to make it anterior to the Council, about 36-42, A. d. He says it is " une chose 

from an unwillingness to believe that St. Peter assez embarrassee ; " and it is certainly difficult 

would have acted in this manner after the de- to reconcile it with Scripture, 
cree. But it is a sufficient answer to this 



chap.vh. ST. PETER REBUKED BY ST. PAUL. 199 

part of his life he had first asserted his readiness to follow his Master to 
death, and then denied Him through fear of a maid-servant, — so now, 
after publicly protesting against the notion of making any difference 
between the Jew and the Gentile, and against laying on the neck of the 
latter a yoke which the former had never been able to bear, 1 we find 
him contradicting his own principles, and " through fear of those who 
were of the circumcision " 2 giving all the sanction of his example to 
the introduction of caste into the Church of Christ. 

Such conduct could not fail to excite in St. Paul the utmost indigna- 
tion. St. Peter was not simply yielding a non-essential point, through a 
tender consideration for the consciences of others. This would have 
been quite in accordance with the principle so often asserted by his 
brother-Apostle, that " it is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, 
nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is made weak." Nor 
was this proceeding a prudent and innocent accommodation to circum- 
stances, for the sake of furthering the Gospel, like St. Paul's conduct in 
circumcising Timothy at Iconium ; 3 or, indeed, like the Apostolic Decree 
itself. St. Peter was acting under the influence of a contemptible and 
sinful motive, — the fear of man: and his behavior was giving a strong 
sanction to the very heresy which was threatening the existence of the 
Church ; namely, the opinion that the observance of Jewish ceremonies 
was necessary to salvation. Nor was this all. Other Jewish Christians, 
as was naturally to be expected, were led away by his example : and 
even Barnabas, the chosen companion of the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
who had been a witness and an actor in all the great transactions in 
Cyprus, in Pisidia, and Lycaonia, — even Barnabas, the missionary, was 
" carried away " with the dissimulation of the rest. 4 When St. Paul was 
a spectator of such inconsistency, and perceived both the motive in which 
it originated and the results to which it was leading, he would have been 
a traitor to his Master's cause, if he had hesitated (to use his own 
emphatic words) to rebuke Peter " before all," and to " withstand him to 
the face." 5 

It. is evident from St. Paul's expression, that it was on some public 
occasion that this open rebuke took place. The scene, though slightly 
mentioned, is one of the most remarkable in Sacred History : and the 
mind naturally labors to picture to itself the appearance of the two men. 
It is, therefore, at least allowable to mention here that general notion of 
the forms and features of the two Apostles, which has been handed 

i Acts xv. 9, 10. 2 Gal. ii. 12. early writers, that the whole scene was pre- 

8 Acts xvi. 3. * Gal. ii. 13. arranged between Peter and Paul, and that. 

5 Gal. ii. 14, 11. there was no real misunderstanding. Even. 

We can only allude to the opinion of some Chrysostom advocates this unchristian view.. 






200 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PATJL. CHAP.vii. 

down in tradition, and was represented by the early artists. 1 St. Paul ' 
is set before us as having the strongly marked and prominent features 
of a Jew, yet not without some of the finer lines indicative of Greek 
thought. His stature was diminutive, and his body disfigured by some 
lameness or distortion, which may have provoked the contemptuous 
expressions of his enemies. 3 His beard was long and thin. His head 
was bald. The characteristics of his face were, a transparent complexion, 
which visibly betrayed the quick changes of his feelings, a bright gray 
eye under thickly overhanging united eyebrows, 4 a cheerful and winning 
expression of countenance, which invited the approach and inspired the 
confidence of strangers. It would be natural to infer, 5 from his contin- 
ual journeys and manual labor, that he was possessed of great strength 
of constitution. But men of delicate health have often gone through the 
greatest exertions : 6 and his own words on more than one occasion show 
that he suffered much from bodily infirmity. 7 St. Peter is represented to 
ns as a man of larger and stronger form, as his character was harsher 
and more abrupt. The quick impulses of his soul revealed themselves 
in the flashes of a dark eye. The complexion of his face was pale and 
sallow : and the short hair, which is described as entirely gray at the 
time of his death, curled black and thick round his temples and his chin, 
when the two Apostles stood together at Antioch, twenty years before 
their martyrdom. 

Believing, as we do, that these traditionary pictures have probably 
some foundation in truth, we gladly take them as helps to the imagina- 
tion. And they certainly assist us in realizing a remarkable scene, 

1 For the representations of St. Feter and all which the sturdy dignity and broad rustic 

St. Paul in early pictures and mosaics, see the features of St. Peter, and the elegant contem- 

first volume of Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and plative head of St. Paul, who looks like a Greek 

Legendary An, especially pp. 145, 159, 161, 162, philosopher, form a most interesting and sug- 

201. They correspond with the traditionary gestive contrast." The dispute at Antioch is 

■descriptions referred to in the next note. " St. the subject of a picture by Guido. See p. 187. 
Peter is a robust old man, with a broad fore- 2 The descriptions of St. Paul's appearance 

ihead, and rather coarse features, an open un- by Malalas and Nicephorus are given at length 

daunted countenance, short gray hair, and short in the larger editions, 
thick beard, curled, and of a silvery white. 3 See above, p. 1 70. 

iPaul was a man of small and meagre stature, 4 See above, p. 134, n. 1. 

with an aquiline nose, and sparkling eyes : in 5 See Acts xx. 7 ; 1 Thess. ii. 9 ; 2 Thess. 

:the Greek type the face is long and oval, the iii. 8 ; 2 Cor. xi. 23-28. See Tholuck's Essay 

'forehead high and bald ; the hair brown, the on St. Paul's early Life, for some speculations 

"beard long, flowing, and pointed. . . . These on the Apostle's temperament, 
'traditional characteristic types of the features 6 The instance of Alfred the Great may be 

and person of the two greatest Apostles were rightly alluded to. His biographer, Asser,. 

long adhered to. We find them most strictly says that from his youth to his death he was 

followed "in the old Greek mosaics, in the early always either suffering pain or expecting it. 
'Christian -sculpture, and the early pictures, in 7 See 2 Cor. xii. 7 j Gal. iv. 13, 14. 



chap.vh. THEIR RECONCILIATION. 201 

where Judaism and Christianity, in the persons of two Apostles, are 
for a moment brought before us in strong antagonism. The words 
addressed by St. Paul to St. Peter before the assembled Christians at 
Antioch, contain the full statement of the Gospel as opposed to the Law. 
"If thou, being born a Jew, art wont to live 1 according to the customs 
of the Gentiles and not of the Jews, why wouldest thou now constrain the 
Gentiles to keep the ordinances of the Jews ? We are Jews by birth, and 
not unhallowed Gentiles ; yet, knowing that a man is not justified by the 
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we ourselves also 
have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the 
faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law. For by the works of 
the law sljall na fUsIj Ire JUSti&tr/' 2 These sentences contain in a 
condensed form the whole argument of the Epistles to the Galatians and 
Romans. 

Though the sternest indignation is expressed in this rebuke, we have 
no reason to suppose that any actual quarrel took place between the two 
Apostles. It is not improbable that St. Peter was immediately convinced 
of his fault, and melted at once into repentance. His mind was easily 
susceptible of quick and sudden changes ; his disposition was loving and 
generous : and we should expect his contrition, as well as his weakness, 
at Antioch, to be what it was in the high priest's house at Jerusalem. 
Yet, when we read the narrative of this rebuke in St. Paul's epistle, it is 
a relief to turn to that passage at the conclusion of one of St. Peter's 
letters, where, in speaking of the "long-suffering of our Lord" and of 
the prospect of sinless happiness in the world to come, he alludes, in 
touching words, to the Epistles of " our beloved brother Paul" 3 We see 
how entirely all past differences are forgotten, — how all earthly misun- 

1 A spiritual sense is assigned to the word — " If thou art in the habit of living with the 

" live," in this passage, by Abp. Whately (Lee- freedom of a Gentile, and not the strictness of a 

tures on the. Characters of our Lord's Apostles, Jew, why dost thou attempt to coerce the Gen- 

1853, p. 193), and by Bp. Hinds (Scripture and tiles into Judaism ? " 

the Authorized Version, 1853, p. 18). The 2 The quotation is from Psalm cxliii. 2, 

Archbishop says, rather strongly, that he be- which is also quoted in the same connection, 

lieves that "any competent judge, who care- Rom. iii. 20. There is much difference of 

fully examines the original," will acknowledge opinion among commentators on Gal. ii. as to 

the following to be the true sense of the passage : the point where Paul's address to Peter termi- 

" If thou, though a Jew by birth, yet hast life nates. Many writers think it continues to the 

(i. e. spiritual life) on the same terms as the end of the chapter. We are inclined to believe 

Gentiles, and not by virtue of thy being a Jew, that it ends at v. 16 ; and that the words which 

why dost thou urge the Gentiles to Judaize?" follow are intended to meet doctrinal objec- 

It is, however, certain that many competent tions (similar to those in Rom. iii. 3, 5, vi. 1, 

persons have examined the passage carefully 15, vii. 7, 13) which the Galatians migtt natu- 

without coming to this conclusion ; and we rally be supposed to make, 
cannot see that there is any real difficulty in 8 2 Pet. iii. 15, 16. 

following the natural translation of the words : 



202 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap, vn 

derstandings are absorbed and lost in the contemplation of Christ and 
eternal life. Not only did the Holy Spirit overrule all contrarieties, so 
that the writings of both Apostles teach the Church the same doctrine : 
but the Apostle who was rebuked " is not ashamed to call the attention of 
the Church to epistles in one page of which his own censure is recorded." 1 
It is an eminent triumph of Christian humility and love. We shall not 
again have occasion to mention St. Peter and St. Paul together, until we 
come to the last scene of all. 2 But, though they might seldom meet 
whilst laboring in their Master's cause, their lives were united, " and in 
their deaths they were not divided." 





Coin of Antioch. 3 



1 Dr. Vaughan's Harrow Sermons (1846), 8 From the British Museum. See Mr. 
p. 410. Scharfs drawing above, p. 116, and what is 

2 The martyrdom at Rome. See Mrs. said there of the emblematical representation 
Jameson's Work, especially pp. 180-183, 193- of Antioch. On this coin the seated figure bears 
195. a palm-branch, as the emblem of victory. 



CHAPTER VHI 



Political Divisions of Asia Minor. — Difficulties of the Subject. — Provinces in the Reigns of 
Claudius and Nero. — I. ASIA. — II. BITHYNIA. — III. PAMPHYLIA. — I V. GALA- 
TIA. — V. PONTTJS. — VI. CAPPADOCIA. — VII. — CILICIA. — Visitation of the 
Churches proposed. — Quarrel and Separation of Paul and Barnabas. — Paul and Silas in 
Cilicia. — They cross the Taurus. — Lystra. — Timothy. — His Circumcision. — Journey 
through Phrygia. — Sickness of St. Paul. — His Eeception in Galatia. — Journey to the 
JEgean. — Alexandria Troas. — St. Paul's Vision. 

fT^HE life of St. Paul being that of a traveller, and our purpose being 
JL to give a picture of the circumstances by which he was surrounded, 
it is often necessary to refer to the geography, both physical and political, 
of the countries through which he passed. This is the more needful in 
the case of Asia Minor, not only because it was the scene of a very great 
portion of his journeys, but because it is less known to ordinary readers 
than Palestine, Italy, or Greece. We have already described, at some 
length, the physical geography of those southern districts which are in 
the immediate neighborhood of Mount Taurus. 1 And now that the 
Apostle's travels take a wider range, and cross the Asiatic peninsula from 
Syria to the frontiers of Europe, it is important to take a general view of 
the political geography of this part of the Roman Empire. Unless such 
a view is obtained in the first place, it is impossible to understand the 
topographical expressions employed in the narrative, or to conjecture the 
social relations into which St. Paul was brought in the course of his jour- 
neys 2 through Asia Minor. 

It is, however, no easy task to ascertain the exact boundaries of the 
Roman provinces in this part of the world at any given date between 
Augustus and Constantine. In the first place, these boundaries were con- 
tinually changing. The area of the different political districts was liable 
to sudden and arbitrary alterations. Such terms as " Asia," 3 " Pam- 
phylia," 4 &c, though denoting the extent of a true political jurisdiction, 
implied a larger or smaller territory at one time than another. And 
again, we find the names of earlier and later periods of history mixed 

1 Ch. I. pp. 19-21. Ch. VI. pp. 141, 8 Acts ii. 9, vi. 9, xvi. 6, xix. 10, 27, 31, 
142. xx. 16, 18, xxvii. 2 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 19; 2 Cor. i. 

2 i. e. the journeys in Acts xvi. and Acts 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 15 ; 1 Pet. i. 1. 

xviii. * Acts ii. 10, xiii. 13, xv. 38, xxvii. 5. 

203 



204 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, vm 

up together in inextricable confusion. Some of the oldest geographical 
terms, such as " iEolis," " Ionia,'* " Caria," " Lydia," were disappearing 
from ordinary use in the time of the Apostles : l but others, such as 
" Mysia " 2 and " Lycaonia," 3 still remained. Obsolete and existing 
divisions are presented to us together : and the common maps of Asia 
Minor 4 are as unsatisfactory as if a map of France were set before us, 
distributed half into provinces and half into departments. And in the third 
place, some of the names have no political significance at all, but express 
rather the ethnographical relations of ancient tribes. Thus, " Pisidia " 5 
denotes a district which might partly be in one province and partly in 
another ; and " Phrygia " 6 reminds us of the diffusion of an ancient 
people, the broken portions of whose territory were now under the juris- 
diction of three or four distinct governors. Cases of this kind are, at 
first sight, more embarrassing than the others. They are not merely 
similar to the twofold subdivision of Ireland, where a province, like 
Ulster, may contain several definite counties : but a nearer parallel is to 
be found in Scotland, where a geographical district, associated with many 
historical recollections, — such as Galloway or Lothian, — may be partly 
in one county and partly in another. 

Our purpose is to elucidate the political subdivisions of Asia Minor as 
they were in the reigns of Claudius and Nero, — or, in other words, to 
enumerate the provinces which existed, and to describe the boundaries 
which were assigned to them, in the middle of the first century of the 
Christian era. The order we shall follow is from West to East, and in so 
doing we shall not deviate widely from the order in which the provinces 
were successively incorporated as substantive parts of the Roman Empire. 
We are not, indeed, to suppose that St. Luke and St. Paul used all their 
topographical expressions in the strict political sense, even when such a 
sense was more or less customary. There was an exact usage and a 
popular usage of all these terms. But the first step towards fixing our 
geographical ideas of Asia Minor, must be to trace the boundaries of the 
provinces. When this is done, we shall be better able to distinguish 
those terms which, about the year 50 a.d., had ceased to have any true 
political significance, and to discriminate between the technical and the 
popular language of the sacred writers. 



1 Tacitus, Vitruvius, Justin, &c, speak of political divisions of three or four different 
Pergamus, Ephesus, Cnidus, Thyatira, &c, as periods are confused together. In some of 
towns of Asia, not of iEolis, Ionia, Caria, the more recent, the Roman provincial divis- 
Lydia, &c., respectively. See Acts xxvii. 2, ions are indicated, and the emperor's and sen- 
Rev, i. 11. ate's provinces distinguished. 

2 Acts xvi. 7, 8. 8 Acts xiv. 6, 11. 6 Acts xiii. 14, xiv. 24. 

4 In the ordinary maps, ethnographical and 6 Acts ii. 10, xvi. 6, xviii. 23. 



chap. vm. ASIA. 205 

I. Asia. — There is sometimes a remarkable interest associated with 
the history of a geographical term. One case of this kind is suggested 
by the allusion which has just been made to the British islands. Early 
writers speak of Ireland under the appellation of " Scotia." Certain of 
its inhabitants crossed over to the opposite coast : l their name spread along 
with their influence : and at length the title of Scotland was entirely trans- 
ferred from one island to the other. In classical history we have a simi- 
lar instance in the name of " Italy," which at first only denoted the 
southernmost extremity of the peninsula : then it was extended so as to 
include the whole with the exception of Cisalpine Gaul : and finally, 
crossing the Rubicon, it advanced to the Alps ; while the name of " Gaul " 
retreated beyond them. Another instance, on a larger scale, is presented 
to us on the south of the Mediterranean. The " Africa " of the Romans 
spread from a limited territory on the shore of that sea, till it embraced 
the whole continent which was circumnavigated by Yasco di Gama. And 
similarly the term, by which we are accustomed to designate the larger 
and more famous continent of the ancient world, traces its derivation to 
the " Asian meadow by the streams of the Cayster," 2 celebrated in the 
poems of Homer. 

This is the earliest occurrence of the word " Asia." We find, how- 
ever, even in the older poets, 3 the word used in its widest sense to denote 
all the countries in the far East. Either the Greeks, made familiar with 
the original Asia by the settlement of their kindred in its neighborhood, 
applied it as a generic appellation to all the regions beyond it : 4 or the 
extension of the kingdom of Lydia from the banks of the Cayster to the 
Halys as its eastern boundary, diffused the name of Asia as far as that 
river, and thus suggested the division of Herodotus into " Asia within 
the Halys " and " Asia beyond the Halys." 5 However this might be, the 
term retained, through the Greek and Roman periods, both a wider and a 
narrower sense ; of which senses we are concerned only with the latter. 
The Asia .of the New Testament is not the continent which stretches into 
the remote East from the Black Sea and the Red Sea, but simply the 
western portion of that peninsula which, in modern times, has received 
the name of " Asia Minor." 6 What extent of country, and what political 

1 See beginning of Bede's History. Minor) have come into use in the same 

2 Virgil adopts the phrase from Homer. It war. 

does not appear that the Roman prose writers 5 "We may compare the case of " Pales- 

ever used the word in its primitive and nar- tine," which at first meant only the country 

rowest sense. of the Philistines, and then was used by the 

3 As in ^schylus. Greeks and Eomans to designate the whole of 

4 Having the same general meaning as our the land of Canaan. 

phrase " The East." The, words " Levant " 6 The peninsula which we call Asia Minor 

and "Anadoli" (the modern name of Asia was never treated by the ancients as a geo- 



206 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.vm. 

significance, we are to assign to the term, will be shown by a statement of 
a few historical changes. 

The fall of Croesus reduced the Lydian kingdom to a Persian satrapy. 
With the rest of the Persian empire, this region west of the Halys fell 
before the armies of Alexander. In the confusion which followed the 
conqueror's death, an independent dynasty established itself at Pergamus, 
not far from the site of ancient Troy. At first their territory wasmar- 
row, and Attalus I. had to struggle with the Gauls who had invaded the 
peninsula, and with the neighboring chieftains of Bithynia, who had 
invited them. 1 Antagonists still more formidable were the Greek kings 
of Syria, who claimed to be " Kings of Asia," and aimed at the possession 
of the whole peninsula. 2 But the Romans appeared in the East, and 
ordered Antiochus to retire beyond the Taurus, and then conferred 
substantial rewards on their faithful allies. Rhodes became the mistress 
of Caria and Lycia, on the opposite coast ; and Eumenes, the son of Attalus, 
received, in the West and North-west, Lydia and Mysia, and a good 
portion of that vague region in the interior which was usually denominat- 
ed " Phrygia," 3 — stretching in one direction over the district of 
Lycaonia. 4 Then it was that, as 150 years since the Margraves of Bran- 
denburg became Kings of Prussia, so the Princes of Pergamus became 
" Kings of Asia." For a time thev reigned over a highlv-civilized 
territory, which extended from sea to sea. The library of Pergamus was 
the rival of that of Alexandria : and Attaleia, from whence we have 
lately seen the Apostle sailing to Syria 5 (Acts xiv. 25, 26) and Troas, 
from whence we shall presently see him sailing to Europe (Acts xvi. 11), 
were the southern and northern (or rather the eastern and western) 
harbors of King Attalus II. At length the debt of gratitude to the 
Romans was paid by King Attalus III., who died in the year 133 B. c, 
and left by testament the whole of his dominions to the benefactors of 

graphical whole. The common divisions were, driven beyond the Taurus by the Romans, we 
" Asia within the Halys " and " Asia be- see it retained by them, as the title of " King 
yond the Halys " (as above) ; or, " Asia with- of France " was retained by our own mon- 
in the Taurus " and " Asia beyond the Tau- archs until a very recent period. See 1 Mace 
rus." It is very important to bear this in xi. 13, xii. 39, xiii. 32 ; 2 Mace. iii. 3. 
mind : for some interpreters of the New Tes- 3 The case of Mysia, in consequence of 
tament imagine that the Asia there spoken of the difficulties of Acts xvi. 7, 8, will be ex- 
is the peninsula of Lesser Asia. The term amined particularly, when we come to this 
" Asia Minor " is first found in Orosius, a writer part of St. Paul's journey, 
of the fourth century, though " Asia Major " 4 Thus Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe were 
is used by Justin to denote the remote and probably once in " Asia." See below, under 
eastern parts of the continent. Galatia. 

1 See below, p. 207. 8 Pp. 177, 178. Another Scripture city, 

2 In the first book of Maccabees (viii. 6) the Philadelphia of Rev. i. 11, iii. 7, was also 
we find Antiochus the Great called by this built by Attalus II. (Philadelphus). 

title. And even after his successors were 



chap. vm. 



BITHYNIA. 207 



his house. And now the " Province of Asia " appears for the first time 
as a new and significant term in the history of the world. The newly- 
acquired possession was placed under a praetor, and ultimately a pro- 
consul. 1 The letters and speeches of Cicero make us familiar with the 
names of more than one who enjoyed this distinction. One was the 
orator's brother, Quintus ; another was Flaccus, whose conduct as 
governor he defended before the Senate. Some slight changes in the 
extent of the province may be traced. Pamphylia was withdrawn from 
this jurisdiction. Rhodes lost her continental possessions, and Caria was 
added to Asia, while Lycia was declared independent. The boundary 
on the side of Phrygia is not easily determined, and was probably 
variable. 2 But enough has been said to give a general idea of what is 
meant in the New Testament by that "Asia" which St. Paul attempted 
to enter (Acts xvi. 6), after passing through Phrygia and Galatia ; which 
St. Peter addressed in his First Epistle (1 Pet. i. 1), along with Pontus, 
Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia ; and which embraced the " seven 
churches " (Rev. i. 11) whose angels are mentioned in the Revelation of 
S.* John. 

II. Bithynia. — Next to Asia, both in proximity of situation and in the 
order of its establishment, was the province of Bithynia. Nor were the 
circumstances very different under which these two provinces passed 
under the Roman sceptre. As a new dynasty established itself after the 
death of Alexander on the north-eastern shores of the JEgean, so an older 
dynasty secured its independence at the western edge of the Black Sea. 
Nicomedes I. was the king who invited the Gauls with whom Attalus I. 
had to contend : and as Attalus III., the last of the House of Pergamus, 
paid his debt to the Romans by making them his heirs, so the last of the 
Bithynian House, Nicomedes III., left his kingdom as a legacy to the 
same power in the year 75. It received some accessions on the east 
after the defeat of Mithridates ; and in this condition we find it in the list 
given by Dio of the provinces of Augustus ; the debatable land between it 
and Asia being the district of Mysia, through which it is neither easy nor 
necessary to draw the exact frontier-line. 3 Stretching inland from the 

1 We learn from Acts xix. 38 — " there are 2 Hence we find both the sacred and heathen 

proconsuls (deputies)" — that it was a pro- writers of the period sometimes including 

consular or senatorial province. The irapor- Phrygia in Asia and sometimes excluding it. 

tant distinction between the emperor's and the In 1 Pet. i. 1 it seems to be included ; in Acts 

senate's provinces has been carefully stated in ii. 9, 10, xvi. 6, it is expressly excluded. 
Ch. V. pp. 129-31. The incidental proof in 8 See below, on Acts xvi. 7, 8. 

the Acts is confirmed by Strabo and Dio, who 
tell us that Augustus made Asia a proconsular 
province. 



208 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vhi. 

shores of the Propontis and Bosphorus, beyond the lakes near the cities of 
Nicsea and Nicomedia, to the upper ravines of the Sangarius, and the 
snowy range of Mount Olympus, it was a province rich in all the changes 
of beauty and grandeur. Its history is as varied as its scenery, if we trace 
it from the time when Hannibal was an exile at the court of Prusias, 1 to 
the establishment of Othman's Mohammedan capital in the city which 
still bears that monarch's name. It was Hadrian's favorite province, and 
many monuments remain of that emperor's partiality. 2 But we cannot 
say more of it without leaving our proper subject. We have no reason to 
believe that St. Paul ever entered it, though once he made the attempt. 3 
Except the passing mention of Bithynia in this and one other place, 4 it 
has no connection with the apostolic writings. The first great passage of 
its ecclesiastical history is found in the correspondence of Trajan with its 
governor Pliny, concerning the persecution of the Christians. The second 
is the meeting of the first general council, when the Nicene Creed was 
drawn up on the banks of the Lake Ascanius. 

III. Pamphylia. — This province has been already mentioned (Chap. 
VI.) as one of the regions traversed by St. Paul in his first missionary 
journey. But though its physical features have been described, its 
political limits have not been determined. The true Pamphylia of the 
earliest writers is simply the plain which borders the Bay of Attaleia, and 
which, as we have said (p. 142), retreats itself like a bay into the moun- 
tains. How small and insignificant this territory was, may be seen from 
the records of the Persian war, to which Herodotus says that it sent only 
thirty ships ; while Lycia, on one side, contributed fifty, and Cilicia, on 
the other, a hundred. Nor do we find the name invested with any wider 
significance, till we approach the frontier of the Roman period. A 
singular dispute between Antiochus and the king of Pergamus, as to 
whether Pamphylia was really within or beyond Mount Taurus, was de- 
cided by the Romans in favor of their ally. 5 This could only be effected 
by a generous inclusion of a good portion of the mountainous country 
within the range of this geographical term. Henceforward, if not before, 
Pamphylia comprehended some considerable part of what was anciently 
called Pisidia. We have seen that the Romans united it to the kingdom 



1 The town of Broussa reminds us of this feeling. Hadrian took it from tfte senate, 
another illustrious African exile, Abd-el-Kader, and placed it under his own jurisdiction. But 
who since the earthquake (after visiting Paris) when St. Paul passed this way, it was under 
has been permitted to withdraw to Damascus the senate, as may be proved by coins both of 
(1855). the reign of Claudius and subsequent dates. 

2 It was the birthplace of his favorite An- 3 Acts xvi. 7. 

tinous; and coins are extant which illustrate * 1 Pet. i. 1. 6 See p. 206. 



chap. vm. PAMPHYLIA. — GALATIA. 209 

of Asia. It was, therefore, part of the province of Asia at the death of 
Attalus. It is difficult to trace the steps by which it was detached from 
that province. We find it (along with certain districts of Asia) included 
in the military jurisdiction of Cicero, when he was governor of Cilicia. 1 
It is spoken of as a separate province in the reign of Augustus. 2 Its 
boundary on the Pisidian side, or in the direction of Phrygia, 3 must be 
left indeterminate. Pisidia was included in this province : but, again, 
Pisidia is itself indeterminate : and we have good reasons for believing 
that Antioch in Pisidia was really under the governor of Galatia. Cilicia 
was contiguous to Pamphylia on the east. Lycia was a separate region 
on the west, first as an appendage to Rhodes 4 in the time of the republic, 
and then as a free state under the earliest emperors ; but about the very 
time when Paul was travelling in these countries, Claudius brought it 
within the provincial system, and united it to Pamphylia : 5 and inscrip- 
tions make us acquainted with a public officer who bore the title of 
" Proconsul of Lycia and Pamphylia." 

IY. Galatia. — We now come to a political division of Asia Minor, 
which demands a more careful attention. Its sacred interest is greater 
than that of all the others, and its history is more peculiar. The Chris- 
tians of Galatia were they who received the Apostle " as if he had been 
an angel," — who, " if it had been possible, would have plucked out their 
eyes and given them to him," — and then were " so soon removed " by 
new teachers " from him that called them, to another Gospel," — who 
began to " run well," and then were hindered, — who were " bewitched " 
by that zeal which compassed sea and land to make one proselyte, — and 
who were as ready, in the fervor of their party spirit, to " bite and de- 
vour one another," as they were willing to change their teachers and 
their gospels. 7 It is no mere fancy which discovers, in these expressions 
of St. Paul's Epistle, indications of the character of that remarkable 
race of mankind, which all writers, from Ca3sar to Thierry, have de- 
scribed as susceptible of quick impressions and sudden changes, with a 
fickleness equal to their courage and enthusiasm, and a constant liability 

1 Ep. ad Att. v. 21. 5 This we have on the authority of D:o 

2 Dio Cassius tells us that the Pamphylian Cassius and Suetonius. The latter writer says, 
districts bestowed on Amyntas were restored that about the same time Claudius made over 
by Augustus to their own province. The to the senate the provinces of Macedonia and 
same author is referred to below (n. 5) for a Achaia. Hence we fine a proconsul at Corinth, 
change in the reign of Claudius. Acts xviii. 12. 

8 Pisidia was often reckoned as a part of 6 At a later period Lycia was a distinct 

Phrygia, under, the name of "Pisidian Phry- province, with Myra as its capital. See Ch, 

gia." XXIII. 

4 See above, p. 206. i Gal. iv. 15, i. 6, v. 7, iii. 1, i. 7, v. 15. 

14 



210 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vxii. 

to that disunion which is the fruit of excessive vanity, — that race, which 
has not only produced one of the greatest nations of modern times, 1 but 
which, long before the Christian era, wandering forth from their early 
European seats, burnt Rome and pillaged Delphi, founded an empire in 
Northern Italy more than co-extensive with Austrian Lombardy,' 2 and 
another in Asia Minor, equal in importance to one of the largest 
pachalics. 

For the " Galatia" of the New Testament was really the " Gaul" of 
the East. The " Epistle to the Galatians " would more literally and more 
correctly be called the " Epistle to the Gauls." When Livy, in his 
account of the Roman campaigns in Galatia, speaks of its inhabitants, he 
always calls them " Gauls." 3 When the Greek historians speak of the 
inhabitants of ancient France, the word they use is " Galatians." 4 The 
two terms are merely the Greek and Latin forms of the same " bar- 
barian " appellation. 5 * 

That emigration of the Gauls, which ended in the settlement in Asia 
Minor, is less famous than those which led to the disasters in Italy and 
Greece : but it is, in fact, identical with the latter of these two emigra- 
tions, and its results were more permanent. The warriors who roamed 
over the Cevennes, or by the banks of the Garonne, re-appear on the 
Halys and at the base of Mount Dindymus. They exchange the super- 
stitions of Druidism for the ceremonies of the worship of Cybele. The 
YQry name of the chief Galatian tribe is one with which we are familiar in 
i the earliest history of France ; and Jerome says that, in his own day, the 
language spoken at Ancyra was almost identical with that of Treves. 6 
' The Galatians were a stream from that torrent of barbarians which poured 
; into Greece in the third century before our era, and which recoiled in 
confusion from the cliffs of Delphi. Some tribes had previously separated 
from the main army, and penetrated into Thrace. There they were 
joined by certain of the fugitives, and together they appeared on the 
coasts, which are separated by a narrow arm of the sea from the rich 
plains and valleys of Bithynia. The wars with which that kingdom was 

1 The French travellers (as Tournefort and "Kelt£e"are the same word. See Arnold's 
Tcxier) seem to write with patriotic enthusi- Rome, i. 522. 

-asm when they touch Galatia ; and we have 6 It is very likely that there was some Teu- 

I found -our best materials in Thierry's history. tonic element in these emigrating tribes, but it 

2 This was written before 1859. is hardly possible now to distinguish it from 
8 The country of the Galatians was some- the Keltic. The converging lines of distinct 

times called Gallogrsecia. nationalities become more faint as we ascend 

4 Some have even thought that the word towards the point where they meet. Thierry 

'translated " Galatia " in 2 Tim. iv. 10, means considers the Tolistoboii, whose leader was 

the country commonly called Gaul Lutarius (Luther or Clothair?), to have been 

6 And we may add that "Galatse" and a Teutonic tribe. 



chap. vin. GALATIA. 211 

harassed, made their presence acceptable. Nicomedes was the Vortigern 
of Asia Minor : . and the two Gaulish chieftains, Leonor and Lutar, may- 
be fitly compared to the two legendary heroes of the Anglo-Saxon in- 
vasion. Some difficulties occurred in the passage of the Bosphorus, 
which curiously contrast with the easy voyages of our piratic ancestors. 
But once established in Asia Minor, the Gauls lost no time in spreading 
over the whole peninsula with their arms and devastation. In their first 
crossing over we have compared them to the Saxons. In their first occu- 
pation they may be more fitly compared to the Danes. For they were a 
movable army rather than a nation, — encamping, marching, and plun- 
dering at will. They stationed themselves on the site of ancient Troy, 
and drove their chariots in the plain of the Cayster. They divided nearly 
the whole peninsula among their three tribes. They levied tribute on 
cities, and even on kings. The wars of the East found them various 
occupation. They hired themselves out as mercenary soldiers. They 
were the royal guards of the kings of Syria, and the mamelukes of the 
Ptolemies in Egypt. 1 

The surrounding monarchs gradually curtailed their power, and re- 
pressed them within narrower limits. First Antiochus Soter drove the 
Tectosages, 2 and then Eumenes drove the Trocmi and Tolistobii, into the 
central district which afterwards became Galatia. Their territory was 
definitely marked out and surrounded by the other states of Asia Minor, 
and they retained a geographical position similar to that of Hungary in 
the midst of its German and Sclavonic neighbors. By degrees they 
coalesced into a number of small confederate states, and ultimately into 
one united kingdom. 3 Successive circumstances brought them into con- 
tact with the Romans in various ways : first, by a religious embassy sent 
from Rome to obtain peaceful possession of the sacred image of Cybele ; 
secondly, by the campaign of Manlius, who reduced their power and left 
them a nominal independence ; and then through the period of hazardous 
alliance with the rival combatants in the Civil Wars. The first Deiotarus 
was made king by Pompey, fled before Cassar at the battle of Pharsalia, 
and was defended before the conqueror by Cicero, in a speech which still 
remains to us. The second Deiotarus, like his father, was Cicero's friend, 
and took charge of his son and nephew during the Cilician campaign. 



1 Even in the time of Julius Caesar, we 8 This does not seem to have been effectu- 
find four hundred Gauls (Galatians), who had ally the case till after the campaign of Manlius. 
previously been part of Cleopatra's body- The nation was for some time divided into 
guard, given for the same purpose to Herod. four tetrarchics. Deiotarus was the first sole 
Joseph. War, xx. 3. ruler ; first as tetrarch, then as king. 

2 His appellation of Soter or " the Sa- 
viour " was derived from this victory. 



212 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.vra. 

Amyntas, who succeeded him, owed his power to Antony, 1 but prudently 
went over to Augustus in the battle of Actium. At the death of 
Amyntas, Augustus made some modifications in the extent of Galatia, 
and placed it under a governor. It was now a province, reaching from 
the borders of Asia and Bithynia to the neighborhood of Iconium, 
Lystra, and Derbe, " cities of Lycaonia." 2 

Henceforward, like the Western Gaul, this territory was a part of the 
Roman empire, though retaining the traces of its history in the character 
and language of its principal inhabitants. There was this difference, 
however, between the Eastern and the Western Gaul, that the latter was 
more rapidly and more completely assimilated to Italy. It passed from 
its barbarian to its Roman state, without being subjected to any interme- 
diate civilization. 3 The Gauls of the East, on the other hand, had long 
been familiar with the Greek language and the Greek culture. St. 
Paul's Epistle was written in Greek. The contemporary inscriptions of 
the province are usually in the same language. The Galatians them- 
selves are frequently called Gallo-Graecians ; 4 and many of the inhab- 
itants of the province must have been of pure Grecian origin. Another 
section of the population, the early Phrygians, were probably numerous, 
but in a lower and more degraded position. The presence of great num- 
bers of Jews 5 in the province, implies that it was, in some respects, fa- 
vorable for traffic ; and it is evident that the district must have been 
constantly intersected by the course of caravans from Armenia, the Hel- 
lespont, and the South. 6 The Roman itineraries inform us of the lines 
of communication between the great towns near the Halys and the other 
parts of Asia Minor. These circumstances are closely connected with the 



1 He received some parts of Lycaonia and knowledge of Greek, must of course be 
Pamphylia in addition to Galatia Proper. See excepted. 

above, Ch. I. p. 22. 4 See above, p. 210, n. 3. 

2 The Pamphylian portion was removed 5 See in Josephus \Ant. xvi. 6) the letter 
(see above), but the Lycaonian remained. Thus which Augustus wrote in favor of the Jews of 
we find Pliny reckoning the Lystreni in Gala- Ancyra, and which was inscribed on a pillar 
tia, though he seems to imply elsewhere that in the temple of Caesar. We shall have occa- 
the immediate neighborhood of Iconium was sion hereafter to mention the " Monumentum 
in Asia. It is therefore quite possible, so far Ancyranum." 

as geographical difficulties are concerned, that 6 Gordium, one of the minor towns near 

the Christian communities in the neighbor- the western frontier, was a considerable empo- 

hood of Lystra might be called " Churches of rium. So was Tavium, the capital of the 

Galatia." We think, however, as will be Eastern Galatians, the Trocmi, who dwelt 

shown in the Appendix, that other difficul- beyond the Halys. The Tolistoboii were the 

ties are decisive against the view there men- western tribe, near the Sangarius, with Pessi- 

tioned. nus as their capital. The chief town of the 

3 The immediate neighborhood of Mar- Tectosages in the centre, and the metropolis 
seilles, which was thoroughly imbued with a of the nation, was Ancyra. 



CHAP. VIII. 



PONTUS. 213 



spread of the Gospel, and we shall return to them again when we describe 
St. Paul's first reception in Galatia. 

V. Pontus. — The last independent dynasties in the north of the Pen- 
insula have hitherto appeared as friendly or subservient to the Roman 
power. Asia and Bithynia were voluntarily ceded by Attalus and Nico- 
medes ; and Galatia, on the death of Amyntas, quietly fell into the station 
of a province. But when we advance still farther to the East, we are 
reminded of a monarch who presented a formidable and protracted 
opposition to Rome. The war with Mithridates was one of the most 
serious wars in which the Republic was ever engaged ; and it was not till 
after a long struggle that Pompey brought the kingdom of Pontus under 
the Roman yoke. In placing Pontus among the provinces of Asia Minor 
at this exact point of St. Paul's life, we are (strictly speaking) guilty of 
an anachronism. For long after the western portion of the empire of 
Mithridates was united partly with Bithynia and partly with Galatia, 1 the 
region properly called Pontus 2 remained under the government of inde- 
pendent chieftains. Before the Apostle's death, however, it was really 
made a province by Nero. 3 Its last king was that Polemo II. who was 
alluded to at the beginning of this work, as the contemptible husband of 
one of Herod's grand-daughters. 4 In himself he is quite unworthy of 
such particular notice, but he demands our attention, not only because, 
as the last independent king in Asia Minor, he stands at one of the turn- 
ing-points of history, but also because, through his marriage with Bere- 
nice, he must have had some connection with the Jewish population of 
Pontus, and therefore probably with the spread of the Gospel on the 
shores of the Euxine. We cannot forget that Jews of Pontus were at 
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, 5 that the Jewish Christians of Pontus 
were addressed by S*t. Peter in his first epistle, 6 and that " a Jew born in 



1 See above, under Paraphylia, for the independent monarchs had ceased to reign. In 
addition to that province. A tract of country, the division of Constantine, Pontus formed 
near the Halys, henceforward called Pontus two provinces, one called Helenopontus in 
Galaticus, was added to the kingdom of honor of his mother, the other still retaining 
Deiotarus. the name of Pontus Polemoniacus. 

2 Originally, this district near the Euxine 4 P. 22, and p. 23, n. 3. In or about the 
was considered a part of Cappadocia, and called year 60 a. d. we find Berenice again with 
*' Ctippadocia on the sea (Pontus)." The Agrippa in Judasa, on the occasion of St. 
name Pontus gradually came into use, with Paul's defence at Caesarea. Acts xxv., xxvi. 
the rising power of the ancestors of Mithridates It is probable that she was with Polemo m 
the Great. Pontus about the year 52, when St. Paul was 

3 It is probably impossible to determine travelling in the neighborhood, 
the boundary which was ultimately arranged 6 Acts ii. 9. 

between the two contiguous provinces of Pon- 6 1 Pet. i. 1. 

tus and Cappadocia, when the last of the 



214 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vm. 

Pontus " ] became one of the best and most useful associates of the Apos- 
tle of the Gentiles. 

VI. Cappadocia. ■■ — Crossing the country southwards from the birth- 
place of Aquila towards that of St. Paul, we traverse the wide and varied 
region which formed the province of Cappadocia, intermediate between 
Pontus and Cilicia. The period of its provincial existence began in the 
reign of Tiberius. Its last king was Archelaus, 2 the contemporary of the 
Jewish tetrarch of the same name. 3 Extending from the frontier of 
Galatia to the river Euphrates, and bounded on the south by the chain 
of Taurus, it was the largest province of Asia Minor. Some of its cities 
are celebrated in ecclesiastical history. 4 But in the New Testament it is 
only twice alluded to, once in the Acts, 5 and once in the Epistles. 6 

VII. Cilicia. — A single province yet remains, in one respect the most 
interesting of all, for its chief city was the Apostle's native town. For 
this reason the reader's attention was invited long ago to its geography 
and history. 7 It is therefore unnecessary to dwell upon them further. 
We need not go back to the time when Servilius destroyed the robbers in 
the mountains, and Pompey the pirates on the coast. 8 And enough has 
been said of the conspicuous period of its provincial condition, when Cicero 
came down from Cappadocia through the great pass of Mount Taurus, 9 
and the letters of his correspondents in Rome were forwarded from Tarsus 
to his camp on the Pyramus. Nearly ail the light we possess concerning 
the fortunes of Roman Cilicia is concentrated on that particular time. We 
know the names of hardly any of its later governors. One of the few al- 
lusions to its provincial condition about the time of Claudius and Nero, 
which we can adduce from any ancient writer, is that passage in the Acts, 
where Felix is described as inquiring " of what province " St. Paul was. 
The use of the strict political term 10 informs us that it was a separate 
province ; but the term itself is not so explicit as to enable us to state 
whether the province was under the jurisdiction of the Senate or the Em- 
peror. 11 

1 Acts xviii. 2. 5 Acts ii. 9. 

2 He was made king by Antony, and fifty 6 1 Pet. i. 1. 

years afterwards was summoned to Rome by 7 Pp. 19-23. See also 45, 46. 

Tiberius, who had been offended by some 8 Pp. 19, 20. 

disrespect shown to himself in the island of 9 See below, pp. 222, 223. 

Rhodes. 10 'Eirapxia. Acts xxiii. 34, the only pas- 

8 Matt. ii. 22. sage where the word occurs in the New Testa- 

4 Especially Nyssa, Nazianzus, and Neocaes- ment. For the technical meaning of the term, 

area, the cities of the three Gregories, and see above, p. 130, n. 4. 

Csesarea, the city of Basil, — to say nothing n We should be disposed to infer from a 

of Tyana and Samosata. passage in Agrippa's speech to the Jews (Jo- 



CHAP.vm. VISITATION OF THE CHUKCHES PROPOSED. 215 

With this last division of the Heptarchy of Asia Minor we are brought 
to the starting-point of St. Paul's second missionary journey. Cilicia is 
contiguous to Syria, and indeed is more naturally connected with it than 
with the rest of Asia Minor. 1 We might illustrate this connection from 
the letters of Cicero ; but it is more to our purpose to remark that the 
Apostolic Decree, recently enacted at Jerusalem, was addressed to the 
Gentile Christians " in Antioch, and Syria 1 , and Cilicia," 2 and that Paul 
and Silas travelled " through Syria and Cilicia " 3 in the early part of their 
progress. 

This second missionary journey originated in a desire expressed by 
Paul to Barnabas, that they should revisit all the cities where they had 
preached the Gospel and founded churches. 4 He felt that he was not 
called to spend a peaceful, though laborious, life at Antioch, but that his 
true work was " far off among the Gentiles." 5 He knew that his cam- 
paigns were not ended, — that, as the soldier of Jesus Christ, he must 
not rest from his warfare, but must " endure hardness," that he might 
please Him who had called him. 6 As a careful physician, he remembered 
that they, whose recovery from sin had been begun, might be in danger 
of relapse ; or, to use another metaphor, and to adopt the poetical lan- 
guage of the Old Testament, he said, — " Come, let us get up early to 
the vineyards : let us see if the vine flourish." 7 The words actually re- 
corded as used by St. Paul on this occasion are these : — " Come, let us 
turn back and visit our brethren in every city, where we have announced 
the word of the Lord, and let us see how they fare." 8 We notice here, 
for the first time, a trace of that tender solicitude concerning his con- 
verts, that earnest longing to behold their faces, which appears in the 
letters which he wrote afterwards, as one of the most remarkable, and 
one of the most attractive, features of his character. Paul was the 
speaker, and not Barnabas. The feelings of Barnabas might not be so 
deep, nor his anxiety so urgent. 9 Paul thought doubtless of the 

seph. War, ii. 16, 4), where he says that See his excellent remarks on the whole 

Cilicia, as well as Bithynia, Pamphylia, &c, passage. 

was " kept tributary to the Romans without 8 " Let us go now at last " would be a ; 
an army," that it was one of the Senate's correct translation. The words seem to ex- 
provinces. Other evidence, however, tends press something like impatience, especially, 
the other way, especially an inscription found when we compare it with the words " after- 
at Caerleon in Monmouthshire. For fuller some days " which precede. The tender feel- 
details we must refer to the larger editions. ing implied in the phrase rendered " how they 

1 See p. 98, comparing Acts ix. 30 with do " fully justifies what we have said in the. 
Gal. i. 21. text. 

2 Acts xv. 23. 8 Acts xv. 41. 9 We might almost be inclined ti suspect 
4 Acts xv. 36. 5 Acts xxii. 21. that Paul had previously urged the same pro- 

6 2 Tim ii. 3, 4. posal on Barnabas, and that he had hesitated. 

7 Cant. vii. 12, quoted by Matthew Henry. to comply. 



216 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vhi. 

Pisidians and Lycaonians, as he thought afterwards at Athens and 
Corinth of the Thessalonians, from whom he had heen lately " taken, — 
in presence not in heart, — endeavoring to see their face with great 
desire, — night and day praying exceedingly that he might see their face, 
and might perfect that which was lacking in their faith." ' He was " not 
ignorant of Satan's devices." 2 He feared lest by any means the Tempt- 
er had tempted them, and his labor had been in vain. 3 He " stood in 
doubt of them," and desired to be " present with them " once more. 4 
His wish was to revisit every city where converts had been made. We 
are reminded here of the importance of continuing a religious work when 
once begun. We have had the institution of presbyters, 5 and of coun- 
cils, 6 brought before us in the sacred narrative ; and now we have an 
example of that system of church visitation, of the happy effects of which 
we have still some experience, when we see weak resolutions strength- 
ened, and expiring faith rekindled, in confirmations at home, or in mis- 
sionary settlements abroad. 

This plan, however, of a combined visitation of the churches was 
marred by an outbreak of human infirmity. The two apostolic friends 
were separated from each other by a quarrel, which proved that they 
were indeed, as they had lately told the Lystrians, " men of like passions " 
with others. 7 Barnabas was unwilling to undertake the journey unless 
he were accompanied by his relation Mark. Paul could not consent to 
the companionship of one who " departed from them from Pamphylia, 
and went' not with them to the work : " 8 and neither of them could 
yield his opinion to the other. This quarrel was much more closely 
connected with personal feelings than that which had recently occurred 
between St. Peter and St. Paul, 9 and it was proportionally more violent. 
There is little doubt that severe words were spoken on the occasion. It 
is unwise to be over-anxious to dilute the words of Scripture, and to 
exempt even Apostles from blame. By such criticism we lose much of 
the instruction which the honest record of their lives was intended to 
•convey. We are taught by this scene at Antioch, that a good work may 
ibe blessed by God, though its agents are encompassed with infirmity, and 
that changes, which are violent in their beginnings, may be overruled for 
the best results. Without attempting to balance too nicely the faults on 
'either side, our simplest course is to believe that, as in most quarrels, 
rthere was blame with both. Paul's natural disposition was impetuous 

1 1 Thess. ii. 17, iii. 10. 6 Acts xv. See Chap. VII. 

2 2 Cor. ii. 11. 7 Acts xiv. 15. 

8 1 Thess. iii. 5. 8 Acts xv. 38 with xiii. 13. See pp. 

* Gal. iv. 20. 144, 145. 

* Acts xiv. 23. See p. 176, and Chap. XIII. 9 Pp. 198-200. 



CHAP.vni. SEPARATION OF PAUL AND BAENABAS. 217 

and impatient, easily kindled to indignation, and (possibly) overbearing. 
Barnabas had shown his weakness when he yielded to the influence of 
Peter and the Judaizers. 1 The remembrance of the indirect censure he 
then received may have been perpetually irritated by the consciousness 
that his position was becoming daily more and more subordinate to that 
of the friend who rebuked him. Once he was spoken of as chief of those 
" prophets at Antioch," 2 among whom Saul was the last : now his name 
was scarcely heard, except when he was mentioned as the companion of 
Paul. 3 In short, this is one of those quarrels in which, by placing our- 
selves in imagination on the one side and the other, we can alternately 
justify both, and easily see that the purest Christian zeal, when combined 
with human weakness and partiality, may have led to the misunder- 
standing. How could Paul consent to take with him a companion who 
would really prove an embarrassment and a hinderance ? Such a task as 
that of spreading the Gospel of God in a hostile world needs a resolute 
will and an undaunted courage. And the work is too sacred to be put in 
jeopardy by any experiments. 4 Mark had been tried once and found 
wanting. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking 
back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 5 And Barnabas would not be 
without strong arguments to defend the justice of his claims. It was 
hard to expect him to resign his interest in one who had cost him much 
anxiety and many prayers. His dearest wish was to see his young kins- 
man approving himself as a missionary of Christ. Now, too, he had been 
won back to a willing obedience, — he had come from his home at Jeru- 
salem, — he was ready now to face all the difficulties and dangers of the 
enterprise. To repel him in the moment of his repentance was surely 
" to break a bruised reed " and to " quench the smoking flax." 6 

It is not difficult to understand the obstinacy with which each of the 
disputants, when his feelings were once excited, clung to his opinion as 
to a sacred truth. The only course which now remained was to choose 
two different paths and to labor independently ; and the Church saw 
the humiliating spectacle of the separation of its two great missionaries 
to the Heathen. We cannot, however, suppose that Paul and Barnabas 
parted, like enemies, in anger and hatred. It is very likely that they 
made a deliberate and amicable arrangement to divide the region of their 



i Gal. ii. 13. P. 199. 8 See p. 135. 

2 Acts xiii. Pp. 121, 122. Moreover, as * A timid companion in the hour of danger 

a friend suggests, St. Paul was under personal is one of the greatest evils. Matthew Henry 

obligations to Barnabas for introducing him quotes Prov. xxv. 19: "Confidence in an 

to the Apostles (Acts \x. 27), and the feelings unfaithful man, in time of trouble, is like a 

of Barnabas would be deeply hurt if he thought broken tooth and like a foot out of joint." 

bis friendship slighted. * Luke ix. 62. 6 Matt. xii. 20. 



218 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vni. 

first mission between them, Paul taking the continental, and Barnabas 
the insular, part of the proposed visitation. 1 Of this at least we are 
certain, that the quarrel was overruled by Divine Providence to a good 
result. One stream of missionary labor had been divided, and the 
regions blessed by the waters of life were proportionally multiplied. St. 
Paul speaks of Barnabas afterwards 2 as of an Apostle actively engaged 
in his Master's service. We know nothing of the details of his life 
beyond the moment of his sailing for Cyprus ; but we may reasonably 
attribute to him not only the confirming of the first converts, 3 but the 
full establishment of the Church in his native island. At Paphos the 
impure idolatry gradually retreated before the presence of Christianity ; 
and Salamis, where the tomb of the Christian Levite 4 is shown, 5 has 
earned an eminent place in Christian history, through the writings of its 
bishop, Epiphanius. 6 Mark, too, who began his career as a " minister " 
of the Gospel in this island, 7 justified the good opinion of his kinsman. 
Yet the severity of Paul may have been of eventual service to his 
character, in leading him to feel more deeply. the serious importance of 
the work he had undertaken. And the time came when Paul himself 
acknowledged, with affectionate tenderness, not only that he had again 
become his " fellow-laborer," 8 but that he was " profitable to the minis- 
try," 9 and one of the causes of his own " comfort." 10 

It seems that Barnabas was the first to take his departure. The 
feeling of the majority of the Church was evidently with St. Paul, for 
when he had chosen Silas for his companion, and was ready to begin his 
journey, he was specially " commended by the brethren to the grace of 
God." u The visitation of Cyprus having now been undertaken by 
others, his obvious course was not to go by sea in the direction of Perga 
or Attaleia, 12 but to travel by the Eastern passes directly to the neighbor- 
hood of Iconium. It appears, moreover, that he had an important work 

1 If Barnabas visited Salamis and Paphos, relation to him as a witness in which Silas did 

and if Paul, after passing through Derbe, Lys- to Paul. 

tra, and Iconium, went as far as Antioch in 4 Acts iv. 36. 

Pisidia (see below), the whole circuit of the 5 MS. note from Capt. Graves, K.N. 

proposed visitation was actually accomplished, 6 The name of this celebrated father has 

for it does not appear that any converts had been given to one of the promontories of the 

been made at Perga and Attaleia. island, the ancient Acamas. 

' 2 1 Cor. ix. 6 : whence also it appears that 7 Acts xiii. 5. 

Barnabas, like St Paul, supported himself by 8 Philemon 24. 

the labor of his hands. 9 2 Tim. iv. 11. See p. 144, n. 11. 

3 Paul took the copy of the Apostolic 10 Col. iv. 10, 11. 

Decree into Cilicia. If the Judaizing tendency ll Acts xv. 40. 

had shown itself in Cyprus, Barnabas would 12 If no other causes had occurred to deter- 
still be able to refer to the decision of the mine the direction of his journey, there might 
council, and Mark would stand in the same be no vessel at Antioch or Seleucia bound for 



CHAf..vm. d SYRIA AND CILICIA. 219 

to accomplish in Cilicia. The early fortunes of Christianity in that 
province were closely bound up with the city of Antioch and the per- 
sonal labors of St. Paul. When he withdrew from Jerusalem, " three 
years " after his conversion, his residence for some time was in " the 
regions of Syria and Cilicia." l He was at Tarsus in the course of that 
residence, when Barnabas first brought him to Antioch. 2 The churches 
founded by the Apostle in his native province must often have been 
visited by him ; for it is far easier to travel from Antioch to Tarsus, than 
from Antioch to Jerusalem, or even from Tarsus to Iconium. Thus the 
religions movements in the Syrian metropolis penetrated into Cilicia. 
The same great " prophet " had been, given to both, and the Christians 
in both were bound together by the same feelings and the same doc- 
trines. When the Judaizing agitators came to Antioch, the result was 
anxiety and perplexity, not only in Syria, but also in Cilicia. This is 
nowhere literally stated ; but it can be legitimately inferred. We are, 
indeed, only told that certain men came down with false teaching from 
Judaea to Antioch. 3 But the Apostolic Decree is addressed to " the 
Gentiles of Cilicia " 4 as well as those of Antioch, thus implying that the 
Judaizing spirit, with its mischievous consequences, had been at work 
beyond the frontier of Syria. And, doubtless, the attacks on St. Paul's 
apostolic character had accompanied the attack on apostolic truth, 5 and a 
new fulfilment of the proverb was nearly realized, that a prophet in his 
own country is without honor. He had, therefore, no ordinary work 
to accomplish as he went " through Syria and Cilicia confirming the 
churches ; " 6 and it must have been with much comfort and joy that he 
was able to carry with him a document, emanating from the Apostles at 
Jerusalem, which justified the doctrine he had taught, and accredited 
his personal character. Nor was he alone as the bearer of this letter, 
but Silas was with him also, ready " to tell the same things by month." ; 
It is a cause for thankfulness that God put it into the heart of Silas to 
"abide still at Antioch " 8 when Judas returned to Jerusalem, and to 
accompany St. Paul 9 on his northward journey. For when the Cilician 
Christians saw their countryman arrive without his companion Barnabas, 
whose name was coupled with his own in the apostolic letter, 10 their confi- 

Pamphylia ; a circumstance not always suffi- time. Much might be accomplished during 

ciently taken into account by those who have the residence at Antioch (xv. 36), which might 

written on St. Paul's voyages. very well include journeys to Tarsus. But we 

1 Gal. i. 21 ; Acts ix. 30. See pp. 97-99. are distinctly told that the churches of Cilicia 

2 Acts xi. 25. See p. 110. were "confirmed" by St. Paul, when he was 
8 Acts xv. 1 . on his way to those of Lycaonia. 

* Acts xv. 23. 6 Pp. 185, 194. 7 Acts xv. 27. 

6 Acts xv. 41. The work of allaying the 8 Or to return thither. See p. 198, n. 2. 

Judaizing spirit in Cilicia would require some 9 Acts xv. 40. 10 Acts xv. 25. 



220 THE LIFE AXD EPISTLES OF ST.^PAUL. chap.vhi. 

dence might have been shaken, occasion might have been given to the 
enemies of the truth to slander St. Paul, had not Silas been present, as 
one of those who were authorized to testify that both Paul and Barnabas 
were " men who had hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." * 

Where " the churches " were, which he " confirmed " on his journey, 
— in what particular cities of " Syria and Cilicia," — we are not in- 
formed. After leaving Antioch by the bridge over the Orontes, 2 he 
would cross Mount Amanus by the gorge which was anciently called the 
" Syrian Gates," and is now known as the Beilan Pass. 3 Then he would 
come to Alexandria and Issus, two cities that were monuments of the 
Macedonian conqueror ; one as retaining his name, the other as the 
scene of his victory. After entering the Cilician plain, he may have 
visited Adana, iEgas, or Mopsuetia, three of the conspicuous cities on the 
old Roman roads. 4 With all these places St. Paul must have been more 
or less familiar : probably there were Christians in all of them, anxiously 
waiting for the decree, and ready to receive the consolation it was 
intended to bring. And one other city must certainly have been visited. 
If there were churches anywhere in Cilicia, there must have been one at 
Tarsus. It was the metropolis of the province ; Paul had resided there, 
perhaps for some years, since the time of his conversion ; and if he 
loved his native place well enough to speak of it with something like 
pride to the Roman officer at Jerusalem, 5 he could not be indifferent to 
its religious welfare. Among the " Gentiles of Cilicia," to whom the 
letter which he carried was addressed, the Gentiles of Tarsus had no 
mean place in his affections. -And his heart must have overflowed with 
thankfulness, if, as he passed through the streets which had been familiar 
to him since his childhood, he knew that many households were around 
him where the Gospel had come " not in word only but in power," and 
the relations between husband and wife, parent and child, master and 
slave, had been purified and sanctified by Christian love. No doubt the 

1 Acts xv. 26. 4 If the itineraries are examined and com- 

2 See the description of ancient Antioch pared together, the Roman roads will be 
above, Chap. IV. p. 113; also p. 124. observed to diffuse themselves among these 

3 The " Syrian Gates " are the entrance in- different towns in the Cilician plain, and then 
to Cilicia from Syria, as the " Cilician Gates " to come together again at the bend of the bay, 
are from Cappadocia. The latter pass, how- before they enter the Syrian Gates. Mopsue- 
ever, is by far the grander and more important tia and Adana were in the direct road from 
of the two. Intermediate between these two, Issus to Tarsus ; JEgse was on the coast-road 
in the angle where Taurus and Amanus meet, to Soli. Baia? also was an important town, 
is the pass into Syria by which Darius fled situated to the S. of Issus. 

after the battle of Issus. Both entrances from 6 Acts xxi. 39. 

Syria into Cilicia are alluded to by Cicero, as 
well as the great entrance from Cappadocia. 



chap. viH. PAUL AND SILAS IN CILIGIA. 221 

city still retained all the aspect of the cities of that day, where art and 
amusement were consecrated to a false religion. The symbols of idolatry 
remained in the public places, — statues, temples, and altars, — and 
the various " objects of devotion," which in all Greek towns, as well as 
in Athens (Acts xvii. 23), were conspicuous on every side. But the 
silent revolution was begun. Some families had already turned " from 
idols to serve the living and true God." * The " dumb idols " to which, 
as Gentiles, they had been " carried away even as they were led," 2 had 
been recognized as " nothing in the world," 3 and been " cast to the moles 
and to the bats." 4 The homes which had once been decorated with the 
emblems of a vain mythology, were now bright with the better ornaments 
of faith, hope, and love. And the Apostle of the Gentiles rejoiced in 
looking forward to the time when the grace which had been triumphant 
in the household should prevail against principalities and powers, — 
when " every knee should bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue 
confess that He is Lord, tp the glory of God the Father." 5 

But it has pleased God that we should know more of the details of 
early Christianity in the wilder and remoter regions of Asia Minor. To 
these regions the footsteps of St. Paul were turned after he had accom- 
plished the work of confirming the churches in Syria and Cilicia. The 
task now before him was the visitation of the churches he had formed in 



1 1 Thess. i. 9. symbols of general or local mythology. There 

2 1 Cor. xii. 2. are, moreover, some ears, legs, &c., which 
8 1 Cor. viii. 4. seem to have been votive offerings, and which, 
4 Isai. ii. 20. These remarks have been therefore, it would have been sacrilege to 

suggested by a recent discovery of much inter- remove ; and a great number of lamps or 

est at Tarsus. In a mound which had formerly incense-burners, with a carbonaceous stain on 

rested against a portion of the city wall, since them. 

removed, was discovered a large collection of The date when these things were thrown 

terra-cotta figures and lamps. At first these were "to the moles and bats " seems to be ascer- 

thought to be a sherd-wreck, or the refuse of tained by the dressing of the hair in one of 

some Ceramicus or pottery-work. But, on ob- the female figures, which is that of the period 

serving that the lamps had been used, and that of the early emperors, as shown in busts of 

the earthenware gods (Di fictiles) bore no trace Domitia, or Julia, the wife of Titus, the same 

of having been rejected because of defective that is censured by the Eoman satirist and by 

workmanship, but, on the contrary, had evi- the Christian Apostle. Some of them are 

dently been used, it has been imagined that undoubtedly of an earlier period, 

these terra-cottas must have been thrown away, We owe the opportunity of seeing these 

as connected with idolatry, on the occasion of remains, and the foregoing criticisms on them 

some conversion to Christianity. The figures (by Mr. Abington, of Hanley, in StafFord- 

are^such as these, — a head of Pan, still show- shire), to the kindness of W. B. Barker, Esq., 

ing the mortar by which it was set up in some who was for many years a resident at Tarsus, 

garden or vineyard; the boy Mercury; Cybe- and who has recently given much information 

le, Jupiter, Ceres crowned with corn, Apollo on the history of Cilicia in his w>rk entitled 

with rays, a lion devouring a bull (precisely Lares and Penates. 

similar to that engraved, p. 28), with other 6 Phil. ii. 10, 11. 



222 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vm. 

conjunction with Barnabas. We proceed to follow him in his second 
journey across Mount Taurus. 

The vast mountain-barrier which separates the sunny plains of Cilicia 
and Pamphylia from the central table-land has frequently been men- 
tioned. 1 On the former journey 2 St. Paul travelled from the Pamphylia 
plain to Antioch in Pisidia, and thence by Iconium to Lystra and Derbe. 
His present course across the mountains was more to the eastward ; and 
the last-mentioned cities were visited first. More passes than one lead up 
into Lycaonia and Cappadocia through the chain of Taurus from Cilicia. 3 
And it has been supposed 4 that the Apostle travelled through one of the 
minor passes, which quits the lower plain at Ponipeiopolis, 5 and enters the 
upland plain of Iconium, not far from the conjectural site of Derbe. But 
there is no sufficient reason to suppose that he went by any other than 
the ordinary road. A traveller wishing to reach the Valais conveniently 
from the banks of the Lago Maggiore would rather go by the Simplon, 
than by the difficult path across the Monte Moro ; and there is one great 
pass in Asia Minor which may be called the Simplon 6 of Mount Taurus, 
described as a rent or fissure in the mountain-chain, extending from 
north to south through a distance of eighty miles, 7 and known in ancient 
days by the name of the " Cilician Gates," — which has been, in all ages, 
the easiest and most convenient entrance from the northern and central 
parts of the peninsula to the level by the seashore, where the traveller 
pauses before he enters Syria. The securing of this pass was the great- 
est cause of anxiety to Cyrus, when he marched into Babylonia to de- 
throne his brother. 8 Through this gorge Alexander descended to that 
Cilician plain, which has been finally described by a Greek historian as a 
theatre made by Nature's hand for the drama of great battles. Cicero 
followed in the steps of Alexander, as he tells his friend Atticus in a 



1 Especially pp. 19, 45, 98, 145-151, 165, 6 Mr. Ainsworth points out some interests 
175-177. ing particulars of resemblance and contrast 

2 Acts xiii. 14. between the Alps and this part of the Taurus, 

3 The principal passes are enumerated in Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, frc 
the Modern Traveller. (1842), I r. 80. 

4 Wieseler thinks that this would be the 7 Gen. Chesney in the Euphrates Expedition, 
route adopted, because it leads most directly to i. 353. 

Derbe (Divle). But, in the first place, the 8 Mannert and Forbiger both think that he 

site of this town is very doubtful ; and, sec- went by a pass more to the east ; but the ar- 

ondly, the shortest road across a mountain- guments of Mr. Ainsworth for the identity of 

chain is not necessarily the best. The road Dana with Tyana, and the coincidence of the 

by the Cilician Gates was carefully made and route of Cyrus with the " Cilician Gates," 

kept up, and enters the Lycaonian plain near appear to be conclusive. Travels in the Track, 

where Derbe must have been situated. Src, p. 40. 

6 For Pompeiopolis or Soli, see p. 20, and 
the note. 



chap.vih. THEY CEOSS THE TAURUS. 223 

letter written with characteristic vanity. And to turn to the centuries 
which have elapsed since the time of the Apostles and the first Roman 
emperors : twice, at least, this pass has been the pivot on which the 
struggle for the throne of the East seemed to turn, — once, in the war 
described by obscure historians, 1 when a pretender at Antioch made the 
Taurus his defence against the 1 Emperor of Rome ; and once in a war 
which we remember, when a pretender at Alexandria fortified it and 
advanced beyond it in his attempt to dethrone the Sultan. 2 In the wars 
between the Crescent and the Cross, which have filled up much of the 
intervening period, this defile has decided the fate of many an army. 
The Greek historians of the first Saracen invasions describe it by a word, 
unknown to classical Greek, which denotes that when this passage 
(between Cappadocia and Cilicia) was secure, the frontier was closed. 
The Crusaders, shrinking from the remembrance of its precipices and 
dangers, called it by the more awful name of the " Gates of Judas." 

Through this pass we conceive St. Paul to have travelled on his way 
from Cilicia to Lycaonia. And if we say that the journey was made in 
the spring of the year 51, we shall not deviate very far from the actual 
date. 3 By those who have never followed the Apostle's footsteps, the suc- 
cessive features of the scenery through which he passed may be compiled 
from the accounts of recent travellers, and arranged in the following 
order. 4 — After leaving Tarsus, the way ascends the valley of the Cydnus, 
which, for some distance, is nothing more than an ordinary mountain 
valley, with wooded eminences and tributary streams. Beyond the point 
where the road from Adana comes in from the right, the hills suddenly 
draw together and form a narrow pass, which lias always been guarded 
by precipitous cliffs, and is now crowned by the ruins of a medieval castle. 



1 The war between Severus and Pescennius Tarsus, in 1833, with notices of the surround 
Niger. ing country. 

2 This was emphatically the case in the 3 We have no means of exactly determin- 
first war between Mahomet Ali and the Sul- ing either the year or the season. He left 
tan, when Ibrahim Pasha crossed the Taurus Corinth in the spring (Acts xviii. 21) after 
and fought the battle of Konieh, in December, staying there a year and a half (Acts xviii. 
1832. In the second war, the decisive battle 11). He arrived, therefore, at Corinth in the 
was fought at Nizib, in June, 1839, further to autumn; and probably, as we shall see, in the 
the East : but even then, while the negotia- autumn of the year 52. Wieseler calculates that 
tions were pending, this pass was the military a year might be occupied in the whole journey 
boundary between the opposing powers. See from Antioch through Asia Minor and Macedo- 
Mr. Ainsworth's Travels and Researches, quoted nia to Corinth. Perhaps it is better to allow 
below. He was arrested in his journey by a year and a half ; and the spring is the more 
the battle of Nizib. For a slight notice of the likely season to have been chosen for the com- 
two campaigns, see Yates's Egypt, i. xv. In mencement of the journey. See p. 146. 

the second volume (ch. v.) is a curious ac- 4 Very full descriptions may be seen in 

count of an interview wfch Ibrahim Pasha at Ainsworth and Kinneir. 



224 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. vin. 



In some places the ravine contracts to a width of ten or twelve paces, 
leaving room for only one chariot to pass. It is an anxious place to any 
one in command of a military expedition. To one who is unburdened by 
such responsibility, the scene around is striking and impressive. A 
canopy of fir-trees is high overhead. Bare limestone cliffs rise above on 
either hand to an elevation of many hundred feet. The streams which 
descend towards the Cydnus are close by the wayside, and here and there 
undermine it or wash over it. When the higher and more distant of 
these streams are left behind, the road emerges upon an open and 
elevated region, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. This space of high 
land may be considered as dividing the whole mountain journey into two 
parts. For when it is passed, the streams are seen to flow in a new direc- 
tion. Not that we have attained the point where the highest land of Asia 
Minor l turns the waters north and south. The torrents which are seen 
descending to the right are merely the tributaries of the Sarus, another 
river of Cilicia. The road is conducted northwards through this new 
ravine ; and again the rocks close in upon it, with steep naked cliffs, 
among cedars and pines, forming " an intricate defile, which a handful of 
men might convert into another Thermopylae." When the highest peaks 
of Taurus are left behind, the road to Tyana is continued in the same 
northerly direction ; 2 while that to Iconium takes a turn to the left, and 
passes among wooded slopes with rocky projections, and over ground com- 
paratively level, to the great Lycaonian plain. 

The whole journey from Tarsus to Konieh is enough, in modern times, 
to occupy four laborious days ; 3 and, from the nature of the ground, the 
time required can never have been much less. The road, however, was 
doubtless more carefully maintained in the time of St. Paul than at the 
present day, when it is only needed for Tatar couriers and occasional 
traders. Antioch and Ephesus had a more systematic civilization then 
than Aleppo or Smyrna has now ; and the governors of Cilicia, Cap- 
padocia, and Galatia, were more concerned than a modern Pacha in keep- 
ing up the lines of internal communication. 4 At various parts of the 



1 This is the Anti-Taurus, which, though 
far less striking in appearance than the Tau- 
rus, is really higher, as is proved by the course 
of the Sarus and other streams. 

2 The roads towards Syria from Caesarea 
in Cappadocia, and Angora in Galatia, both 
meet at Tyana. The place is worthy of notice 
as the native city of Apollonius, the notorious 
philosopher and traveller. See the beginning 
of Chap. X. 

3 Mr. Ainsworth, in the month of Novem- 
ber, was six days in travelling from Iconium 



to Adana. Major Rennell, who enters very 
fully into all questions relating to distances 
and rates of travelling, says that more than 
forty hours are occupied in crossing the Tau- 
rus from Eregli to Adana, though the distance 
is only 78 miles ; and he adds, that fourteen 
more would be done on common ground in 
the same time. Geog. of Western Asia. 

4 Inscriptions in Asia Minor, relating to 
the repairing of roads by the governors of 
provinces and other officials, are not infre- 
quent. 



chap.viii. APPROACH TO LYSTRA. 225 

journey from Tarsus tolconium traces of the old military way are visible, 
marks of ancient chiselling, substructions, and pavement ; stones that 
have fallen over into the rugged river-bed, and sepulchres hewn out in 
the cliffs, or erected on the level ground. 1 Some such traces still follow 
the ancient line of road where it enters the plain of Lycaonia, beyond 
Cybistra, 2 near the spot where we conceive the town of Derbe to have 
been formerly situated. 3 

As St. Paul emerged from the mountain-passes, and came among the 
lower heights through which the Taurus recedes to the Lycaonian levels, 
the heart which had been full of affection and anxiety all through the 
journey would beat more quickly at the sight of the well-known objects 
before him. The thought of his disciples would come with new force 
upon his mind, with a warm thanksgiving that he was at length allowed 
to revisit them, and to " see how they fared." 4 The recollection of 
friends, from whom we have parted with emotion, is often strongly asso- 
ciated with natural scenery, especially when the scenery is remarkable. 
And here the tender-hearted Apostle was approaching the home of his 
Lycaonian converts. On his first visit, when he came as a stranger, he 
had travelled in the opposite direction : 5 but the same objects were again 
before his eyes, the same wide-spreading plain, the same black summit of 
the Kara-Dagh. In the farther reach of the plain, beyond the " Black 
Mount," was the city of Iconium ; nearer to its base was Lystra ; and 
nearer still to the traveller himself was Derbe, 6 the last point of his pre- 
vious journey. Here was his first meeting now with the disciples he 
had then been enabled to gather. The incidents of such a meeting, — the 
inquiries after Barnabas, — the welcome given to Silas, — the exhorta- 
tions, instructions, encouragements, warnings, of St. Paul, — may be left 
to the imagination of those who have pleasure in picturing to themselves 
the features of the Apostolic age, when Christianity was new. 

1 See Ainsworth and Kinneir. where he saw ruins, inscriptions, or tombs. 

2 See the map with the line of Roman He heard of Divle when he was in a yailah on 
road, p. 166. Cybistra (Eregli) was one of the mountains, but did not visit it in conse- 
Cicero's military stations. Its relation to the quence of the want of water. There was 
Taurus is very clearly pointed out in his let- none within eight hours. Compare what is 
ters. Writing from this place, he was very said of the drought of Lycaonia by Strabo, as 
near Derbe. He had come from Iconium, referred to above, p. 165. 

and afterwards went through the pass to Tar- Texier is of opinion that the true site of 

sus ; so that his route must have nearly coin- Derbe is Divle, which he describes as a vil- 

cided with that of St. Paul. The bandit- lage in a wild valley among the mountains, 

chief, Antipater of Derbe, is one of the per- with Byzantine remains. Asie Mineure, ii. 

sonages who play a considerable part in this 129, 130. 

passage of Cicero's life. 4 See above, p. 216. 

3 See above, p. 167, n. 1, and p. 175. Mr. 5 Compare Acts xiv. with 2 Tim. iii. 10, 11. 
Hamilton gives a detailed account of his 6 See the account of the topography of 
journey in this direction, and of the spots this district, Ch. VI. pp. 163, &c. 

15 



226 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.vra 

This is all we can say of Derbe, for we know no details either of the 
former or present visit to the place. But when we come to Lystra, we 
are at once in the midst of all the interest of St. Paul's public ministry 
and private relations. Here it was that Paul and Barnabas were regarded 
as Heathen divinities ; * that the Jews, who had first cried " Hosanna " 
and then crucified the Saviour, turned the barbarians from homage to 
insult ; 2 and that the little Church of Christ had been fortified by the 
assurance that the kingdom of heaven can only be entered through " much 
tribulation." 3 Here too it was that the child of Lois and Eunice, taught 
the Holy Scriptures from his earliest years, had been trained to a religious 
life, and prepared, through the Providence of God, by the sight of the 
Apostle's sufferings, to be his comfort, support, and companion. 4 

Spring and summer had passed over Lystra since the Apostles had 
preached there. God had continued to " bless " them, and given them 
" rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and 
gladness." 5 But still " the living God, who made the heavens, and the 
earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein," was recognized only 
by a few. The temple of the Lystrian Jupiter still stood before the 
gate, and the priest still offered the people sacrifices to the imaginary 
protector of the city. 6 Heathenism was invaded, but not yet destroyed. 
Some votaries had been withdrawn from that polytheistic religion, which 
wrote and sculptured in stone its dim ideas of " present deities ; " 7 crowd- 
ing its thoroughfares with statues and altars, 8 ascribing to the King of the 
gods the attributes of beneficent protection and the government of atmos- 
pheric changes, 9 and vaguely recognizing Mercury as the dispenser of 
fruitful seasons and the patron of public happiness. 10 But many years of 
difficulty and persecution were yet to elapse before Greeks and Barbarians 
fully learnt, that the God whom St. Paul preached was a Father every- 
where present to His children, and the One Author of QYerj " good and 
perfect gift." 

Lystra, however, contributed one of the principal agents in the accom- 

1 Acts xiv. 12-18, pp. 170, &c. 6 Some think that a statue, not a temple, of 

2 Acts xiv. 19, pp. 172, 173. Jupiter is meant. 

3 Acts xiv. 22, p. 176. 7 See note in the larger editions. 

4 See pp. 174, 175. 8 See the remarks on Tarsus above, p. 221, 

5 See the words used in St. Paul's address and the note. 

to the Lystrians, Acts xiv., and the remarks 9 Jupiter was often spoken of to this effect 

made, pp. 171, 172. New emphasis is given in poetry and inscriptions. Compare St. 

to the Apostle's words, if we remember what Paul's words, Acts xiv. 17. 

Strabo says of the absence of water in the 10 Such were the attributes of Mercury aa 

pastures of Lycaonia. Mr. Weston found that represented in works of art. 

water was dearer than milk at Bin-bir-Kilisseh, 

and that there was only one spring, high up 

the Kara-Dagh. 



S8r: 









rag c/o. 



if 



fig. cv 



r^ 



1 1 





: 



chap. vm. 



TIMOTHY. 227 



plishment of this result. We have seen how the seeds of Gospel truth 
were sown in the heart of Timotheus. 1 The instruction received in 
childhood, — the sight of St. Paul's sufferings, — the hearing of his 
words, — the example of the " unfeigned faith, which first dwelt in his 
grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice," 2 — and whatever other influ- 
ences the Holy Spirit had used for his soul's good, — had resulted in the 
full conviction that Jesus was the Messiah. And if we may draw an 
obvious inference from the various passages of Scripture, which describe 
the subsequent relation of Paul and Timothy, we may assert that natural 
qualities of an engaging character were combined with the Christian faith 
of this young disciple. The Apostle's heart seems to have been drawn 
towards him with peculiar tenderness. He singled him out from the 
other disciples. '" Him would Paul have to go forth with him." 3 This 
feeling is in harmony with all that we read, in the Acts and the Epistles, 
of St. Paul's affectionate and confiding disposition. He had no relative 
ties which were of service in his apostolic work ; his companions were few 
and changing ; and though Silas may well be supposed to have supplied 
the place of Barnabas, it was no weakness to yearn for the society of one 
who might become, what Mark had once appeared to be, a son in the Gos- 
pel. 4 Yet how could he consistently take an untried youth on so difficult 
an enterprise ? How could he receive Timothy into " the glorious com- 
pany of Apostles," when he had rejected Mark ? Such questions might 
be raised, if we were not distinctly told that the highest testimony was 
given to Timothy's Christian character, not only at Lystra, but at Iconium 
also. 5 We infer from this, that diligent inquiry was made concerning his 
fitness for the work to which he was willing to devote himself. To omit, 
at present, all notice of the prophetic intimations which sanctioned the ap- 
pointment of Timothy, 6 we have the best proof that he united in himself 
those outward and inward qualifications which a careful prudence would 
require. One other point must be alluded to, which was of the utmost 
moment at that particular crisis of the Church. The meeting of the 
Council at Jerusalem had lately taken place. And, though it had been 

1 Pp. 174, 175. It is well known that com- father, he has served with me in the Gospel." 
mentators are not agreed whether Lystra or Philip, ii. 22. Compare also the phrases "my 
Derbe was the birthplace of Timothy. But son," " my own son in the faith." 1 Tim. 
the former opinion is by far the more probable. i. 2, 18, and 2 Tim. ii. 1. « 

The latter rests on the view which some critics 5 Acts xvi. 2. 

take of Acts xx. 4. The whole aspect of 6 1 Tim. i. 18. See iv. 14. We ought to 

Acts xvi. 1, 2, is in favor of Lystra. add, that " the brethren" who gave testimony 

2 2 Tim. i. 5. in praise of Timothy were the very converts 

3 Acts xvi. 3. The wish was spontaneous, of St. Paul himself, and, therefore, witnesses 
not suggested by others. in whom he had good reason to place the ufc- 

4 This is literally what he afterwards said most confidence, 
of Timothy : " Ye know that, as a son with the 



228 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vm. 

decided that the Gentiles were not to be forced into Judaism on embra- 
cing Christianity, and though St. Paul carried with him 1 the decree, to be 
delivered " to all the churches," — yet still he was in a delicate and diffi- 
cult position. The Jewish Christians had naturally a great jealousy on 
the subject of their ancient divine Law ; and in dealing with the two 
parties the Apostle had need of the utmost caution and discretion. We 
see, then, that in choosing a fellow-worker for his future labors, there was 
a peculiar fitness in selecting one " whose mother was a Jewess, while 
his father was a Greek." 2 

We may be permitted here to take a short retrospect of the childhood 
and education of St. Paul's new associate. The hand of the Apostle him- 
self has drawn for us the picture of his early years. 3 That picture rep- 
resents to us a mother and a grandmother, full of tenderness and faith, 
piously instructing the young Timotheusin the ancient Scriptures, making 
his memory familiar with that " cloud of witnesses" which encompassed 
all the history of the chosen people, and training his hopes to expect the 
Messiah of Israel. 4 It is not allowed to us to trace the previous his- 
tory of these godly women of the dispersion. It is highly probable that 
they may have been connected with those Babylonian Jews whom Anti- 
ochus settled in Phrygia three centuries before : 5 or they may have been 
conducted into Lycaonia by some of those mercantile and other changes 
which affected the movements of so many families at the epoch we are 
writing of; such, for instance, as those which brought the household of 
the Corinthian Chloe into relations with Ephesus, 6 and caused the prose- 
lyte Lydia to remove from Thyatira to Philippi. 7 There is one difficulty 
which, at first sight, seems considerable ; viz. the fact that a religious 
Jewess, like Eunice, should have been married to a Greek. Such a mar- 
riage was scarcely in harmony with the stricter spirit of early Judaism, 
and in Palestine itself it could hardly have taken place. 8 But among the 
Jews of the dispersion, and especially in remote districts, where but few 
of the scattered people were established, the case was rather different. 
Mixed marriages, under such circumstances, were doubtless very frequent. 
We are at liberty to suppose that in this case the husband was a prose- 
lyte. We hear of no objections raised to the circumcision of Timothy, 
and we may reasonably conclude that the father was himself inclined to 

1 Acts xvi. 4. The authority for the statement made there is 

2 Acts xvi. 1. Joseph. Ant. xii. 3, 4. 

3 2 Tim. i. 5. iii. 15, &c. 6 1 Cor. i. 11. 7 Acts xvi. 14. 

4 If it is allowable to allude to an actual 8 Learned men (Selden and Michaelis for 
picture of a scene of this kind, we may mention instance) take different views of the lawfulness 
the drawing of " Jewish women reading the of such marriages. The cases of Esther and of 
Scriptures," in Wilkie's Oriental Sketches. various members of the Herodian family obvi- 

6 See Ch. II. p. 36, also Ch. I. pp. 15, 16. ously occur to us. 



CHAP.vm. CIRCUMCISION OF TIMOTHY. 229 

Judaism: 1 if, indeed, he were not already deceased, and Eunice a widow. 
This very circumstance, however, of his mixed origin gave to Timothy an 
intimate connection with both the Jewish and Gentile worlds. Though 
far removed from the larger colonies of Israelitish families, he was 
brought up in a thoroughly Jewish atmosphere : his heart was at Jeru- 
salem while his footsteps were in the level fields near Lystra, or on the 
volcanic crags of the Black Mount : and his mind was stored with the 
Hebrew or Greek 2 words of inspired men of old in the midst of the rude 
idolaters, whose language was " the speech of Lycaonia." And yet he 
could hardly be called a Jewish boy, for he had not been admitted within 
the pale of God's ancient covenant by the rite of circumcision. He was 
in the same position, with respect to the Jewish Church, as those, with 
respect to the Christian Church, who, in various ages, and for various 
reasons, have deferred their baptism to the period of mature life. And 
" the Jews which were in those quarters," 3 however much they may have 
respected him, yet, knowing " that his father was a Greek," and that he 
himself was uncircumcised, must have considered him all but an " alien 
from the commonwealth of Israel." 

Now, for St. Paul to travel among the Synagogues with a companion 
in this condition, — and to attempt to convince the Jews that Jesus was 
the Messiah, when his associate and assistant in the work was an uncir- 
cumcised Heathen, — would evidently have been to encumber his prog- 
ress and embarrass his work. We see in the first aspect of the case a 
complete explanation of what to many has seemed inconsistent, and what 
some have ventured to pronounce as culpable, in the conduct of St. Paul. 
" He took and circumcised Timotheus." How could he do otherwise, if 
he acted with his usual far-sighted caution and deliberation ? Had 
Timothy not been circumcised, a storm would have gathered round the 
Apostle in his further progress. The Jews, who were ever ready to per- 
secute him from city to city, would have denounced him still more 
violently in every Synagogue, when they saw in his personal preferences, 
and in the co-operation he most valued, a visible revolt against the law 
of his forefathers. To imagine that they could have overlooked the 
absence of circumcision in Timothy's case, as a matter of no essential 
importance, is to suppose they had already become enlightened Chris- 



1 The expression in the original (xvi. 3) But the Hellenistic element would be likely to 
means, " Re was a born Greek." The most predominate. In reference to this subject, Mr. 
natural inference is, that his father was living, Grinfield, in his recent work on the Septuagint, 
and most probably not a proselyte of righteous- p. 53, notices the two quotations from that 
ness, if a proselyte at all. version in St. Paul's letters to Timothy. 1 

2 We cannot tell how far this family is to be Tim. v. 18 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
reckoned Hellenistic or Aramaic ( see Ch. II.). 8 Acts xvi. 3. 



230 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. viir. 



tians. Even in the bosom of the Church we have seen 1 the difficulties 
which had recently been raised by scrupulousness and bigotry on this 
very subject. And the difficulties would have been increased tenfold in 
the untrodden field before St. Paul by proclaiming everywhere on his 
very arrival that circumcision was abolished. His fixed line of procedure 
was to act on the cities through the synagogues, and to preach the Gospel 
first to the Jew, and then to the Gentile. 2 He had no intention of 
abandoning this method, and we know that he continued it for many 
years. 3 But such a course would have been impossible had not Timothy 
been circumcised. He must necessarily have been repelled by that people 
who endeavored once (as we shall see hereafter) to murder St. Paul, 
because they imagined he had taken a Greek into the Temple. 4 The very 
intercourse of social life would have been hindered, and made almost im- 
possible, by the presence of a half-heathen companion : for, however far 
the stricter practice may have been relaxed among the Hellenizing Jews 
of the dispersion, the general principle of exclusiveness everywhere 
remained, and it was still " an abomination " for the circumcised to eat 
with the uncircumcised. 5 

It may be thought, however, that St. Paul's conduct in circumcising 
Timothy was inconsistent with the principle and practice he maintained 
at Jerusalem when he refused to circumcise Titus. 6 But the two cases 
were entirely different. Then there was an attempt to enforce circum- 
cision as necessary to salvation : now it was performed as a voluntary act, 
and simply on prudential grounds. Those who insisted on the ceremony 
in the case of Titus were Christians, who were endeavoring to burden the 
Gospel with the yoke of the Law : those for whose sakes Timothy became 
obedient to one provision of the Law were Jews, whom it was desirable 
not to provoke, that they might more easily be delivered from bondage. 
By conceding in the present case, prejudice was conciliated and the 
Gospel furthered : the results of yielding in the former case would have 
been disastrous, and perhaps ruinous, to the cause of pure Christianity. 

If it be said that even in this case there was danger lest serious results 
should follow, — that doubt might be thrown on the freedom of the 
Gospel, and that color might be given to the Judaizing propensity ; — 
it is enough to answer that indifferent actions become right or wrong 
according to our knowledge of their probable consequences, — and that 
St. Paul was a better judge of the consequences likely to follow from 
Timothy's circumcision than we can possibly be. Are we concerned 



i Ch. VII. 

2 Acts xiii. 5, 14, xiv. 1, xvii. 1, 2, 10, xviii. 
4, 19, xix. 8, 9 ; and compare Rom. i. 16, ii. 9, 10. 



3 See Acts xxviii. 



4 Acts xxi. 29 with xxii. 22. 

8 See pp. 181,182. 

6 Gal. ii. 3. See p. 194. 



CHAP.vni. PLACE OF TIMOTHY'S ORDINATIOK. 231 

about the effects likely to have been produced on the mind of Timotheus 
himself? There was no risk, at least, lest he should think that circum- 
cision was necessary to salvation, for he had been publicly recognized as 
a Christian before he was circumcised ; l and the companion, disciple, 
and minister of St. Paul was in no danger, we should suppose, of becom- 
ing a Judaizer. And as for the moral results which might be expected 
to follow in the minds of the other Lycaonian Christians, — it must be 
remembered that at this very moment St. Paul was carrying with him 
and publishing the decree which announced to all Gentiles that they were 
not to be burdened with a yoke which the Jews had never been' able to 
bear. St. Luke notices this circumstance in the very next verse after the 
mention of Timothy's circumcision, as if to call our attention to the con- 
tiguity of the two facts. 2 It would seem, indeed, that the very best 
arrangements were adopted which a divinely enlightened prudence could 
suggest. Paul carried with him the letter of the Apostles and elders, 
that no Gentile Christian might be enslaved to Judaism. He circum- 
cised his minister and companion, that no Jewish Christian might have 
his prejudices shocked. His language was that which he always used, — 
" Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing. The renova- 
tion of the heart in Christ is every thing. 3 Let every man be persuaded 
in his own mind." 4 No innocent prejudice was ever treated roughly by 
St. Paul. To the Jew he became a Jew, to the Gentile a Gentile : " he 
was all things to all men, if by any means he might save some." 5 

Iconium appears to have been the place where Timothy was circumcised. 
The opinion of the Christians at Iconium, as well as those at Lystra, had 
been obtained before the Apostle took him as his companion. These 
towns were separated only by the distance of a few miles ; 6 and constant 
communication must have been going on between the residents in the two 
places, whether Gentile, Jewish, or Christian. Iconium was by far the 
more populous and important city of the two, — and it was the point of 
intersection of all the great roads in the neighborhood. 7 For these 
reasons we conceive that St. Paul's stay in Iconium was of greater mo 



1 xvi. 1-3. # for 5§ hours, when we reached a small Turco- 

2 See vv. 3, 4. man village. . . . Oct 7. — At 11.30 we ap- 

3 Gal. v. 6, vi. 15. St. Paul's own conduct proached the Kara-Dagh, and in about an hour 
on the confines of Galatia is a commentary on began to ascend its slopes. We were thus 
the words he uses to the Galatians. about 11 hours crossing the plain from Konieh. 

4 Kom. xiv. 5. This, with 2 on the other side, made in all 13 

5 1 Cor. ix. 20-22. hours. We were heartily tired of the plain." 

6 To what has been said before (pp. 163, 7 Roads from Iconium to Tarsus in Cilicia, 
165, &c), add the following note from a MS. Side in Paraphylia, Ephesus in Asia, Angora 
Journal already quoted. " Oct. 6. — Left in Galatia, Caesarea in Cappadocia, &c , are all 
Konieh at 12. Traversed the enormous plains mentioned in the ancient authorities. 



232 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. mi. 

ment than his visits to the smaller towns, such as Lystra. Whether the 
ordination of Timothy, as well as his circumcision, took place at this par- 
ticular place and time, is a point not easy to determine. But this view 
is at least as probable as any other that can be suggested : and it gives a 
new and solemn emphasis to this occasion, if we consider it as that to 
which reference is made in the tender allusions of the pastoral letters, — 
where St. Paul reminds Timothy of his good confession before " many 
witnesses," ! of the " prophecies " which sanctioned his dedication to God's 
service, 2 and of the " gifts" received by the laying-on of " the hands of the 
presbyters" 3 and the Apostle's " own hands." 4 Such references to the 
day of ordination, with all its well-remembered details, not only were full 
of serious admonition to Timothy, but possess the deepest interest for us. 5 
And this interest becomes still greater if we bear in mind that the " wit- 
nesses" who stood by were St. Paul's own converts, and the very " brethren " 
who gave testimony to Timothy's high character at Lystra and Iconium ; 6 
— that the " prophecy" which designated him to his office was the same 
spiritual gift which had attested the commission of Barnabas and Saul at 
Antioch, 7 — and that the College of Presbyters, 8 who, in conjunction with 
the Apostle, ordained the new minister of the Gospel, consisted of those 
who had been " ordained in every Church " 9 at the close of that first 
journey. 

On quitting Iconium St. Paul left the route of his previous expedition ; 
unless indeed he went in the first place to Antioch in Pisidia, — a journey 
to which city was necessary in order to complete a full visitation of the 
churches founded on the continent in conjunction with Barnabas. It is 
certainly most in harmony with our first impressions, to believe that this 
city was not unvisited. No mention, however, is made of the place, and 
it is enough to remark that a residence of a few weeks at Iconium as his 
headquarters would enable the Apostle to see more than once all the 
Christians at Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe. 10 It is highly probable that he 
did so : for the whole aspect of the departure from Iconium, as it is related 



1 1 Tim. vi. 12. pointed out the offices to which individuals were 

2 1 Tim. i. 18. specially called. Compare together the three 
8 1 Tim. iv. 14. * 2 Tim. i. 6. important passages : Rom. xii. 6-8 ; 1 Cor. xii. 
5 This is equally true, if the ordination is to 28-30 ; Eph. iv. 11, 12 ; also 1 Pet. iv. 10, 11. 

be considered coincident with the " laying-on 6 Compare Acts xvi. 2 with Acts xiii. 51- 

of hands," by which the miraculous gifts of the xiv. 21. 

Holy Ghost were first communicated, as in the 7 Compare 1 Tim. i. 1 8 with Acts xiii. 1-3. 

case of Cornelius (Acts x. 44), the Samaritans 8 1 Tim. iv. 14. See 2 Tim. i. 6. 

(viii. 17), the disciples at Ephesus (xix. 6), and 9 Acts xiv. 23. 

St. Paul himself (ix. 17). See the Essay on 10 It would also be very easy for St. Paul to 

the Apostolical Office in Stanley's Sermons and visit Antioch on his route from Iconium through 

Essays, especially p. 71. Theseus doubtless Phrygia and Galatia. See below, p. 234. 



chap. viii. DEPARTTTKE FROM ICONIUM. 233 

to us in the Bible, is that of a new missionary enterprise, undertaken after 
the work of visitation was concluded. St. Paul leaves Iconium, as for- 
merly he left the Syrian Antioch, to evangelize the Heathen in new 
countries. Silas is his companion in place of Barnabas, and Timothy is 
with him " for his minister," as Mark was with him then. Many roads 
were before him. By travelling westwards he would soon cross the fron- 
tier of the province of Asia, 1 and he might descend by the valley of the 
Maeander to Ephesus, its metropolis : 2 or the roads to the south 3 might 
have conducted him to Perga and Attaleia, and the other cities on the 
coast of Pamphylia. But neither of these routes was chosen. Guided 
by the ordinary indications of Providence, or consciously taught by the 
Sp ; rit of God, he advanced in a northerly direction, through what is called, 
in the general language of Scripture, " Phrygia and the region of Galatia." 
We have seen 4 that the term "Phrygia" had no political significance 
in the time of St. Paul. It was merely a geographical expression, denot- 
ing a debatable country of doubtful extent, diffused over the frontiers of 
the provinces of Asia and Galatia, but mainly belonging to the former. 
We believe that this part of the Apostle's journey might be described 
under various forms of expression, according as the narrator might speak 
politically or popularly. A traveller proceeding from Cologne to Hano- 
ver might be described as going through Westphalia or through Prussia. 
The course of the railroad would be the best indication of his real path. 
So we imagine that our best guide in conjecturing St. Paul's path through 
this part of Asia Minor is obtained by examining the direction of the 
ancient and modern roads. We have marked his route in our map along 
the general course of the Roman military way, and the track of Turkish 
caravans, which leads by Laodicea, Philomelium, and Synnada, — or, to 
use the existing terms, by Ladik, Ak-Sher, and Eski-Karahissar. This 
road follows the northern side of that ridge which Strabo describes as sepa- 
rating Philomelium and Antioch in Pisidia, and which, as we have seen, 5 
materially assisted Mr. Arundell in discovering the latter city. If St. 
Paul revisited Antioch on his way, 6 — and we cannot be sure that he did 
not, — he would follow the course of his former journey, 7 and then regain 

1 It is impossible, as we have seen (p. 207), to Perga, and goes thence across Western 
to determine the exact frontier. Pisidia to the valley of the Masander. None of 

2 The great road from Ephesus to the Eu- the Itineraries mention any direct road from 
phrates ascended the valley of the Mceander to Antioch in Pisidia to Perga and Attaleia, 
the neighborhood of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and corresponding to the journeys of Paul and 
Colossae (Col. iv. 13-16), and thence passed by Barnabas. Side was a harbor of considerable 
Apamea to Iconium. This was Cicero's route, importance. 

when he travelled from Ephesus to Cilicia. * Pp. 204, 206, 207, 209, &c, and the notes. 

3 The Peutinger Table has a direct road 5 See pp. 150, 151. 

from Iconium to Side, on the coast of Pam- 6 See above, p. 232, n. 10. 

phylia. Thence another road follows the coast 7 Acts xiv. 



234 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. vm. 

tho road to Synnada by crossing the ridge to Philomelium. "We must 
again repeat that the path marked down here is conjectural. "We have 
nothing either in St. Luke's narrative or in St. Paul's own letters to lead 
us to any place in Phrygia, as certainly visited by him on this occasion, 
and as the home of the converts he then made. One city indeed, which 
is commonly reckoned among the Phrygian cities, has a great place in 
St. Paul's biography, and it lay on the line of an important Roman road. 1 
But it was situated far within the province of Asia, and for several reasons 
we think it highly improbable that he visited Colossae on this journey, if 
indeed he ever visited it at all. The most probable route is that which 
lies more to the northwards in the direction of the true Galatia. 

The remarks which have been made on Phrygia, must be repeated, 
with some modification, concerning Galatia. It is true that Galatia was 
a province : but we can plainly see that the term is used here in its 
popular sense, — not as denoting the whole territory which was governed 
by the Galatian propraetor, but rather the primitive region of the te- 
trarchs and kings, without including those districts of Phrygia or Lycao- 
nia which were now politically united with it. 2 There is absolutely no 
city in true Galatia which is mentioned by the Sacred Writers in connec- 
tion with the first spread of Christianity. From the peculiar form of 
expression 3 with which the Christians of this part of Asia Minor are 
addressed by St. Paul in the Epistle which he wrote to them, 4 and 
alluded to in another of his Epistles, 5 — we infer that " the churches of 
Galatia" were not confined to any one city, but distributed through 
various parts of the country. If we were to mention two cities, which, 
both from their intrinsic importance, and from their connection with the 
leading roads, 6 are likely to have been visited and revisited by the 
Apostle, we should be inclined to select Pessinus and Ancyra. The first 
of these cities retained some importance as the former capital of one of 
the Galatian tribes, 7 and its trade was considerable under the early Emper- 



1 Xenophon reckons Colossse in Phrygia. 4 Gal. i. 2. 

So Strabo. It was on the great road mentioned 5 1 Cor. xvi. 1. 

above, from Iconium to Ephesus. We come 6 The route is conjecturally laid down in 

here upon a question which we need not antici- the map from Synnada to Pessinus and Ancyra. 

pate ; viz. whether St. Paul was ever at Colossaj. Mr. Hamilton travelled exactly along this line, 

2 See p. 211, and the notes. and describes the bare and dreary country at 

3 " The churches of Galatia," in the plural. length. Near Pessinus he found an inscrtption 
The occurrence of this term in the salutation relating to the repairing of the Koman road, 
gives the Epistle to the Galatians the form of a on a column which had probably been a mile- 
circular letter. The same phrase, in the Sec- stone. Both the Antonine and Jerusalem 
ond Epistle to the Corinthians, conveys the Itineraries give the road between Pessinus and 
impression that there was no great central Ancyra, with the intermediate stages, 
church in Galatia, like that of Corinth in 7 The Tolistoboii, or Western Galatians. 
Achaia, or that of Ephesus in Asia. 



chap, m SICKNESS OF ST. PAUL. 235 

ors. Moreover, it had an ancient and wide-spread renown, as the seat 
of the primitive worship of Cybele, the Great Mother. 1 Though her 
oldest and most sacred image (which, like that of Diana at Ephesus, 2 
had " fallen down from heaven") had been removed to Rome, — her 
worship continued to thrive in Galatia, under the superintendence of her 
effeminate and fanatical priests or Galli, 3 and Pessinus was the object of 
one of Julian's pilgrimages, when Heathenism was on the decline. 4 
Ancyra was a place of still greater moment : for it was the capital of the 
province. 5 The time of its highest eminence was not under the Gaulish 
but the Roman government. Augustus built there a magnificent temple 
of marble, 6 and inscribed there a history of his deeds, almost in the style 
of an Asiatic sovereign. 7 This city was the meeting-place of all the 
great roads in the north of the peninsula. 8 And, when we add that Jews 
had been established there from the time of Augustus, 9 and probably 
earlier, we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the Temple and Inscrip- 
tion at Angora, which successive travellers have described and copied 
during the last three hundred years, were once seen by the Apostle of 
the Gentiles. 

However this may have been, we have some information from his own 
pen, concerning his first journey through " the region of Galatia." We 
know that he was delayed there by sickness, and we know in what spirit 
the Galatians received him. 

St. Paul affectionately reminds the Galatians 10 that it was " bodily sick- 
ness which caused him to preach the Glad Tidings to them at the first." 
The allusion is to his first visit : and the obvious inference is, that he was 
passing through Galatia to some other district (possibly Pontus, 11 where 
we know that many Jews were established), when the state of his bodily 
health arrested his progress. 12 Thus he became, as it were, the Evangelist 
of Galatia against his will. But his zeal to discharge the duty that was 

1 See above, p. 210. the recently deciphered record of the victories 

2 Herodian's expression concerning this of Darius Hystaspes on the rock at Behistoun. 
image is identical with that in Acts xix. 35. See Vaux's Nineveh and Persepolis. 

3 Jerome connects this term with the name 8 Colonel Leake's map shows at one glance 
of the Galatians. See, however, Smith's Die- what we learn from the Itineraries. We see 
tionary of Antiquities, under the word. See there the roads radiating from it in every 
also under " Megalesia." direction. 

4 Ammian. Marc. xxii. 9. 9 See the reference to Josephus, p. 212, n. 5. 

5 This appears from its coins at this period. 10 Gal. iv. 13. 

It was also called " Sebaste," from the favor n See above, p. 213. 

of Augustus. 12 There can be no doubt that the literal 

6 This temple has been described by a long translation is, "on account of bodily weakness." 
series of travellers, from Lucas and Tournefort And there seems no good reason why we 
to Hamilton and Texier. should translate it differently, though most 

7 Full comments on this inscription will be of the English commentators take a different 
found in Hamilton. We may compare it with view. Bottger, in harmony with his hypothesis 



236 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. cuajp. vm. 

laid on him did not allow him to be silent. He was instant " in season 
and out of season." " Woe " was on him if he did not preach the Gospel. 
The same Providence detained him among the Gauls, which would not 
allow him to enter Asia or Bithynia : l and in the midst of his weakness 
he made the Glad Tidings known to all who would listen to him. We 
cannot say what this sickness was, or with absolute certainty identify it 
with that " thorn in the flesh " 2 to which he feelingly alludes in his 
Epistles, as a discipline which God had laid on him. But the remembrance 
of what he suffered in Galatia seems so much to color all the phrases in 
this part of the Epistle, that a deep personal interest is connected with 
the circumstance. Sickness in a foreign country has a peculiarly depress- 
ing effect on a sensitive mind. And though doubtless Timotheus watched 
over the Apple's weakness with the most affectionate solicitude, — yet 
those who have experienced what fever is in a land of strangers will know 
how to sympathize, even with St. Paul, in this human trial. The climate 
and the prevailing maladies of Asia Minor may have been modified with 
the lapse of centuries : and we are without the guidance of St. Luke's 
medical language, 3 which sometimes throws a light on diseases alluded to 
in Scripture: but two Christian sufferers, in widely different ages of the 
Church, occur to the memory as we look on the map of Galatia. We 
could hardly mention any two men more thoroughly imbued with the 
spirit of St. Paul than John Chrysostom and Henry Marty n. 4 And when 
we read how these two saints suffered in their last hours from fatigue, pain, 
rudeness, and cruelty, among the mountains of Asia Minor which sur- 
round the place 5 where they rest, — we can well enter into the meaning 
of St. Paul's expressions of gratitude to those who received him kindly 
in the hour of his weakness. 

The Apostle's reception among the frank and warm-hearted Gauls was 
peculiarly kind and disinterested. No Church is reminded by the Apostle 
so tenderly of the time of their first meeting. 6 The recollection is used 
by him to strengthen his reproaches of their mutability, and to enforce 
the pleading with which he urges them to return to the true Gospel. 

that St. Luke's Galatia means the neighbor- ent weather, and the same cruelty on the part 

hood of Lystra and Derbe, thinks that the of those who urged on the journey. In the 

bodily weakness here alluded to was the result larger editions, the details of Martyn's last 

of the stoning at Lystra. Acts xiv. journal are compared with similar passages in 

1 Acts xvi. 6, 7. the Benedictine life of Chrysostom. 

2 2 Cor. xii. 7-10. Paley (on Gal. iv. 5 It is remarkable that Chrysostom and 
11-16) assumes the identity, and he is probably Marty n are buried in the same place. They 
right. both died on a journey, at Tocat or Comana 

3 See the paper alluded to, p. 88, n. 5. in Pontus. 

4 There was a great similarity in the last 6 The references have been given above in 
Bufferings of these apostolic men ; — the same the account of Galatia, p. 209. 

intolerable pain in the head, the same inclem- 



chap. vin. JOURNEY TO THE AEGEAN. 237 

That Gospel had been received in the first place with the same affection 
which they extended to the Apostle himself. And the subject, the manner, 
and the results of his preaching are not obscurely indicated in the Epistle 
itself. The great topic there, as at Corinth and everywhere, was " the 
cross of Christ " — " Christ crucified" set fortli among them. 1 The Divine 
evidence of the Spirit followed the word, spoken by the mouth of the 
Apostle, and received by " the hearing of the ear." 2 Many were con- 
verted, both Greeks and Jews, men and women, free men and slaves. 3 
The worship of false divinities, whether connected with the old supersti- 
tion at Pessinus, or the Roman idolatry at Ancyra, was forsaken for that 
of the true and living God. 4 And before St. Paul left the " region of 
Galatia " on his onward progress, various Christian communities 5 were 
added to those of Cilicia, Lycaonia, and Phrygia. 

In following St. Paul on his departure from Galatia, we come to a pas- 
sage of acknowledged difficulty in the Acts of the Apostles. 6 Not that the 
words themselves are obscure. The difficulty relates, not to grammatical 
construction, but to geographical details. The statement contained in 
St. Luke's words is as follows : — After preaching the Gospel in Phrygia 
and Galatia they were hindered from preaching it in Asia ; accordingly, 
when in Mysia or its neighborhood, they attempted to penetrate into 
Bithynia; and this also being forbidden by the Divine Spirit, they passed 
by Mysia, and came down to Troas. Now every thing depends here on the 
sense we assign to the geographical terms. What is meant by the words 
" Mysia," " Asia," and " Bithynia " ? It will be remembered that all 
these words had a wider and a more restricted sense. 7 They might be 
used popularly and vaguely ; or they might be taken in their exacter 
political meaning. It seems to us that the whole difficulty disappears by 
understanding them in the former sense, and by believing (what is much 
the more probable, a priori} that St. Luke wrote in the usual popular 
language, without any precise reference to the provincial boundaries. We 
need hardly mention Bithynia ; for, whether we speak of it traditionally or 
politically, it was exclusive both of Asia and Mysia. 8 In this place it is 



1 Compare Gal. iii. 1 with 1 Cor. i. 13, 17, 7 See above, p. 204. 

ii. 2, &c. 8 Mysia was at one time an apple of discord 

2 Gal. iii. 2. So at Thessalonica. 1 between the kings of Pergamus and Bithynia ; 
Thess. ii. 13. and the latter were for a certain period masters 

8 Gal. iii. 27, 28. of a considerable tract on the shore of the 

4 See the remarks above (p. 221), in refer- Propontis. But this was at an end when the 
ence to Tarsus. Romans began to interfere in the affairs of 

5 The plural (Gal. i. 2 and 1 Cor. xvi. 1) the East. 

implies this. See p. 234. It may be well to add a few words on thehis- 

6 Acts xvi. 6, 7. For a similar accumula- tory of Mysia, which was purposely deferred to 
tion of participles, see Acts xxv. 6-8. this place. See p. 206, n. 3. Under the Persians 



238 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. vm. 

evident that Mysia is excluded also from Asia, just as Phrygia is above ; * 
not because these two districts were not parts of it in its political character 
of a province, but because they had a history and a traditional character 
of their own sufficiently independent to give them a name in popular 
usage. As regards Asia, it is simply viewed as the western portion of Asia 
Minor. Its relation to the peninsula has been very well described by say- 
ing that it occupied the same relative position which Portugal occupies 
with regard to Spain. 2 The comparison would be peculiarly just in the 
passage before us. For the Mysia of St. Luke is to Asia what Gallicia is 
to Portugal ; and the journey from Galatia and Phrygia to the city of 
Troas has its European parallel in a journey from Castile to Yigo. 

We are evidently destitute of materials for laying down the route of 
St. Paul and his companions. All that relates to Phrygia and Galatia 
must be left vague and blank, like an unexplored country in a map (as 
in fact this region itself is in the maps of Asia Minor), 3 where we are at 
liberty to imagine mountains and plains, rivers and cities, but are unable 
to furnish any proofs. As the path of the Apostle, however, approaches 
the jEgean, it comes out into comparative light : the names of places are 
again mentioned, and the country and the coast have been explored and 
described. The early part of the route then must be left indistinct. 
Thus much, however, we may venture to say, — that since the Apostle 
usually turned his steps towards the large towns, where many Jews were 
established, it is most likely that Ephesus, Smyrna, or Pergamus was the 
point at which he aimed, when he sought " to preach the Word in Asia." 
There is nothing else to guide our conjectures, except the boundaries of 
the provinces and the lines of the principal roads. If he moved from 
Angora 4 in the general direction above pointed out, he would cross the 
river Sangarius near Kiutaya, 5 which is a great modern thoroughfare, and 
has been mentioned before (Ch. VI. p. 150) in connection with the 
route from Adalia to Constantinople ; and a little farther to the west, 
near Aizani, he would be about the place where the boundaries of Asia, 



this comer of Asia Minor formed the satrapy 2 Paley's LTorce Paulinas. (1 Cor. ~Ko. 2.) 

of Little Phrygia : under the Christian Emper- 3 Kiepert's map, which is the best, shows 

ors it was the province of The Hellespont. In this. Hardly any region in the peninsula has 

the intermediate period we find it called " Mys- been less explored than Galatia and Northern 

ia," and often divided into two parts : viz. Phrygia. 

Little Mysia on the north, called also Mysia on 4 Mr. Ainsworth mentions a hill near 

the Hellespont, or Mysia Olympene, because it Angora in this direction, the Baulos-Dagh, 

lay to the north of Mount Olympus ; and which is named after the Apostle. 
Great Mysia, or Mysia Pergamene, to the 6 Kiutaya (the ancient Cotyseum) is now 

south and east, containing the three districts one of the most important towns in the penin- 

of Troas, iEolis, and Teuthrania. sula. It lies too on the ordinary road between 

1 Acts xvi. 6. Broussa and Konieh. 



CHAp.vm. JOURNEY TO THE J2GEAN. 289 

Bithynia, and Mysia meet together, and on the water-shed which separates 
the waters flowing northwards to the Propontis, and those which feed the 
rivers of the ^Egean. 

Here then we may imagine the Apostle and his three companions to 
pause, — uncertain of their future progress, — on the chalk downs which 
lie between the fountains of the Rhyndacus and those of the Hermus, — 
in the midst of scenery not very unlike what is familiar to us in Eng- 
land. 1 The long range of the Mysian Olympus to the north is the 
boundary of Bithynia. The summits of the Phrygian Dindymus on the 
south are on the frontier of Galatia and Asia. The Hermus flows 
through the province of Asia to the islands of the iEgean. The Rhyn- 
dacus flows to the Propontis, and separates Mysia from Bithynia. By 
following the road near the former river they would easily arrive at 
Smyrna or Pergamus. By descending the valley of the latter and then 
crossing Olympus, 2 they would be in the richest and most prosperous 
part of Bithynia. In which direction shall their footsteps be turned ? 
Some Divine intimation, into the nature of which we do not presume to 
inquire, told the Apostle that the Gospel was not yet to be preached in 
the populous cities of Asia. 3 The time was not yet come for Christ to be 
made known to the Greeks and Jews of Ephesus, — and for the churches 
of Sardis, Pergamus, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Thyatira, and Laodicea, to 
be admitted to their period of privilege and trial, for the warning of 
future generations. Shall they turn, then, in the direction of Bithynia ? 4 
This also is forbidden. St. Paul (so far as we know) never crossed the 

1 See Mr. Hamilton's account of the course Galatia till their arrival at Troas. On the 
of the Rhyndacus, his comparison of the dis- other hand, they were not allowed to enter 
trict of Azanitis to the chalk scenery of Eng- Bithynia at all. Meyer's view of the word 
land, and his notice of Dindymus, which seems " Asia " in this passage is surprising. He 
to be part of the water-shed that crosses the holds it to mean the eastern continent as 
country from the Taurus towards Ida, and opposed to " Europe." (See p. 205, &c.) He 
separates the waters of the Mediterranean and says that the travellers, being uncertain 
JEgean from those of the Euxine and Propon- whether Asia in the more limited sense were 
tis. In the course of his progress up the not intended, made a vain attempt to enter 
Rhyndacus he frequently mentions the aspect Bithynia, and finally learned at Troas that 
of Olympus, the summit of which could not Europe was their destination. 

be reached at the end of March in consequence 4 The route is drawn in the map past 

of the snow. Aizani into the valley of the Hermus, and 

2 The ordinary road from Broussa to then northwards towards Hadriani on the 
Kiutayah crosses a part of the range of Rhyndacus. This is merely an imaginary 
Olympus. The Peut. Table has a road join- line, to express to the eye the changes of 
ing Broussa with Pergamus. plan which occurred successively to St. Paul. 

3 It will be observed that they were merely The scenery of the Rhyndacus, which is 
forbidden to preach the Gospel in Asia. We interesting as the frontier river, has been fully 
are not told that they did not enter Asia. explored and described by Mr. Hamilton, who 
Their road lay entirely through Asia (politi- ascended the river to its source, and then 
cally speaking) from the moment of leaving crossed over to the fountains of the Hermus 



240 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap, vnu 



Mysian Olympus, or entered the cities of Nicaea and Chalcedon, illus- 
trious places in the Christian history of a later age. By revelations, 
which were anticipative of the fuller and clearer communication at 
Troas, the destined path of the Apostolic Company was pointed out, 
through the intermediate country, directly to the West. Leaving the 
greater part of what was popularly called Mysia to the right, 1 they came 
to the shores of the ^Egean, about the place where the deep gulf of 
Adramyttium, over against the island of Lesbos, washes the very base of 
Mount Ida. 2 

At Adramyttium, if not before, St. Paul is on the line of a great 
Roman road. 3 We recognize the place as one which is mentioned again 
in the description of the voyage to Rome. (Acts xxvii. 2.) It was a 
mercantile town, with important relations both with foreign harbors, and 
the cities of the interior of Asia Minor. 4 From this point the road 
follows the northern shore of the gulf, — crossing a succession of the 
streams which flow from Ida, 5 — and alternately descending to the pebbly 
beach and rising among the rocks and evergreen brushwood, — while 
Lesbos appears and re-appears through the branches of the rich forest- 
trees, 6 — till the sea is left behind at the city of Assos. This also is a 
city of St. Paul. The nineteen miles of road 7 which lie between it and 
Troas is the distance which he travelled by land before he rejoined the 
ship which had brought him from Philippi (Acts xx. 13) : and the town 
across the strait, on the shore of Lesbos, is Mytilene, 8 whither the vessel 
proceeded when the Apostle and his companions met on board. 



and Masander, near which he saw an ancient 
road, probably connecting Smyrna and Phila- 
delphia with Angora. 

1 The phrase in Acts xvi. 8 need not be 
pressed too closely. They passed along the 
frontier of Mysia, as it was popularly under- 
stood, and they passed 6y the whole district, 
without staying to evangelize it. Or, as a 
German writer puts it, they hurried through 
Mysia, because they knew that they were not 
to preach the Gospel in Asia. 

2 Hence it was sometimes called the Gulf 
of Ida. 

3 The characteristics of this bay, as seen 
from the water, will be mentioned hereafter 
.when we come to the voyage from Assos to 

Mytilene (Acts xx. 14). At present we allude 
only to the roads along the coast. Two roads 
converge at Adramyttium : one which follows 
the shore from the south, mentioned in the 
Peutingerian Table; the other from Pergamus 
and the interior, mentioned also in the Anto- 
nine Itinerary. The united route then pro- 



ceeds by Assos to Alexandria Troas, and so 
to the Hellespont. 

4 Fellows says that there are no traces of 
antiquities to be found there now, except a few 
coins. He travelled in the direction just men- 
tioned, from Pergamus by Adramyttium and 
Assos to Alexandria Troas. 

5 Poets of all ages — Homer, Ovid, Ten- 
nyson — have celebrated the streams which 
flow from the " many-fountained " cliffs of 
Ida. 

6 See the description in lellows. He was 
two days in travelling from Adramit to Assos. 
He says that the hills are clothed with ever- 
greens to the top, and therefore vary little with 
the season ; and he particularly mentions the 
flat stones of the shingle, and the woods of 
large trees, especially planes. 

7 This is the distance given in the Antoniae 
Itinerary. 

8 The strait between Assos and Methymna 
is narrow. Strabo calls it 60 stadia ; Pliny 7 
miles. Mytilene is farther to the south. 



CHAP.vm. ALEXANDRIA TROAS. 241 

But to return to the present journey. Troas is the name either of a 
district or a town. As a district it had a history of its own. Though 
geographically a part of Mysia, and politically a part of the province of 
Asia, it was yet usually spoken of as distinguished from both. This 
small region, 1 extending from Mount Ida to the plain watered by the 
SijLnois and Scamander, was the scene of the Trojan war ; and it was due 
to the poetry of Homer that the ancient name of Priam's kingdom 
should be retained. This shore has been visited on many memorable oc- 
casions by the great men of this world. Xerxes passed this way when 
he undertook to conquer Greece. Julius Caesar was here after the battle 
of Pharsalia. But, above all, we associate the spot with a European con- 
queror of Asia, and an Asiatic conqueror of Europe ; with Alexander of 
Macedon and Paul of Tarsus. For here it was that the enthusiasm of 
Alexander was kindled at the tomb of Achilles, by the memory of his 
heroic ancestors ; here he girded on their armor ; and from this goal he 
started to overthrow the august dynasties of the East. And now the 
great Apostle rests in his triumphal progress upon the same poetic shore : 
here he is armed by heavenly visitants with the weapons of a warfare 
that is not carnal ; and hence he is sent forth to subdue all the powers of 
the West, and bring the civilization of the world into captivity to the 
obedience of Christ. 

Turning now from the district to the city of Troas, we must remember 
that its full and correct name was Alexandria Troas. Sometimes, as in 
the New Testament, it is simply called Troas ; 2 sometimes, as by Pliny 
and Strabo, simply Alexandria. It was not, however, one of those cities 
(amounting in number to nearly twenty) which were built and named by 
the conqueror of Darius. This Alexandria received its population and 
its name under the successors of Alexander. It was an instance of that 
centralization of small scattered towns into one great mercantile city, 
which was characteristic of the period. Its history was as follows : — 
Antigonus, who wished to leave a monument of his name on this classical 
ground, brought together the inhabitants of the neighboring towns to one 
point on the coast, where he erected a city, and called it Antigonia Troas. 
Lysimachus, who succeeded to his power on the Dardanelles, increased 
and adorned the city, but altered its name, calling it, in honor of " the 
man of Macedonia " 3 (if we may make this application of a phrase which 



1 If we are not needlessly multiplying ing, a district which has retained a distinctive 

topographical illustrations, we may compare name, and has found its own historian, 
the three principal districts of the province of 2 Acts xvi. 8, 11, xx. 5; 2 Cor. ii. 12; 

Asia, viz. Phrygia, Lydia, and Mysia, to the 2 Tim. iv. 13. 

three Ridings of Yorkshire. Troas will then 8 Not the Vir Macedo of Horace (Od. in. 

be in Mysia what Craven is in the West Rid- 
16 



242 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.vjii. 

Holy Writ 1 has associated with the place), Alexandria Troas. This 
name was retained ever afterwards. When the Romans began their 
eastern wars, the Greeks of Troas espoused their cause, and were thence- 
forward regarded with favor at Rome. But this willingness to recom- 
pense useful service was combined with other feelings, half poetical, 
half political, which about this time took possession of the mind of the 
Romans. They fancied they saw a primeval Rome on the Asiatic shore. 
The story of iEneas in Yirgil, who relates in twelve books how the glory 
of Troy was transferred to Italy, 2 — the warning of Horace, who ad- 
monishes his fellow-citizens that their greatness was gone if they rebuilt 
the ancient walls, 3 — reveal to us the fancies of the past and the future, 
which were popular at Rome. Alexandria Troas was a recollection of 
the city of Priam, and a prophecy of the city of Constantine. The Ro- 
mans regarded it in its best days as a " New Troy : " 4 and the Turks even 
now call its ruins " Old Constantinople." 5 It is said that Julius Caesar, 
in his dreams of a monarchy which should embrace the East and the 
West, turned his eyes to this city as his intended capital : and there is no 
doubt that Constantine, "before he gave a just preference to the situation 
of Byzantium, had conceived the design of erecting the seat of empire 
on this celebrated spot, from whence the Romans derived their fabulous 
origin." 6 Augustus brought the town into close and honorable connec- 
tion with Rome by making it a colonia? and assimilated its land to that 
of Italy by giving it the jus Italicum? When St. Paul was there, it had 

xvi. 14), the Macedonian Man of Demosthenes attracted the notice of all who sailed through 

{Phil, i.), hut his more eminent son. the Hellespont." 

1 See Acts xvi. 9. 7 Its full name on coins of the Antonines 

2 See especially Book vi. is, " Col. Alexandria Augusta Troas." 

3 " Ne nimium pii 8 Deferring the consideration of colonial 
Tecta velint reparare Troja?." privileges to its proper place, in connection 

Od. in. iii. with Philippi (Acts xvi. 12), we may state 

4 This name applies more strictly to New here the general notion of the Jus Italicum. 
Ilium, which, after many vicissitudes, was It was a privilege entirely relating to the land. 
made a place of some importance by the Ho- The maxim of the Roman law was : " Ager 
mans, and exempted from all imposts. The Italicus immunis est : ager provincialis vecti- 
strong feeling of Julius Caesar for the people galis est." " Italian land is free : provincial 
of Ilium, his sympathy with Alexander, and land is taxed." The Jus Italicum raised pro- 
the influence of the tradition which traced the vincial land to the same state of immunity from 
origin of his nation, and especially his own taxation which belonged to land in Italy. But 
family, to Troy, are described by Strabo. this privilege could only be enjoyed by those 
New Ilium, however, gradually sank into in- who were citizens. Therefore it would have 
significance, and Alexandria Troas remained been an idle gift to any community not pos- 
as the representative of the Roman partiality sessing the civitas ; and we never find it given 
for the Troad. except to a colonia. Conversely, however, all 

5 Eski-Stamboul. colonies did not possess the Jus Italicum. 

6 Gibbon, ch. xvn. He adds that, " though Carthage was a colony for two centuries before 
the undertaking was soon relinquished, the it received it. 

stately remains of unfinished walls and towers 



chap, vm, 



ST. PAUL'S VISION, 243 



not attained its utmost growth as a city of the Romans. The great 
aqueduct was not yet built, by which Herodes Atticus brought water from 
the fountains of Ida, and the piers of which are still standing. 1 The 
enclosure of the walls, extending above a mile from east to west, and 
near a mile from north to south, may represent the limits of the city in 
the age of Claudius. The ancient harbor, even yet distinctly traceable, 
and not without a certain desolate beauty, when it is the foreground of a 
picture with the hills of Imbros and the higher peak of Samothrace in 
the distance, 3 is an object of greater interest than the aqueduct and the 
walls. All further allusions to the topography of the place may be de- 
ferred till we describe the Apostle's subsequent and repeated visits. 4 At 
present he is hastening towards Europe. Every thing in this part of our 
narrative turns our eyes to the West. 

When St. Paul's eyes were turned towards the West, he saw that 
remarkable view of Samothrace over Imbros, which has just been 
mentioned. And what were the thoughts in his mind when he looked 
towards Europe across the iEgean ? Though ignorant of the precise 
nature of the supernatural intimations which had guided his recent 
journey, we are led irresistibly to think that he associated his future 
work with the distant prospect of the Macedonian hills. We are re- 
minded of another journey, when the Prophetic Spirit gave him partial 
revelations on his departure from Corinth, and on his way to Jerusalem. 
" After I have been there I must also see Rome 5 — I have no more place 
in these parts 6 — I know not what shall befall me, save that the Holy 
Ghost witnesseth that bonds and afflictions abide me." 7 

Such thoughts, it may be, had been in the Apostle's mind at Troas, 
when the sun set beyond Athos and Samothrace, 8 and the shadows fell 

1 See Clarke's Travels. the Epistle to the Romans was written just 

2 See Pococke's Travels. before this departure from Corinth. 

3 The author of Eothen was much struck 7 Acts xx. 22, 23. 

by the appearance of Samothrace seen aloft 8 Athos and Samothrace are the highest 

over Imbros, when he recollected how Jupiter points in this part of the iEgean. They are 

is described in the Iliad as watching from thence the conspicuous points from the summit of Ida, 

the scene of action before Troy. "Now I along with Imbros, which is nearer. (Wal- 

knew," he says, "that Homer had passed pole's Memoirs, p. 122.) See the notes at the 

along here, — that this vision of Samothrace beginning of the next chapter. "Mount 

over-towering the nearer island was common Athos is plainly visible from the Asiatic coast 

to him and to me." — P. 64. The same train at sunset, but not at other times. Its distance 

of thought may be extended to our present hence is about 80 miles. Reflecting the red 

subject, and we may find a sacred pleasure in rays of the sun, it appears from that coast 

looking at any view which has been common like a huge mass of burnished gold. . . . Mr. 

to St. Paul and to us. Turner, being off the N. W. end of Mytilene 

4 Acts xvi., xx; 2 Cor. ii. ; 2 Tim. iv. (Lesbos) 22d June, 1814, says, 'The evening 
8 Acts xix. 21. being clear, we plainly saw the immense 
6 Rom. xv. 23. It will be remembered that Mount Athos, which appeared in the form of 



244 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, vm, 

on Ida and settled dark on Tenedos and the deep. With the view of the 
distant land of Macedonia imprinted on his memory, and the thought of 
Europe's miserable Heathenism deep in his heart, he was prepared, like 
Feter at Joppa, 1 to receive the full meaning of the voice which spoke to 
* Mm in a dream. In the visions of the night, a form appeared to come 
] and stand by him ; 2 and he recognized in the supernatural visitant " a 
.man of Macedonia," 3 who came to plead the spiritual wants of his 
country. It was the voice of the sick inquiring for a physician, — of the 
ignorant seeking for wisdom, — the voice which ever since has been call- 
ing on the Church to extend the Gospel to Heathendom, — " Come over 
and help us." 

Yirgil has described an evening * and a sunrise 5 on this coast, before 
and after an eventful night. That night was indeed eventful in which 
St. Paul received his commission to proceed to Macedonia. The com- 
mission was promptly executed. 6 The morning-star appeared over the 
cliffs of Ida. The sun rose and spread the day over the sea and the islands 
as far as Athos and Samothrace. The men of Troas awoke to their trade 
and their labor. Among those who were busy about the shipping in the 
harbor were the newly-arrived Christian travellers, seeking for a passage 
to Europe, — Paul, and Silas, and Timotheus, — and that new companion, 
. " Luke 7 the beloved Physician," who, whether by pre-arrangement, or by 
a providential meeting, or (it may be) even in consequence of the 
Apostle's delicate health, 8 now joined the mission, of which he afterwards 
wrote the history. God provided a ship for the messengers He had 
chosen : and (to use the language of a more sacred poetry than that 

an equilateral triangle.'" Sailing Director!/, on the significance of this vision are well 

p. 150. In the same page a sketch is given of worth considering. Apostelgesch., ii. p. 199. 

Mount Athos, N. by W. \ W., 45 miles. Com- (Eng. Trans, ii. 110.) 

pare Mr. Bowen's recent work, p. 26. " At 4 JEn. n. 250. 

sunset we were half way between Tenedos and 6 ^En. n. 801. 

the rugged Imbros. In the disk of the setting 6 Acts xvi. 10. 

sun I distinguished the pyramidal form of 7 We should notice here not only the 

Mount Athos." change of person from the third to the first, 

1 See the remarks on St. Peter's vision, p. but the simultaneous transition (as it has been 
87. See also p. 97, n. 2, and p. 183. well expressed) from the historical to the au- 

2 Acts xvi. 9. toptical style, as shown by the fuller enumera- 

3 St. Paul may have known, by his dress, or tion of details. We shall return to this sub- 
by his words, or by an immediate intuition, ject again, when we come to the point where 
that he was " a man of Macedonia." Grotius St. Luke parts from St. Paul at Philippi : 
suggests the notion of a representative or meantime we may remark that it is highly prob- 
guardian angel of Macedonia, as the " prince able that they had already met and labored 
of Persia," &c, in Dan. x. The words " help together at Antioch. 

us," imply that the man who appeared to St. 8 We must remember the recent sickness in 

Paul was a representative of many. This is Galatia, p. 235. See below, p. 288. 
remarked by Baumgarten, whose observations 



chap. vm. 



CROSSING OVER TO EUROPE. 



245 



which has made these coasts illustrious) * " He brought the wind out of 
His treasuries, and by His power He brought in the south wind," 2 and 
prospered the voyage of His servants. 





Coin of Tarsus.' 



1 The classical reader will remember that 
the throne of Neptune in Homer, whence he 
looks over Ida and the scene of the Trojan 
war, is on the peak of Samothrace (II. xm. 
10-14), and his cave deep under the water be- 
tween Imbros and Tenedos (II. xin. 32-35). 

1 Ps. cxxxv. 7, lxxviii. 26. For arguments 
to prove that the wind was literally a south 



wind in this case, see the beginning of the 
next chapter. 

8 From the British Museum. It may be 
observed that this coin illustrates the mode of 
strengthening sails by rope-bands, mentioned 
in Mr. Smith's important work on the Voyage 
and Shipwreck of St. Paul, 1848, p. 163. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Voyage by Samothrace to Neapolis. — Philippi. — Constitution of a Colony. — Lydia. — The 
Demoniac Slave. — Paul and Silas arrested. — The Prison and the Jailer. — The Magis- 
trates. — Departure from Philippi. — St. Luke. — Macedonia described. — Its Condition as a 
Province. — The Via Egnatia. — St. Paul's Journey through Amphipolis and Apollonia. — 
Thessalonica. — The Synagogue. — Subjects of St. Paul's Preaching. — Persecution, Tumult, 
and Flight. — The Jews at Beroea. — St. Paul again persecuted. — Proceeds to Athens. 

THE weather itself was propitious to the voyage from Asia to 
Europe. It is evident that Paul and his companions sailed from 
Troas with a fair wind. On a later occasion we are told that five days 
were spent on the passage from Philippi to Troas. 1 On the present 
occasion the same voyage, in the opposite direction, was made in two. 
If we attend to St. Luke's technical expression, 2 which- literally means 
that they " sailed before the wind," and take into account that the pas- 
sage to the west, between Tenedos and Lemnos, is attended with some 
risk, 3 we may infer that the wind blew from the southward. 4 The 
southerly winds in this part of the Archipelago do not usually last long, 
but they often blow with considerable force. Sometimes they are 
sufficiently strong to counteract the current which sets to the southward 
from the mouth of the Dardanelles. 5 However this might be on the day 

1 Compare Acts xvi. 11, 12, with xx. 6. anywhere. If you go outside of Tenedos, and 
For the expression, " sailed from Philippi " it falls calm, the current sets you towards the 
(xx. 6), and the relation of Philippi with its shoal off Lemnos." (The writer has heard 
harbor, Neapolis, see below, p. 249, n. 4. this and what follows confirmed by those who 

2 It occurs again in Acts xxi. 1, evidently have had practical experience in the merchant- 
in the same sense. service in the Levant.) 

8 " All ships should pass to the eastward 4 The same inference may be drawn from 

of Tenedos. . . . Ships that go to the west- the fact of their going to Samothrace at all. 

ward in calms may drift on the shoals of Lem- Had the wind blown from the northward or 

nos, and the S. E. end of that island being the eastward, they probably would not have 

very low is not seen above nine miles off. . . . done so. Had it blown from the westward, 

It is also to be recollected, that very dangerous they could not have made the passage in two 

shoals extend from the N. W. and W. ends of days, especially as the currents are contrary. 

Tenedos." — Purdy's Sailing Directory, pp. This consistency in minute details should be 

158,189. Captain Stewart says (p. 63) :" To carefully noticed, as tending to confirm the 

work up to the Dardanelles, I prefer going in- veracity of the narrative, 
side of Tenedos . . . you can go by your 5 " The current from the Dardanelles begins 

lf-ad, and, during light winds, you may anchor to run strongly to the southward at Tenedos. 
246 










w^ 



. 












u 

in 
Is 



=:?i-F : 

Hi 

» Sup 









« 



I I 





C SAP. IX. 



SAMOTHRACE. 



247 



when St. Paul passed over these waters, the vessel in which he sailed 
would soon cleave her way through the strait between Tenedos and the 
main, past the Dardanelles, and near the eastern shore of Imbros. On 
rounding the northern end of this island, they would open Samothrace, 
which had hitherto appeared as a higher and more distant summit over 
'he lower mountains of Imbros.' f he distance between the two islands 
is about twelve miles. 2 Leaving Imbros, and bearing now a little to the 
west, and having the wind still (as our sailors say) two or three points 
abaft the beam, the helmsman steered for Samothrace ; and, under the 
shelter of its high shore, they anchored for the night. 3 

Samothrace is the highest land in the north of the Archipelago, with 
the exception of Mount Athos. 4 These two eminences have been in all 
ages the familiar landmarks of the Greek mariners of the JEgean. 
Even from the neighborhood of Troas, Mount Athos is seen towering 
over Lemnos, like Samothrace over Imbros. 5 And what Mount Athos is, 
in another sense, to the superstitious Christian of the Levant, 6 the peak 
of Samothrace was, in the days of Heathenism, to his Greek ancestors in 
the same seas. It was the " Monte Santo," on which the Greek mariner 
looked with awe, as he gazed on it in the distant horizon, or came to 
anchor under the shelter of its coast. It was the sanctuary of an ancient 
superstition, which was widely spread over the neighboring continents, 
and the history of which was vainly investigated by Greek and Roman 
writers. If St. Paul had staid here even a few days, we might be 
justified in saying something of the " Cabiri ; " but we have no reason 
to suppose that he even landed on the island. At present it possesses 



but there is no difficulty in turning over it 
with a breeze." — Purdy, p. 159. " The cur- 
rent in the Archipelago sets almost contin- 
ually to the southward, and is increased or re- 
tarded according to the winds. In lying at 
Tenedos, near the north of the Dardanelles, I 
have observed a strong south wind entirely 
stop it ; but it came strong to the southward 
the moment the gale from that point ceased." 

— Captain Stewart, ib. p. 62. For the winds, 
see pp. 63 and 163. 

1 " The island Imbro is separated from 
Samothraki by a channel twelve miles in 
breadth. It is much longer and larger, but not 
so high, as that island." Purdy, p. 152. 

2 See the preceding note. 

3 Acts xvi. 11. 

* " Samothraki is the highest land in the 
Archipelago, except Candia and Mount Athos." 

— Purdy, p. 152. 

6 An evening view has been quoted before 



(p. 243, n. 4). The following is a morning 
view. "Nov. 26, 1828, 8, a.m. — Morning 
beautifully clear. Lemnos just opening. 
Mount Athos was at first taken for an island 
about five leagues distant, the outline and 
shades appearing so perfectly distinct, though 
nearly fifty miles off". The base of it was 
covered with haze, as was the summit soon 
afterward ; but toward sunset it became clear 
again. It is immensely high ; and, as there is 
no other mountain like it to the northward of 
Negropont, it is an excellent guide for this 
part of the coast." — Purdy, p. 150. 

6 See the account of Mount Athos (Monte 
Santo) in Curzon's Monasteries of the Levant, 
Pt. iv., and the view, p. 327. In his sail from 
the Dardanelles to the mountain, — the breeze, 
the shelter and smooth water on the shore of 
Lemnos, &c., — there are points of resem- 
blance with St. Paul's voyage. 



248 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix, 

no good harbor, though many places of safe anchorage : ! and if the wind 
was from the southward, there would be smooth water anywhere on the 
north shore. The island was, doubtless, better supplied with artificial 
advantages in an age not removed by many centuries from the flourishing 
period of that mercantile empire which the Phoenicians founded, and the 
Athenians inherited, in the iEgean Sea. The relations of Samothrace 
with the opposite coast were close and frequent, when the merchants of 
Tyre had their miners at work in Mount Pangaeus, 2 and when Athens 
diffused her citizens as colonists or exiles on all the neighboring shores. 3 
Nor can those relations have been materially altered when both the 
Phoenician and Greek settlements on the sea were absorbed in the wider 
and continental dominion of Rome. Ever since the day when Perseus 
fled to Samothrace from the Roman conqueror, 4 frequent vessels had 
been passing and repassing between the island and the coasts of Mace- 
donia and Thrace. 

The Macedonian harbor at which St. Paul landed was Neapolis. Its 
direction from Samothrace is a little to the north of west. But a 
southerly breeze would still be a fair wind, though they could not 
literally " run before it." A run of seven or eight hours, notwithstand- 
ing the easterly current, 5 would bring the vessel under the lea of the 
island of Thasos, and within a few miles of the coast of Macedonia. 
The shore of the mainland in this part is low, but mountains rise to a 
considerable height behind. 6 To the westward of the channel which 
separates it from Thasos, the coast recedes and forms a bay, within 
which, on a promontory with a port on each side, 7 the ancient Neapolis 
was situated. 

Some difference of opinion has existed concerning the true position of 
this harbor : 8 but the traces of paved military roads approaching the 
promontory we have described, in two directions corresponding with those 

1 See Purdy, p. 152. Santo (Athos), from the S. W\, strong toward 

2 Herod, vii. 112. Thasos was the head- the eastward, by Thasso." — -p. 152. 
quarters of the Phoenician mining operations 6 See Purdy, p. 152, and the accurate 
in this part of the iEgean. Herodotus visited delineation of the coast in the Admiralty 
the island, and was much struck with the traces charts. 

of their work (vi. 47). 7 Clarke's Travels, ch. xii. and xiii. An 

3 It is hardly necessary to refer to the for- important paper on Neapolis and Philippi has 
mation of the commercial empire of Athens been written (after a recent visit to these 
before the Peloponnesian war, to the mines of places) by Prof. Hackett, in the Bib. Sacra for 
Scapte Hyle, and the exile of Thucydides. October, 1860. 

See Grote's Greece, ch. xxvi., xlvii., &c. 8 Cousinery, in his Voyage dans la Mac€- 

4 Liv. xlv. 6. doine, identifies Neapolis with Eski-Cavallo, a 
6 " Inside of Thasso, and past Samothraki, harbor more to the west ; but his arguments 

the current sets to the eastward." — Purdy, p. are quite inconclusive. Colonel Leake, whose 
62. " The current at times turns by Monte opinion is of great weight, though he did noi 



chap. ix. NEAPOLIS. 249 

indicated in the ancient itineraries ; the Latin inscriptions which have 
been found on the spot; the remains of a great aqueduct on two tiers of 
Roman arches, and of cisterns like those at Baiae near the other Neapolis 
on the Campanian shore, seem to leave little doubt that the small Turkish 
village of Cavallo is the Naples of Macedonia, the " Neapolis " at which 
St. Paul landed, and the seaport of Philippi, — the " first city" 1 which 
the traveller reached on entering this " part of Macedonia," and a city of 
no little importance as a Roman military " colony." 2 

A ridge of elevated land, which connects the range of Pangeeus with the 
higher mountains in the interior of Thrace, is crossed between Neapolis 
and Philippi. The whole distance is about ten miles. 3 The ascent of the 
ridge is begun immediately from the town, through a defile formed by 
some precipices almost close upon the sea. When the higher ground is 
attained, an extensive and magnificent sea-view is opened towards the 
south. Samothrace is seen to the east ; Thasos to the south-east ; and, 
more distant and farther to the right, the towering summit of Athos. 4 
When the descent on the opposite side begins and the sea is lost to view, 
another prospect succeeds, less extensive, but not less worthy of our notice. 
We look down on a plain, which is level as an inland sea, and which, if 
the eye could range over its remoter spaces, would be seen winding far 
within its mountain-enclosure, to the west and the north. 5 Its appearance 
is either exuberantly green, — for its fertility has been always famous, — 
or cold and dreary, — for the streams which water it are often diffused 
into marshes, — according to the season when we visit this corner of Mace- 

personally visit Philippi and Neapolis, agrees enough to enjoy the fine prospect of the sea 

with Dr. Clarke. and the town of Cavallo upon a promontory. 

1 Acts xvi. 12. • At some distance lies the isle of Thasos, now 

2 For the meaning of these terms see p. called Tasso. It was indistinctly discerned 
251, &c. by us; but every other object, excepting the 

3 Hence it was unnecessary for Meyer to town, began to disappear as we descended 
deride Olshausen's remark, that Philippi was toward Cavallo." — Ch. xii. " Upon quitting 
the ''first city " in Macedonia visited by the the town, we ascended a part of Mount Pan- 
Apostle, because Neapolis was its harbor. gasus by a paved road, and had a fine view of 
Olshausen was quite right. The distance of the bay of Neapolis. The top of the hill, 
Neapolis from Philippi is only twice as great towards the left, was covered with ruined 
as that from the Piraeus to Athens, not much walls, and with the ancient aqueduct, which 
greater than that from Cenchrea to Corinth, here crosses the road. From hence we de- 
and less than that from Seleucia to Antioch, scended by a paved road as before ... the 
or from Ostia to Rome. isle of Thasos being in view towards the S. E. 

4 We may quote here two passages from Looking to the E., we saw the high top of 
Dr. Clarke, one describing this approach to Samothrace, which makes such a conspicuous 
Neapolis from the neighborhood, the other figure from the plains of Troy. To the S., 
his departure in the direction of Constantino- towering above a region of clouds, appeared 
pie. " Ascending the mountainous boundary the loftier summit of Mount Athos." — 
of the plain on its north-eastern side by a Ch. xiii. 

broad ancient paved way, we had not daylight 5 See the very full descriptions of the plain 



250 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. IX. 



donia ; whether it be when the snows are white and chill on the summits 
of the Thracian Hsemus, 1 or when the roses, of which Theophrastus and 
Pliny speak, are displaying their bloom on the warmer slopes of the 
Pangasan hills. 2 

This plain, between Hssmus and Pangseus, is the plain of Philippi, 
where the last battle was lost by the republicans of Rome. The whole 
region around is eloquent of the history of this battle. Among the moun- 
tains on the right was the difficult path by which the republican army 
penetrated into Macedonia ; on some part of the very ridge on which we 
stand were the camps of Brutus and Cassius ; 3 the stream before us is the 
river which passed in front of them ; 4 below us, " upon the left hand of 
the even field," 5 is the marsh 6 by which Antony crossed as he approached 
his antagonist ; directly opposite is the hill of Philippi, where Cassius died ; 
behind us is the narrow strait of the sea, across which Brutus sent his 
body to the island of Thasos, lest the army should be disheartened before 
the final struggle. 7 The city of Philippi was itself a monument of the 
termination of that struggle. It had been founded by the father of 
Alexander, in a place called, from its numerous streams, " The Place of 
Fountains," to commemorate the addition of a new province to his king- 
dom, and to protect the frontier against the Thracian mountaineers. For 
similar reasons the city of Philip was gifted by Augustus with the privi- 
leges of a colonia. It thus became at once a border-garrison of the prov- 
ince of Macedonia, and a perpetual memorial of his victory over Brutus. 8 
And now a Jewish Apostle came to the same place, to win a greater vic- 
tory than that of Philippi, and to found a more durable empire than that 
of Augustus. It is a fact of deep significance, that the " first city" at 
which St. Paul arrived, 9 on his entrance into Europe, should be that 



of Serres, in the various parts of its extension, 
given by Leake and Cousinery. 

1 Lucan's view is very winterly. Phars. 
i. 680. 

2 The " Rosa centifolia," which the latter 
mentions as cultivated in Campania and in 
Greece, near Philippi. 

3 The republicans were so placed as to be 
in communication with the sea. The triremes 
were at Neapolis. 

4 The Gangas or Gangites. Leake, p. 217. 

6 Julius CcEsar, act v. sc. i. The topogra- 
phy of Shakspeare is perfectly accurate. In 
this passage Octavius and Antony are looking 
at the field from the opposite side. 

6 The battle took place in autumn, when 
the plain would probably be inundated. 



7 Plutarch's Life of Brutus. 

8 The full and proper Roman name was 
Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis. See the 
coin engraved at the end of Ch. XXVI. 
Cousine'ry (ch. x.) enters fully into the pres- 
ent condition of Philippi, and gives coins and 
inscriptions. 

9 We regard the phrase in Acts xvi. 12 as 
meaning the first city in its geographical rela- 
tion to St. Paul's journey ; not the first politi- 
cally ("chief city," Auth. Vers.), either of 
Macedonia or a part of it. The chief city of 
the province was Thessalonica ; and, even if 
we suppose the subdivisions of Macedonia 
Prima, Secunda, &c., to have subsisted at this 
time, the chief city of Macedonia Prima was 
not Philippi, but Amphipolis. 



CHAP. IX. PHILIPPI. 251 

" colony," which was more fit than any other in the empire to be con- 
sidered the representative of Imperial Rome. 

The characteristic of a colonia was, that it was a miniature resemblance 
of Rome. Philippi is not the first city of this kind to which we have 
traced the foosteps of St. Paul ; Antioch in Pisidia (p. 152), and Alex- 
andria Troas (p. 242), both possessed the same character : but this is the 
first place where Scripture calls our attention to the distinction ; and the 
events which befell the Apostle at Philippi were directly connected with 
the privileges of the place as a Roman colony, and with his own privileges 
as a Roman citizen. It will be convenient to consider these two subjects 
together. A glance at some of the differences which subsisted among 
individuals and communities in the provincial system will enable us to see 
very clearly the position of the citizen and of the colony. 

We have had occasion (Ch. I. p. 21) to speak of the combination of 
actual provinces and nominally independent states through which the 
power of the Roman emperor was variously diffused ; and again (Ch. V. 
p. 129), we have described the division of the provinces by Augustus into 
those of the Senate, and those of the Emperor. Descending now to ex- 
amine the component population of any one province, and to inquire into 
the political condition of individuals and communities, we find here again 
a complicated system of rules and exceptions. As regards individuals, 
the broad distinction we must notice is that between those who were 
citizens and those who were not citizens. When the Greeks spoke of the 
inhabitants of the world, they divided them into " Greeks " and u Bar- 
barians," 1 according as the language in which poets and philosophers had 
written was native to them or foreign. Among the Romans the phrase 
was different. The classes into which they divided mankind consisted of 
those who were politically " Romans," 2 and those who had no link (except 
that of subjection) with the City of Rome. The technical words were Gives 
and Peregrini, — " citizens" and " strangers." The inhabitants of Italy 
were " citizens ; " the inhabitants of all other parts of the Empire (until 
Caracalla extended to the provinces 3 the same privileges which Julius 
Caesar had granted to the peninsula) 4 were naturally and essentially 
" strangers." Italy was the Holy Land of the kingdom of this world. 
We may carry the parallel further, in order to illustrate the difference 
which existed among the citizens themselves. Those true-born Italians, 
who were diffused in vast numbers through the provinces, might be called 

1 Thus St. Paul, in writing his Greek epis- politically in the New Testament. John xi. 
ties, uses this distinction. Rom. i. 14; Col. 48; Acts xvi., xxii., xxiii., xxviii. 

iii. 11. Hence, also, Acts xxviii. 2, 4 ; 1 Cor. 3 See Milman's Gibbon, i. p. 281 and note. 

xiv. 11. 4 By the Julia Lex de Civitate (b.c. 90), 

2 The word "Roman" is always used supplemented by other laws. 



252 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



Citizens of the Dispersion ; while those strangers who, at various times, 
and for various reasons, had received the gift of citizenship, were in the 
condition of political Proselytes. Such were Paul and Silas, 1 in their re- 
lation to the empire, among their fellow-Romans in the colony of Philippi. 
Both these classes of citizens, however, were in full possession of the same 
privileges ; the most important of which were exemption from scourging, 
and freedom from arrest, except in extreme cases ; and in all cases the 
right of appeal from the magistrate to the Emperor. 2 

The remarks which have been made concerning individuals may be 
extended, in some degree, to communities in the provinces. The City of 
Rome might be transplanted, as it were, into various parts of the empire, 
and reproduced as a colonia ; or an alien city might be adopted, under the 
title of a municipium* into a close political communion with Rome. Leav- 
ing out of view all cities of the latter kind (and indeed they were limited 
entirely to the western provinces), we will confine ourselves to what was 
called a colonia. A Roman colony was very different from any thing which 
we usually intend by the term. It was no mere mercantile factory, such 
as those which the Phoenicians established in Spain, 4 or on those very 
shores of Macedonia with which we are now engaged ; 5 or such as modern 
nations have founded in the Hudson's Ray territory or on the coast of 
India. Still less was it like those incoherent aggregates of human beings 
which we have thrown, without care or system, on distant islands and 
continents. It did not even go forth, as a young Greek republic left its 
parent state, carrying with it, indeed, the respect of a daughter for a 
mother, but entering upon a new and independent existence. The 
Roman colonies were primarily intended as military safeguards of the fron- 
tiers, and as checks upon insurgent provincials. Like the military roads, 
they were part of the great system of fortification by which the Empire 



1 We can hardly help inferring, from the 
narrative of what happened at Philippi, that 
Silas was a Roman citizen as well as St. Paul. 
As to the mode in which he obtained the citi- 
zenship, we are more ignorant than in the 
case of St. Paul himself, whose father was a 
citizen (Acts xxii. 28). All that we are able 
to say on this subject has been given before, 
pp. 42-44. 

2 Two of these privileges will come more 
particularly before us, when we reach the nar- 
rative of St. Paul's arrest at Jerusalem. It 
appears that Paul and Silas were treated with 
a cruelty which was only justifiable in the case 
of a slave, and was not usually allowed in the 
case of any freeman. It would seem, that an 



accused citizen could only be imprisoned 
before trial for a very heinous offence, or when 
evidently guilty. Bail was generally allowed, 
or retention in a magistrate's house was held 
sufficient. 

8 The privilege of a colonia was transplanted 
citizenship, that of a municipium was ingrafted 
citizenship. We have nothing to do, however, 
with municipia in the history of St. Paul. We 
are more concerned with libera civitates, and 
we shall presently come to one of them in the 
case of Thessalonica. 

4 Especially in the mountains on the coast 
between Cartagena and Almeria. 

6 See above p. 248, n. 2. 



chap. ix. CONSTITUTION OF A COLONY. 253 

was made safe. They served also as convenient possessions for rewarding 
veterans who had served in the wars, and for establishing freedmen and 
other Italians whom it was desirable to remove to a distance. The colo- 
nists Avent out with all the pride of Roman citizens, to represent and re 
produce the City in the midst of an alien population. They proceeded to 
their destination like an army with its standards ; 1 and the limits of the 
new city were marked out by the plough. Their names were still enrolled 
in one of the Roman tribes. Every traveller who passed through a colonia 
saw there the insignia of Rome. He heard the Latin language, and was 
amenable, in the strictest sense, to the Roman law. The coinage of the 
city, even if it were in a Greek province, had Latin inscriptions. 2 Cyprian 
tells us that in his own episcopal city, which once had been Rome's 
greatest enemy, the Laws of the XII Tables were inscribed on brazen 
tablets in the market-place. 3 Though the colonists, in addition to the 
poll-tax, which they paid as citizens, were compelled to pay a ground-tax 
(for the land on which their city stood was provincial land, and therefore 
tributary, unless it were assimilated to Italy by a special exemption) ; 4 
yet they were entirely free from any intrusion by the governor of the prov- 
ince. Their affairs were regulated by their own magistrates. These 
officers were named Duumviri ; and they took a pride in calling them- 
selves by the Roman title of Praetors (ozgrnqyot). 5 The primary settlers 
in the colony were, as we have seen, real Italians ; but a state of things 
seems to have taken place, in many instances, very similar to what hap- 
pened in the early history of Rome itself. A number of the native pro- 
vincials grew up in the same city with the governing body ; and thus two 
(or sometimes three) co-ordinate communities were formed, which ulti- 
mately coalesced into one, like the Patricians and Plebeians. Instances 
of this state of things might be given from Corintb and Carthage, and from 
the colonies of Spain and Gaul ; and we have no reason to suppose that 
Philippi was different from the rest. 

Whatever the relative proportion of Greeks and Romans at Philippi 
may have been, the number of Jews was small. This is sufficiently 
accounted for, when we remember that it was a military, and not a 
mercantile, city. There was no synagogue in Philippi, but only one of 
those buildings called Proseuchce, which were distinguished from the 

1 See the standards on one of the coins of a contrast with the coins of Philippi we may 
Antioch in Pisidia, p. 178. The wolf, with mention those of Thessalonica. 

Romulus and Remus, which will be observed 8 De Grat. Dei, 10. 

on the other coin, was common on colonial * Philippi had the Jus ItaUcum, like Alex- 
moneys. Philippi was in the strictest sense a andria Troas. This is explained above, p. 242. 
military colony, formed by the establishment 6 An instance of this is mentioned by Cice- 
of a cohors prcetoria emerita. ro in the case of Capua. See Hor. Sat. I 

2 This has been noticed before, p. 152. As vi. 



254 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. EC. 



regular places of Jewish worship by being of a more slight and tem- 
porary structure, and frequently open to the sky. 1 For the sake of 
greater quietness, and freedom from interruption, this place of prayer 
was " outside the gate ; " and, in consequence of the ablutions 2 which 
were connected with the worship, it was " by the river-side," on the 
bank of the Gaggitas, 3 the fountains of which gave the name to the city 
before the time of Philip of Macedon, 4 and which, in the great battle of 
the Romans, had been polluted by the footsteps and blood of the contend- 
ing armies. 

The congregation, which met here for worship on the Sabbath, con- 
sisted chiefly, if not entirely, of a few women ; 5 and these were not all 
of Jewish birth, and not all residents at Philippi. Lydia, who is men- 
tioned by name, was a proselyte ; 6 and Thyatira, her native place, was a 



1 Extracts to this effect might be quoted 
from Epiphanius. A Proseucha may be con- 
sidered as a place of prayer, as opposed to a 
Synagogue, or a house of prayer. It appears, 
however, that the words were more or less 
convertible, and some consider them nearly 
equivalent. Josephus {Life, § 54) describes a 
Proseucha as " a large building, capable of 
holding a considerable crowd : " and Philo 
mentions, under the same denomination, build- 
ings at Alexandria, which were so strong that 
it was difficult to destroy them. Probably, it 
was the usual name of the meeting-place of 
Jewish congregations in Greek cities. 

Other passages in ancient writers, which 
bear upon the subject, are alluded to in the 
following extract from Biscoe : " The seashore 
was esteemed by the Jews a place most pure, 
and therefore proper to offer up their prayers 
and thanksgiving to Almighty God. Philo 
tells us that the Jews of Alexandria, when 
Flaccus the governor of Egypt, who had been 
their great enemy, was arrested by order of 
the Emperor Caius, not being able to assemble 
at their synagogues, which had been taken 
from them, crowded out at the gates of the 
city early in the morning, went to the neigh- 
boring shores, and standing in a most pure 
place, with one accord lifted up their voices in 
praising God. Tertullian says, that the Jews 
in his time, when they kept their great fast, 
left their synagogues, and on every shore sent 
forth their prayers to heaven : and in another 
place, among the ceremonies used by the Jews, 
mentions orationes littorales, the prayers they 
made upon the shores. And long before Ter- 



tullian's time there was a decree made at Hali- 
carnassus in favor of the Jews, which, among 
other privileges, allows them to say their 
prayers near the shore, according to the custom 
of their country. (Joseph. Ant. xiv. 10, 23.) 
It is hence abundantly evident, that it was 
common with the Jews to choose the shore as 
a place highly fitting to offer up their prayers." 
P. 251. He adds that the words in Acts xvi. 
13 " may signify nothing more than that the 
Jews of Philippi were wont to go and offer up 
their prayers at a certain place by the river- 
side, as other Jews who lived near the sea 
were accustomed to do upon the seashore." 
See Acts xxi. 5. 

2 See the passage adduced by Biscoe from 
Josephus. 

8 Many eminent German commentators 
make a mistake here in saying that the river 
was the Strymon. The nearest point on the 
Strymon was many miles distant. This mis- 
take is the more marked when we find that 
" out of the gate " and not " out of the city " is 
probably the right reading. No one would 
describe the Strymon as a stream outside the 
gate of Philippi. We may add that the men- 
tion of the gate is an instance of St. Luke's 
autoptical style in this part of the narrative. 
It is possible that the Jews worshipped outside 
the gate at Philippi, because the people would 
not allow them to worship within. Compare 
what Juvenal says of the Jews by the fountain 
outside the Porta Capena at Rome {iii. 11). 

4 Crenides was the ancient name. 

6 Acts xvi. 13. 

6 Acts xvi. 14 



CHAP. IX, 



LYDIA. 255 



city of the province of Asia. 1 The business which brought her to 
Philippi was connected with the dyeing trade, which had flourished from 
a very early period, as we learn from Homer, 2 in the neighborhood of 
Thyatira, and is permanently commemorated in inscriptions which relate 
to the " guild of dyers " in that city, and incidentally give a singular 
confirmation of the veracity of St. Luke in his casual allusions. 3 

In this unpretending place, and to this congregation of pious women, 
the Gospel was first preached by an Apostle within the limits of Europe. 4 
St. Paul and his companions seem to have arrived in the early part of 
the week ; for " some days " elapsed before " the sabbath." On that day 
the strangers went and joined the little company of worshippers at their 
prayer by the river-side. Assuming at once the attitude of teachers, 
they " sat down," 5 and spoke to the women who were assembled together. 
The Lord, who had summoned His servants from Troas to preach the 
Gospel in Macedonia, 6 now vouchsafed to them the signs of His presence, 
by giving Divine energy to the words which they spoke in His name. 
Lydia " was one of the listeners," 7 and the Lord " opened her heart, that 
ehe took heed to the things that were spoken of Paul." 8 

Lydia, being convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, and having made a 
profession of her faith, was forthwith baptized. The place of her 
baptism was doubtless the stream which flowed by the proseucha. The 
waters of Europe were " sanctified to the mystical washing-away of sin." 
With the baptism of Lydia that of her " household " was associated. 
Whether we are to understand by this term her children, her slaves, or 
the work-people engaged in the manual employment connected with her 
trade, or all these collectively, cannot easily be decided. 9 But we may 

1 See Eev. i. 11. 6 Acts xvi. 10. 

2 II. iv. 141. 7 The verb is in the imperfect. Acts. xvi. 14. 

3 We may observe that the communication From the words used here we infer that Lydia 
at this period between Thyatira and Philippi was listening to conversation rather than preach- 
was very easy, either directly from the harbor ing. The whole narrative gives us the impres- 
of Pergamus, or by the road mentioned in the sion of the utmost modesty and simplicity in 
last chapter, which led through Adramyttium Lydia's character. 

to Troas. Another point should be noticed, which 

4 At least this is the first historical account exemplifies St. Luke's abnegation of self, and 
of the preaching of an apostle in Europe. harmonizes with the rest of the Acts; viz. 
The traditions concerning St. Peter rest on no that, after saying " we spake " (v. 13), he sinks 
real proof. We do not here inquire into the his own person, and says that Lydia took heed 
knowledge of Christianity which may have "to what was spoken by Paul" (v. 14). Paul 
spread, even to Rome, through those who was the chief speaker. The phrase and the 
returned from Pentecost (Acts ii.), or those inference are the same at Antioch in Pisidia 
who were dispersed in Stephen's persecution (Acts xiii. 45), when Barnabas was with St. 
(Acts viii.), or other travellers from Syria to Paul. See p. 160, n. 2. 

the West. 8 v. 14. 

5 Acts xvi. 13. Compare Acts xiii. 14, 9 Meyer thinks they were female assistants 
and Luke iv. 20. in the business connected with her trade. It 



256 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. qhap.ix. 

observe that it is the first passage in the life of St. Paul where we 
have an example of that family religion to which he often alludes in his 
Epistles. The " connections of Chloe," l the " household of Stephanas," 2 
the " Church in the house " of Aquila and Priscilla, 3 are parallel cases, 
to which we shall come in the course of the narrative. It may also be 
rightly added, that we have here the first example of that Christian 
hospitality which was so emphatically enjoined, 4 and so lovingly prac- 
tised, in the Apostolic Church. The frequent mention of the " hosts " 
who gave shelter to the Apostles, 5 reminds us that they led a life of hard- 
ship and poverty, and were the followers of Him " for whom there was 
no room in the inn" The Lord had said to His Apostles, that, when 
they entered into a city, they were to seek out " those who were worthy," 
and with them to abide. The search at Philippi was not difficult. 
Lydia voluntarily presented herself to her spiritual benefactors, and 
said to them, earnestly and humbly, 6 that, " since they had regarded her 
as a believer on the Lord," her house should be their home. She 
admitted of no refusal to her request, and " their peace was on that 
house." 7 

Thus the Gospel had obtained a home in Europe. It is true that the 
family with whom the Apostles lodged was Asiatic rather than European ; 
and the direct influence of Lydia may be supposed to have contributed 
more to the establishment of the church of Thyatira, addressed by St. 
John, 8 than to that of Philippi, which received the letter of St. Paul. 
But still the doctrine and practice of Christianity were established in 
Europe ; and nothing could be more calm and tranquil than its first 
beginnings on the shore of that continent, which it has long overspread. 
The scenes by the river-side, and in the house of Lydia, are beautiful 
prophecies of the holy influence which women, 9 elevated by Christianity 
to their true position, and enabled by Divine grace to wear " the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit," have now for centuries exerted over 
domestic happiness and the growth of piety and peace. If we wish to 
see this in a forcible light, we may contrast the picture which is drawn 

is well known that this is one of the passages 8 Rev. ii. 

often adduced in the controversy concerning 9 Observe the frequent mention of women 

infant baptism. We need not urge this view in the salutations in St. Paul's epistles, and 

of it : for the belief that infant baptism is more particularly in that to the Philippians. 

"most agreeable with the institution of Christ" Rilliet, in his Commentary, makes a just 

(Art. xxvii.) does not rest on this text. remark on the peculiar importance of female 

1 1 Cor. i. 11. agency in thx- then state of society : — " L'or- 

2 1 Cor. i. 16, xvi. 15. ganisation te la societe civile faisait des 

3 Rom. xvi. 5. Compare Philera. 2. femmes un intermediaire necessaire pour que 

4 Heb. xiii. 2. 1 Tim. v. 10, &c. la predication de 1'Evangile parvint jusqu'aux 
8 Rom. xvi. 23, &c. personnes de leur sexe." See Quarterly Re- 
G See above, p. 255, n. 7. 7 Matt. x. 13. view, for Oct. 1860 



CHAP.ia. BELIEF IN EVIL SPIEITS. 257 

for us by St. Luke — with another representation of women in the same 
neighborhood given by the Heathen poets, who tell us of the frantic 
excitement of the Edonian matrons, wandering, under the name of 
religion, with dishevelled hair and violent cries, on the banks of the 
Strymon. 1 

Thus far all was peaceful and hopeful in the work of preaching the 
Gospel to Macedonia : the congregation met in the house or by the river- 
side ; souls were converted and instructed ; and a Church, consisting 
both of men and women, 2 was gradually built up. This continued for 
" many days." It was difficult to foresee the storm which was to over- 
cast so fair a prospect. A bitter persecution, however, was unexpectedly 
provoked : and the Apostles were brought into collision with heathen 
superstition in one of its worst forms, and with the rough violence 
of the colonial authorities. As if to show that the work of Divine 
grace is advanced by difficulties and discouragements, rather than 
by ease and prosperity, the Apostles, who had been supernaturally 
summoned to a new field of labor, and who were patiently cultivating 
it with good success, were suddenly called away from it, silenced, and 
imprisoned. 

In tracing the life of St. Paul we have not as yet seen Christianity 
directly brought into conflict with Heathenism. The sorcerer who had 
obtained influence over Sergius Paulus in Cyprus was a Jew, like the 
Apostle himself. 3 The first impulse of the idolaters of Lystra was to 
worship Paul and Barnabas ; and it was only after the Jews had per- 
verted their minds, that they began to persecute them. 4 But as we 
travel farther from the East, and especially through countries where the 
Israelites were thinly scattered, we must expect to find Pagan creeds in 
immediate antagonism with the Gospel ; and not merely Pagan creeds, 
but the evil powers themselves which give Paganism its supremacy over 
the minds of men. The questions which relate to evil spirits, false 
divinities, and demoniacal possession, are far too difficult and extensive 
to be entered on here. 5 We are content to express our belief, that in 

1 Hor. Od. ii. vii. 27, &c. modation to popular belief; the other that 

2 This is almost necessarily implied in " the these unhappy sufferers were really possessed 
brethren" (v. 40) whom Paul and Silas vis- by evil spirits — may be seen in a series of 
ited and exhorted in the house of Lydia, after pamphlets (partly anonymous) published in : 
their release from prison. London in 1737 and 1738. For a candid state- 

3 Ch. V. p. 133. ment of both views, see the article on " Demo- 
* Ch. VI. pp. 170, &c. macs" in Dr. Kitto's Cyclopaedia of Biblical 
5 The arguments on the two sides of this Literature. Compare that on the word " Bes- 

question — one party contending that the essene," in Winer's Real -Worterbuch ; and, 
demoniacs of Scripture were men afflicted with above all, Dean Trench's profound remarks in 
insanity, melancholy, and epilepsy, and that his work on the Miracles, pp. 150, &c. 
the language used of them is merely an accom- 
17 



258 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. re. 

the demoniacs of the New Testament allusion is really made to personal 
spirits who exercised power for evil purposes on the human will. The 
unregenerate world is represented to us in Scripture as a realm of darkness, 
in which the invisible agents of wickedness are permitted to hold sway 
under conditions and limitations which we are not able to define. The 
degrees and modes in which their presence is made visibly apparent may 
vary widely in different countries and in different ages. 1 In the time of 
Jesus Christ and His Apostles, we are justified in saying that their 
workings in one particular mode were made peculiarly manifest. 2 As it 
was in the life of our Great Master, so it was in that of His imme- 
diate followers. The demons recognized Jesus as " the Holy One of 
God ; " and they recognized His Apostles as the " bondsmen of the Most 
High God, who preach the way of salvation." Jesus " cast out de- 
mons ; " and, by virtue of the power which He gave, the Apostles were 
able to do in His name what He did in His own. 

If in any region of Heathendom the evil spirits had pre-eminent sway, 
it was in the mythological system of Greece, which, with all its beautiful 
imagery and all its ministrations to poetry and art, left man powerless 
against his passions, and only amused him while it helped him to be 
unholy. In the lively imagination of the Greeks, the whole visible and 
invisible world was peopled with spiritual powers or demons. The same 
terms were often used on this subject by Pagans and by Christians. But 
in the language of the Pagan the demon might be either a beneficent or 
a malignant power ; in the language of the Christian it always denoted 
what was evil. 3 When the Athenians said 4 that St. Paul was introdu- 
cing " new demons " among them, they did not necessarily mean that he 
was in league with evil spirits ; but when St. Paul told the Corinthians 5 
that though " idols " in themselves were nothing, yet the sacrifices 
offered to them were, in reality, offered to " demons," he spoke of those 
false divinities which were the enemies of the True. 6 

1 For some suggestions as to the probable interlinked ; and it is nothing wonderful that 
reasons why demoniacal possession is seldom they should have abounded at that time." — 
witnessed now, see Trench, p. 162. P. 162. Neander and Trench, however, both 

2 Trench says, that " if there was any thing refer to modern missionary accounts of some- 
that marked the period of the Lord's coming thing like the same possession among heathen 
in the flesh, and that immediately succeeding, nations, and of their cessation on conversion 
it was the wreck and confusion of men's spir- to Christianity. 

itual life ... the sense of utter disharmony. 3 This is expressly stated by Origen and 

. . . The whole period was the hour and Augustine ; and we find the same view in 

power of darkness ; of a darkness which then, Josephus. 

immediately before the dawn of a new day, * Acts xvii. 18. 

was the thickest. It was exactly the crisis 5 1 Cor. x. 20. 

for such soul-maladies as these, in which the 6 It is very important to distinguish the 

spiritual and bodily should be thus strangely word Am/fotoc ("Devil"), which is only used 



chap. ix. PEETERNATTJEAL AGENCY, 259 

Again, the language concerning physical changes, especially in the 
human frame, is very similar in the sacred and profane writers. Some- 
times it contents itself with stating merely the facts and symptoms of 
disease ; sometimes it refers the facts and symptoms to invisible personal 
agency. 1 One class of phenomena, affecting the mind as well as the 
body, was more particularly referred to preternatural agency. These 
were the prophetic conditions of mind, showing themselves in stated 
oracles or in more irregular manifestations, and accompanied with con- 
vulsions and violent excitement, which are described or alluded to by 
almost all Heathen authors. Here again we are brought to a subject which 
is surrounded with difficulties. How far, in such cases, imposture was 
combined with real possession ; how we may disentangle the one from 
the other ; how far the supreme will of God made use of these prophetic 
powers and overruled them to good ends ; such questions inevitably 
suggest themselves, but we are not concerned to answer them here. It 
is enough to say that we see no reason to blame the opinion of those 
writers, who believe that a wicked spiritual agency was really exerted 
in the prophetic sanctuaries and prophetic personages of the Heathen 
world. The heathens themselves attributed these phenomena to the 
agency of Apollo, 2 the deity of Pythonic spirits ; and such phenomena 
were of very frequent occurrence, and displayed themselves under many 
varieties of place and circumstance. Sometimes those who were pos- 
sessed were of the highest condition ; sometimes they went about the 
streets like insane impostors of the lowest rank. It was usual for the 
prophetic spirit to make itself known by an internal muttering or ven- 
triloquism. 3 We read of persons in this miserable condition used by 
others for the purpose of gain. Frequently they were slaves ; and there 
were cases of joint proprietorship in these unhappy ministers of public 
superstition. 

In the case before us it was a " female slave " * who was possessed with 
" a spirit of divination : " 5 and she was the property of more than one 

in the singular, from daifiuv or datfioviov lepsy as the result of supernatural possession. 

(" demon "), which may be singular or plural. Some symptoms, he says, were popularly attrib- 

The former word is used, for instance, in Matt. uted to Apollo, some to the Mother of the 

xxv. 41 ; John viii. 44 ; Acts xiii. 10 ; 1 Pet. Gods, some to Neptune, &c. 

v. S, &c. ; the latter in John vii. 20 ; Luke x. 2 Python is the name of Apollo in his 

17; 1 Tim. iv. 1; Eev. ix. 20; also James oracular character. 

iii. 15. For further remarks on this subject, 3 Such persons spoke with the mouth 

see below on Acts xvii. 18. closed, and were called Pythons (the very 

1 This will be observed in the Gospels, if word used here by St. Luke, Acts xvi. 16,. 
\ve carefully compare the different accounts of 4 Acts xvi. 16. The word is the same in 

our Lord's miracles. Among heathen writers xii. 13. 

we may allude particularly to Hippocrates, 5 Literally " a spirit of Python " or " a 

since he wrote against those who treated epi- Pythonic spirit." 



260 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



master, who kept her for the purpose of practising on the credulity of 
the Philippians, and realized " much profit "in this way. We all know 
the kind of sacredness with which the ravings of common insanity are 
apt to be invested by the ignorant ; and we can easily understand the 
notoriety which the gestures and words of this demoniac would obtain in 
Philippi. It was far from a matter of indifference, when she met the 
members of the Christian congregation on the road to the proseucha, and 
began to follow St. Paul, and to exclaim (either because the words she 
had overheard mingled with her diseased imaginations, or because the 
evil spirit in her was compelled l to speak the truth) : " These men are 
the bondsmen of the Most High God, who are come to announce unto 
you the way of salvation." This was continued for " several days," and 
the whole city must soon have been familiar with her words. Paul was 
well aware of this ; and he could not bear the thought that the credit 
even of the Gospel should be enhanced by such unholy means. Possibly 
one reason why our Blessed Lord Himself forbade the demoniacs to make 
Him known was, that His holy cause would be polluted by resting on 
such evidence. And another of our Saviour's feelings must have found 
an imitation in St. Paul's breast, — that of deep compassion for the poor 
victim of demoniac power. At length he could bear this Satanic inter- 
ruption no longer, and, " being grieved, he commanded the evil spirit to 
come out of her." It would be profaneness to suppose that the Apostle 
spoke in mere irritation, as it would be ridiculous to imagine that Divine 
help would have been vouchsafed to gratify such a feeling. No doubt 
there was grief and indignation, but the grief and indignation of an 
Apostle may be the impulses of Divine inspiration. He spoke, not in his 
own name, but in that of Jesus Christ, and power from above attended 
his words. The prophecy and . command of Jesus concerning His 
Apostles were fulfilled : that " in His name they should cast out demons." 
It was as it had been at Jericho and by the Lake of Genesareth. The 
demoniac at Philippi was restored " to her right mind." Her natural 
powers resumed their course ; and the gains of her masters were gone. 

Violent rage on the part of these men was the immediate result. They 
saw that their influence with the people, and with it " all hope " of any 



1 See what Trench says on the demoniacs 
in the country of the Gadarenes. "We find 
in the demoniac the sense of a misery in which 
he does not acquiesce, the deep feeling of inward 
discord, of the true life utterly shattered, of 
an alien power which has mastered him wholly, 
and now is cruelly lording over him, and ever 
drawing farther away from him in whom only 
any created intelligence can find rest and peace. 



His state is, in the truest sense, ' a possession ; ' 
another is ruling in the high places of his soul, 
and has cast down the rightful lord from his 
seat ; and he knows this : and out of his con- 
sciousness of it there goes forth from him a 
cry for redemption, so soon as ever a glimpse 
of hope is afforded, an unlooked-for Kedeemer 
draws near." — p. 159. 






chap. ix. PAUL AND SILAS AERESTED. 261 

future profit, was at end. They proceeded therefore to take a summary 
revenge. Laying violent hold of Paul and Silas (for Timotheus and 
Luke were not so evidently concerned in what had happened), they 
dragged them into the forum l before the city authorities. The case was 
brought before the Praetors (so we may venture to call them, since this 
was the title which colonial Duumviri were fond of assuming ;) 2 but the 
complainants must have felt some difficulty in stating their grievance. 
The slave that had lately been a lucrative possession had suddenly be- 
come valueless ; but the law had no remedy for property depreciated by 
exorcism. The true state of the case was therefore concealed, and an ac- 
cusation was laid before the Praetors in the following form. " These men 
are throwing the whole city into confusion ; moreover they are Jews ; 3 
and they are attempting to introduce new religious observances, 4 which 
we, being Roman citizens, cannot legally receive and adopt." The accu- 
sation was partly true and partly false. It was quite false that Paul and 
Silas were disturbing the colony ; for nothing could have been more calm 
and orderly than their worship and teaching at the house of Lydia, or in 
the proseucha by the water-side. In the other part of the indictment 
there was a certain amount of truth. The letter of the Roman law, even 
under the Republic, was opposed to the introduction of foreign religions ; 
and though exceptions were allowed, as in the case of the Jews them- 
selves, yet the spirit of the law entirely condemned such changes in 
worship as were likely to unsettle the minds of the citizens, or to produce 
any tumultuous uproar ; and the advice given to Augustus, which both 
he and his successors had studiously followed, was, to check religious in- 
novations as promptly as possible, lest in the end they should undermine 
the Monarchy. Thus Paul and Silas had undoubtedly been doing what 
in some degree exposed them to legal penalties ; and were beginning a 
change which tended to bring down, and which ultimately did bring 
down, the whole weight of the Roman law on the martyrs of Chris- 
tianity. 5 The force of another part of the accusation, which was adroitly 
introduced, namely, that the men were " Jews to begin with," will be 
fully apprehended, if we remember, not only that the Jews were general- 

1 Acts xvi. 19. 4 The word is similarly used Acts vi. 14, 

2 See above, p. 253, n. 5. The word xxvi. 3, xxviii. 17. 

CTparrjybg is the usual Greek translation of * 6 See the account of the martyrs of Gaul 

prcetor. It is, however, often used generally in Eusebius, v. 1. The governor, learning 

for the supreme magistrates of Greek towns. that Attalus was a Roman citizen, ordered him 

Wetstein tells us that the mayor in Messina to be remanded to prison till he should learn 

was in his time still called stradigo. the emperor's commands. Those who had the 

3 " Being Jews to begin with," is the most citizenship were beheaded. The rest were sent 
exact translation. The verb is the same as in to the wild beast8. 

Gal. ii. 14, " being born a Jew, ' p. 201. 



262 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



ly hated, suspected, and despised, 1 but that they had lately been driven 
out of Rome in consequence of an uproar, 2 and that it was incumbent 
on Philippi, as a colony, to copy the indignation of the mother city. 

Thus we can enter into the feelings which caused the mob to rise 
against Paul and Silas, 3 and tempted the Praetors to dispense with legal 
formalities and consign the offenders to immediate punishment. The 
mere loss of the slave's prophetic powers, so far as it was generally 
known, was enough to cause a violent agitation : for mobs are always 
more fond of excitement and wonder than of truth and holiness. The 
Philippians had been willing to pay money for the demoniac's revelations, 
and now strangers had come and deprived them of that which gratified 
their superstitious curiosity. And when they learned, moreover, that 
these strangers were Jews, and were breaking the laws of Rome, their 
discontent became fanatical. It seems that the praetors had no time to 
hesitate, if they would retain their popularity. The rough words were 
spoken : 4 Cro, lictors : strip off their garments : let them be scourged" 5 
The order was promptly obeyed, and the heavy blows descended. It is 
happy for us that few modern countries know, by the example of a simi- 
lar punishment, what the severity of a Roman scourging was. The Apos- 
tles received " many stripes ; " and when they were consigned to prison, 
bleeding and faint from the rod, the jailer received a strict injunction " to 
keep them safe." Well might St. Paul, when at Corinth, look back to 
this day of cruelty, and remind the Thessalonians how he and Silas had 
" suffered before, and were -shamefully treated at Philippi." 6 

The jailer fulfilled the directions of the magistrates with rigorous and 
conscientious cruelty. Not content with placing the Apostles among 
such other offenders against the law as were in custody at Philippi, 
he " thrust them into the inner prison," 7 and then forced their limbs, 
lacerated as they were, and bleeding from the rod, into a painful and 
constrained posture, by means of an instrument employed to confine and 
torture the bodies of the worst malefactors. 8 Though we are ignorant of 



1 Cicero calls them " suspiciosa ac maledica 
civitas." — Flac. 28. Other authors could be 
quoted to the same effect. 

2 Acts xviii. 2 ; which is probably the same 
occurrence as that which is alluded to by- 
Suetonius, Claud. 25 : — " Judseos impulsore 
Christo assidue tumultuantes Roma expulit. 
See pp. 287, 335. 

3 Acts xvi. 22. 

4 The official order is given by Seneca. 
Some commentators suppose that the duumviri 
tore off the garments of Paul and Silas with 
* heir own hands ; but this supposition is unne- 



cessary. It is quite a mistake to imagine that 
they rent their own garments, like the high- 
priest at Jerusalem. 

5 The original word strictly denotes "to 
beat with rods," as it is translated in 2 Cor. 
xi. 25. 

6 1 Thess. ii. 2. 

7 Acts xvi. 24. 

8 The %vkov was what the Romans called 
nervus. See the note in the Pictorial Bible 
on Job xiii. 27, and the woodcut of stocks 
used in India from "Roberts's Oriental Hlustra 
tions. 



chap. ix. PAUL AND SILAS IN PEISON. 263 

the exact relation of the outer and inner prisons, 1 and of the connection 
of the jailer's '.' house" with both, we are not without very good notions 
of the misery endured in the Roman places of captivity. We must 
picture to ourselves something very different from the austere comfort of 
an English jail. It is only since that Christianity for which the Apostles 
bled has had influence on the hearts of men, that the treatment of felons 
has been a distinct subject of philanthropic inquiry, and that we have 
learnt to pray " for all prisoners and captives." The inner prisons of 
which we read in the ancient world were like that " dungeon in the 
court of the prison," into which Jeremiah was let down with cords, and 
where " he sank in the mire." 2 They were pestilential cells, damp and 
cold, from which the light was excluded, and where the chains rusted 
on the limbs of the prisoners. One such place may be seen to this 
day on the slope of the Capitol at Rome. 3 It is known to the readers 
of Cicero and Sallust as the place where certain notorious conspirators 
were executed. The Tullianum (for so it was called) is a type of the 
dungeons in the provinces; and we find the very name applied, in one 
instance, to a dungeon in the province of Macedonia. 4 What kind of 
torture was inflicted by the " stocks," in which the arms and legs, and 
even the necks, of offenders were confined and stretched, we are suffi- 
ciently informed by the allusions to the punishment of slaves in the 
Greek and Roman writers ; 5 and to show how far the cruelty of 
Heathen persecution, which may be said to have begun at Philippi, was 
afterwards carried in this peculiar kind of torture, we may refer to the 
sufferings " which Origen endured under an iron collar, and in the 
deepest recesses of the prison, when, for many days, he was extended 
and stretched to the distance of four holes on the rack." 6 

A few hours had made a serious change from the quiet scene by the 
water-side to the interior of a stifling dungeon. But Paul and Silas had 



1 A writer on the subject (Walch) says that 2 " Then took they Jeremiah and cast him 
in a Roman prison there were usually three into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Ham- 
distinct parts : (1) the communiora, where the melech, which was in the court of the prison ; and. 
prisoners had light and fresh air ; (2) the inte- they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in 
riora, shut off by iron gates with strong bars the dungeon there was no water, but mire ; so 
and locks; (3) the Tullianum, or dungeon. Jeremiah sunk in the mire." — Jer. xxxviii 6. 
If this was the case at Philippi, Paul and Silas See the note in the Pictorial Bible. 
were perhaps in the second, and the other pris- 3 For an account of it see Sir W. Gell's 
oners in the first part. The third was rather work on Rome, also Rich's Diet, of Greek and' 
a place of execution than imprisonment. Walch Roman Antiquities, from which the woodcut at 
says that in the provinces the prisons were not the end of this chapter is taken, 
so systematically divided into three parts. He 4 In Apuleius, where the allusion is toi 
adds that the jailer or commentariensis had Thessaly. 
usually optiones to assist him In Acts xvi. 6 Especially in Plautus. 
only one jailer is mentioned. 6 Euseb. Hist. Eccl. vi 89. 



264 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

learnt, " in whatever state they were, therewith to be content." l They 
were even able to " rejoice " that they were " counted worthy to suffer " 
for the name of Christ. 2 And if some thoughts of discouragement came 
over their minds, not for their own sufferings, but for the cause of their 
Master ; and if it seemed " a strange thing " that a work to which they had 
been beckoned by God should be arrested in its very beginning ; yet they 
had faith to believe that His arm would be revealed at the appointed time. 
Joseph's feet, too, had been " hurt in the stocks," 3 and he became a 
prince in Egypt. Daniel had been cast into the lions' den, and he was 
made ruler of Babylon. Thus Paul and Silas remembered with joy the 
" Lord our Maker, who giveth songs in the night." 4 Racked as they were 
with pain, sleepless and weary, they were heard, " about midnight," from 
the depth of their prison-house, " praying and singing hymns to God." 5 
What it was that they sang, we know not ; but the Psalms of David have 
ever been dear to those who suffer ; they have instructed both Jew and 
Christian in the language of prayer and praise. And the Psalms abound 
in such sentences as these : — " The Lord looketh down from His sanc- 
tuary : out of heaven the Lord beholdeth the earth : that He might hear 
the mournings of such as are in captivity, and deliver the children 
appointed unto death." — " Oh ! let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners 
come before thee: according to the greatness of thy power, preserve thou 
those that are appointed to die." — " The Lord helpeth them to right that 
suffer wrong : the Lord looseth men out of prison : the Lord helpeth 
them that are fallen : the Lord careth for the righteous." 6 Such sounds 
as these were new in a Roman dungeon. Whoever the other prisoners 
might be, whether they were the victims of oppression, or were suffering 
the punishment of guilt, — debtors, slaves, robbers, or murderers, — they 
listened with surprise to the voices of those who filled the midnight of 
the prison with sounds of cheerfulness and joy. Still the Apostles con- 
tinued their praises, and the prisoners listened. 7 " They that sit in dark- 
ness, and in the shadow of death ; being fast bound in misery and iron ; 
when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, He delivered them out 
<of their distress. For He brought them out of darkness, and out of the 

1 Phil. iv. 11. for the word, see Matt. xxvi. 30, Mark xiv. 26. 

2 Acts v. 41. The psalms sung on that occasion are believed 

3 Ps. cv. 18, Prayer-Book Version. Philo, to be Ps. cxiii.-cxviii. Compare Eph. v. 19 ; 
^writing on the history of Joseph (Gen. xxxix. Col. iii. 16. Also Heb. ii. 12. 

:21), has some striking remarks on the cruel 6 Ps. cii. 19, 20, lxxix. 12, cxlvi. 6-8. See 

character of jailers, who live among thieves, also Ps. cxlii. 8, 9, lxix. 34, cxvi. 14, lxviii. 6. 

robbers, and murderers, and never see any 7 The imperfects used in this passage imply 

ithing that is good. continuance. The Apostles were singing, and 

4 Job xxxv. 10. the prisoners were listening, when the earth* 
b Acts xvi. 25. The tense is imperfect : quake came. 



chap. nc. THE JAILER. 265 

shadow of death, and brake their bonds in sunder. Oh that men would 
therefore praise the Lord for His goodness, and declare the wonders that 
He doeth for the children of men : for He hath broken the gates of brass, 
and smitten the bars of iron in sunder." * When suddenly, as if in direct 
answer to the prayer of His servants, an earthquake shook the very foun- 
dations of the prison, 2 the gates were broken, the bars smitten asunder, 
and the bands of the prisoners loosed. Without striving to draw a line 
between the natural and supernatural in this occurrence, and still less 
endeavoring to resolve what was evidently miraculous into the results 
of ordinary causes, we turn again to the thought suggested by that 
single but expressive phrase of Scripture, " the prisoners were listening" 3 
When we reflect on their knowledge of the Apostles' sufferings (for 
they were doubtless aware of the manner in which they had been 
brought in and thrust into the dungeon), 4 and on the wonder they must 
have experienced on hearing sounds of joy from those who were in pain, 
and on the awe which must have overpowered them when they felt the 
prison shaken and the chains fall from their limbs ; and when to all this 
we add the effect produced on their minds by all that happened on the 
following day, and especially the fact that the jailer himself became a 
Christian ; we can hardly avoid the conclusion that the hearts of many 
of those unhappy bondsmen were prepared that night to receive the 
Gospel, that the tidings of spiritual liberty came to those whom, but for 
the captivity of the Apostles, it would never have reached, and that the 
jailer himself was their evangelist and teacher. 

The effect produced by that night on the jailer's own mind has been 
fnlly related to us. Awakened in a moment by the earthquake, his first 
thought was of his prisoners : 5 and in the shock of surprise and alarm, 
— " seeing the doors of the prison open, and supposing that the prisoners 
were fled," — aware that inevitable death awaited him, 6 with the stern 
and desperate resignation of a Roman official, he resolved that suicide 
was better than disgrace, and " drew his sword." 

Philippi is famous in the annals of suicide. Here Cassius, unable to 
survive defeat, covered his face in the empty tent, and ordered his freed- 
men to strike the blow. 7 His messenger Titinius held it to be " a Ro- 
man's part " 8 to follow the stern example. Here Brutus bade adieu to 
his friends, exclaiming, " Certainly we must fly, yet not with the feet, but 

1 Ps. cvii. 10-16. 2 Acts xvi. 26. undergo the same punishment which the male- 

8 See above. factors who escaped by his negligence were to 

4 See above, on the form of ancient prisons. have suffered. Biscoe, p. 330. 

6 Acts xvi. 27. 7 pi ut . Brutus, 43. 

6 By the Roman law, the jailer was to 8 Julius Ccesar, act v. sc. iii. 



266 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

with the bands ;" l and many, whose names have never reached us, ended 
their last struggle for the republic by self-inflicted death. 2 Here, too, 
another despairing man would have committed the same crime, had not 
his hand been arrested by an Apostle's voice. Instead of a sudden and 
hopeless death, the jailer received at the hands of his prisoner the gift 
both of temporal and spiritual life. 

The loud exclamation 3 of St. Paul, " Do thyself no harm ; for we are 
all here," gave immediate re-assurance to the terrified jailer. He laid 
aside his sword, and called for lights, and rushed 4 to the " inner prison," 
where Paul and Silas were confined. But now a new fear of a higher 
kind took possession of his soul. The recollection of all he had heard 
before concerning these prisoners and all that he had observed of their 
demeanor when he brought them into the dungeon, the shuddering 
thought of the earthquake, the burst of his gratitude towards them as the 
preservers of his life, and the consciousness that even in the darkness 
of midnight they had seen his intention of suicide, — all these mingling 
and conflicting emotions made him feel that he was in the presence of a 
higher power. He fell down before them, and brought them out, as 
men whom he had deeply injured and insulted, to a place of greater 
freedom and comfort ; 5 and then he asked them, with earnest anxiety, 
what he must do to be saved. We see the Apostle here self-possessed in 
the earthquake, as afterwards in the storm at sea, 6 able to overawe and 
control those who were placed over him, and calmly turning the occa- 
sion to a spiritual end. It is surely, however, a mistake to imagine that 
the jailer's inquiry had reference merely to temporal and immediate 
danger. The awakening of his conscience, the presence of the unseen 
world, the miraculous visitation, the nearness of death, — coupled per- 
haps with some confused recollection of the "way of salvation" which 
these strangers were said to have been proclaiming, — were enough to 
suggest that inquiry which is the most momentous that any human soul 
can make : " What must I do to be saved? " T Their answer was that of 
faithful Apostles. They preached " not themselves, but Christ Jesus the 
Lord." 8 " Believe, not in us, but in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be 

1 Plut. Brutus, 52. the entrance to the jailer's dwelling, if indeed 

2 " The majority of the proscribed who sur- they were not identical, 
vived the battles of Philippi put an end to their 6 Acts xxvii. 20-25. 

own lives, as they despaired of being par- 7 \\r e should compare v. 30 with v. 17. 

doncd." — Niebuhr's Lectures, ii. 118. The words "save" and "salvation" must 

3 Acts xvi. 28. have been frequently in the mouth of St. Paul. 

4 The whole phraseology seems to imply It is probable that the demoniac, and possible 
that the dungeon was subterraneous. Prof. that the jailer, might have heard them. See 
Hackett, however, takes a different view. p. 260. 

5 Either the outer prison or the space about 8 2 Cor. iv. 5 



chap. ix. THE MAGISTRATES. 267 

saved; and not only thou, but the like faith shall bring salvation to all 
thy house." From this last expression, and from the words which follow, 
we infer that the members of the jailer's family had crowded round him 
and the Apostles. 1 No time was lost in making known to them " the 
word of the Lord." All thought of bodily comfort and repose was 
postponed to the work of saving the soul. The meaning of " faith in 
Jesus " was explained, and the Gospel was preached to the jailer's 
family at midnight, while the prisoners were silent around, and the light 
was thrown on anxious faces and the dungeon-wall. 

And now we have an instance of that sympathetic care, that inter- 
change of temporal and spiritual service, which has ever attended the 
steps of true Christianity. As it was in the miracles of our Lord and 
Saviour, where the soul and the body were regarded together, so has it 
always been in His Church. "In the same hour of the night" 2 the 
jailer took the Apostles to the well or fountain of water which was 
within or near the precincts of the prison, and there he washed their 
wounds, and there also he and his household were baptized. He did 
what he could to assuage the bodily pain of Paul and Silas, and they 
admitted him and his, by the " laver of regeneration," 3 to the spiritual 
citizenship of the kingdom of God. The prisoners of the jailer were 
now become his guests. His cruelty was changed into hospitality 
and love. " He took them up 4 into his house," and, placing them in a 
posture of repose, set food before them, 5 and refreshed their exhausted 
strength. It was a night of happiness for all. They praised God that 
His power had been made effectual in their weakness ; and the jailer's 
family had their first experience of that joy which is the fruit of believ- 
ing in God. 

At length morning broke on the eventful night. In the course of that 
night the greatest of all changes had been wrought in the jailer's rela- 
tions to this world and the next. From being the ignorant slave of a 
Heathen magistracy he had become the religious head of a Christian 
family. A change, also, in the same interval of time, had come over t*he 
minds of the magistrates themselves. Either from reflecting that they 

1 The preaching of the Gospel to the jailer 2 Acts xvi. 33. Here and in v. 34, a change 

and his family seems to have taken place imme- of place is implied. 3 Tit. iii. 5. 

diatcly on coming out of the prison (vv. 30- 4 Acts xvi. 34. The word implies at least 

32) ; then the baptism of the converts, and the that the house was higher than the prison, 

washing of the Apostles' stripes (v. 33) ; and See p. 266, n. 4. 

finally the going-up into the house, and the 6 The custom of Greek and Roman meals 

hospitable refreshment there afforded. It does must be borne in mind. Guests were placed 

not appear certain that they returned from the on couches, and tables, with the different 

jailer's house into the dungeon before they courses of food, were brought and removed in 

were taken out of custody (v. 40). succession. 



4 268 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

had acted more harshly than the case had warranted, or from hearing a 
more accurate statement of facts, or through alarm caused by the earth- 
quake, or through that vague misgiving which sometimes, as in the case 
of Pilate and his wife, 1 haunts the minds of those who have no distinct 
religious convictions, they sent new orders in the morning to the jailer. 
The message conveyed by the lictors was expressed in a somewhat con- 
temptuous form, "Let those men go." 1 But the jailer received it with 
the utmost joy. He felt his infinite debt of gratitude to the Apostles, not 
only for his preservation from a violent death, but for the tidings they 
had given him of eternal life. He would willingly have seen them freed 
from their bondage ; but he was dependent on the will of the magistrates, 
and could do nothing without their sanction. When, therefore, the 
lictors brought the order, he went with them 3 to announce the intelli- 
gence to the prisoners, and joyfully told them to leave their dungeon and 
" go in peace." 

But Paul, not from any fanatical love of braving the authorities, but 
calmly looking to the ends of justice and the establishment of Chris- 
tianity, refused to accept his liberty without some public acknowledgment 
of the wrong he had suffered. He now proclaimed a fact which had 
hitherto been unknown, — that he and Silas were Roman citizens. Two 
Roman laws had been violated by the magistrates of the colony in the 
scourging inflicted the day before. 4 And this, too, with signal aggrava- 
tions. They were " uncondemnned." There had been no form of trial, 
without which, in the case of a citizen, even a slighter punishment would 
have been illegal. And it had been done " publicly." In the face of the 
colonial population, an outrage had been committed on the majesty of the 
name in which they boasted, and Rome had been insulted in her citizens. 
" No," said St. Paul ; " they have oppressed the innocent and violated 
the law. Do they seek to satisfy justice by conniving at a secret escape ? 
Let them come themselves and take us out of prison. They have pub- 
licly treated us as guilty ; let them publicly declare that we are in- 
nocent." 5 

" How often," says Cicero, "has this exclamation, I am a Roman citi- 
zen, brought aid and safety even among barbarians in the remotest parts 
of the earth ! " — The lictors returned to the praetors, and the praetors 
were alarmed. They felt that they had committed an act which, if di- 

1 Matt, xxvii. 19. for St. Paul spoke " to them; " on which they 

2 Or, as it might be translated, " Let those went and told the magistrates (v. 38). 
fellows go." * The Lex Valeria (b. c. 508) and the Lex 

3 It is evident from v. 37 that they came Porcia (b. c. 300). 
into the prison with the jailer, or found the 5 v. 37. 
prisoners in the jailer's house (p. 267, d. I) 



chap. ix. ST. LUKE. 269 

vulged at Rome, would place them in the utmost jeopardy. They had 
good reason to fear even for their authority in the colony ; for the people 
of Philippi, " being Romans," might be expected to resent such a viola- 
tion of the law. They hastened, therefore, immediately to the prisoners, 
and became the suppliants of those whom they had persecuted. They 
brought them at once out of the dungeon, and earnestly " besought them 
to depart from the city." 1 

The whole narrative of St. Paul's imprisonment at Philippi sets before 
us in striking colors his clear judgment and presence of mind. He might 
have escaped by help of the earthquake and under the shelter of the dark- 
ness ; but this would have been to depart as a runaway slave. He would 
not do secretly what he knew he ought to be allowed to do openly. By 
such a course his own character and that of the Gospel would have been 
disgraced, the jailer would have been cruelly left to destruction, and all 
religious influence over the other prisoners would have been gone. As 
regards these prisoners, his influence over them was like the sway he ob- 
tained over the crew in the sinking vessel. 2 It was so great, that not one 
of them attempted to escape. And not only in the prison, but in the 
whole town of Philippi, Christianity was placed on a high vantage-ground 
by the Apostle's conduct that night. It now appeared that these per- 
secuted Jews were themselves sharers in the vaunted Roman privilege. 
Those very laws had been violated in their treatment which they them- 
selves had been accused of violating. That no appeal was made against 
this treatment, might be set down to the generous forbearance of the 
Apostles. Their cause was now, for a time at least, under the protection 
of the law, and they themselves were felt to have a claim on general 
sympathy and respect. 

They complied with the request of the magistrates. Yet, even in their 
departure, they were not unmindful of the dignity and selfcpossession 
which ought always to be maintained by innocent men in a righteous 
cause. They did not retire in any hasty or precipitate flight, but pro- 
ceeded " from the prison to the house of Lydia ; " 3 and there they met 
the Christian brethren, who were assembled to hear their farewell words 
of exhortation ; and so they departed from the city. It was not, how- 
ever, deemed sufficient that this infant church at Philippi should be left 
alone with the mere remembrance of words of exhortation. Two of the 
Apostolic company remained behind: Timotheus, of whom the Philip- 
pians " learned the proof" that he honestly cared for their state, that he 
was truly like-minded with St. Paul, " serving him in the Gospel as a son 
serves his father ; " 4 and " Luke the Evangelist, whose praise is in the 

i vv. 38, 39. 2 Acts xxvii. » Actsxyi. 40. * Phil, ii. 19-25. 



270 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix 

Gospel," though he never praises himself, or relates his own labors, and 
though we only trace his movements in connection with St. Paul by the 
change of a pronoun, 1 or the unconscious variation of his style. 

Timotheus seems to have rejoined Paul and Silas, if not at Thessa- 
lonica, at least at Beroea. 2 But we do not see St. Luke again in the Apos- 
tle's company till the third missionary journey and the second visit to 
Macedonia. 3 At this exact point of separation, we observe that he drops 
the style of an eye-witness and resumes that of an historian, until the 
second time of meeting, after which he writes as an eye-witness till the 
arrival at Rome, and the very close of the Acts. To explain and justify 
the remark here made, we need only ask the reader to contrast the de- 
tailed narrative of events at Philippi with the more general account of 
what happened at Thessalonica. 4 It might be inferred that the writer 
of the Acts was an eye-witness in the former city and not in the latter, 
even if the pronoun did not show us when he was present and when he 
was absent. We shall trace him a second time, in the same manner, when 
he rejoins St. Paul in the same neighborhood. He appears again . on a 
voyage from Philippi to Troas (Acts xx. 56), as now he has appeared on 
a voyage from Troas to Philippi. It is not an improbable conjecture that 
his vocation as a physician 5 may have brought him into connection with 
these contiguous coasts of Asia and Europe. It has even been imagined, 
on reasonable grounds, 6 that he may have been in the habit of exercising 
his professional skill as a surgeon at sea. However this may have been, 
we see no reason to question the ancient opinion, stated by Eusebius and, 
Jerome, that St. Luke was a native of Antioch. Such a city was a likely 
place for the education of a physician. 7 It is also natural to suppose 

1 In ch. xvii. the narrative is again in the Acts, and we shall return to the subject again, 
third person; and the pronoun is not changed A careful attention to this difference of style is 
again till we come to xx. 5. The modesty enough to refute a theory lately advanced (Dr. 
with which St. Luke leaves out all mention of Kitto's Journal of Sacred Literature, Sept 
his own labors need hardly be pointed out. 1850), that Silas was the author of the Acts. 

2 Acts xvii. 14. He is not mentioned in Silas was at Thessalonica as well as Philippi. 
the journey to Thessalonica, nor in the ac- "Why did he write so differently concerning 
count of what happened there. the two places ? 

3 Acts xx. 4-6. 5 See Tate's Continuous History, p. 41. 

4 Observe, for instance, his mention of run- Compare the end of the preceding chapter, 
ning before the wind, and staying for the night 6 This suggestion is made by Mr. Smith 
at Samothrace. Again, he says that Philippi in his work on the Shipwreck, fyc, p. 8. It is 
was the first city they came to, and that it was justly remarked, that the ancient ships were 
a colony. He tells us that the place of prayer often so large that they may reasonably be 
was outside the gate and near a river-side. supposed to have sometimes had surgeons on 
There is no such particularity in the account board. See p. 244. 

of what took place at Thessalonica. See 7 Alexandria was famous for the education 

above, p. 134, n. 2. Similar remarks might of physicians, and Antioch was in many re- 
oe made on the other autoptic passages of the spects a second Alexandria, 



chap. nc. MACEDONIA DESCRIBED. 271 

that he may have met with St. Paul there, and been converted at an 
earlier period of' the history of the Church. His medical calling, or his 
zeal for Christianity, or both combined (and the combination has ever 
been beneficial to the cause of the Gospel), may account for his visits to 
the North of the Archipelago : x or St. Paul may himself have directed 
his movements, as he afterwards directed those of Timothy and Titus. 2 
All these suggestions, though more or less conjectural, are worthy of our 
thoughts, when we remember the debt of gratitude which the Church 
owes to this Evangelist, not only as the historian of the Acts of the 
Apostles, but as an example of long-continued devotion to the truth, and 
of unshaken constancy to that one Apostle, who said with sorrow, in his 
latest trial, that others had forsaken him, and that "only Luke" was 
with him. 3 

Leaving their first Macedonian converts to the care of Timotheus and 
Luke, aided by the co-operation of godly men and women raised up 
among the Philippians themselves, 4 Paul and Silas set forth on their 
journey. Before we follow them to Thessalonica, we may pause to take 
a general survey of the condition and extent of Macedonia, in the sense 
in which the term was understood in the language of the day. It has 
been well said that the Acts of the Apostles have made Macedonia a kind 
of Holy Land ; 5 and it is satisfactory that the places there visited and 
revisited by St. Paul and his companions are so well known, that we 
have no difficulty in representing to the mind their position and their 
relation to the surrounding country. 

Macedonia, in its popular sense, may be described as a region bounded 
by a great semicircle of mountains, beyond which the streams flow 
westward to the Adriatic, or northward and eastward to the Danube and 
the Euxine. 6 This mountain barrier sends down branches to the sea on 
the eastern or Thracian frontier, over against Thasos and Samothrace ; 7 

1 Compare the case of Democedes in He- 5 " The whole of Macedonia, and in par- 
rodotus, who was established first in iEgina, ticular the route from Bercea to Thessalonica 
then in Athens, and finally in Samos. At a and Philippi, being so remarkably distin- 
period even later than St. Luke, Galen speaks guished by St. Paul's sufferings and adven- 
of the medical schools of Cos and Cnidus, of tures, becomes as a portion of Holy Land." 
Rhodes and of Asia. — Clarke's Travels, ch. xi. 

2 1 Tim. i. 3 ; 2 Tim. iv. 9, 21 ; Tit. i. 5, 6 The mountains on the north, under the 
iii. 12. names of Scomius, Scordus, &c, arc connected 

3 2 Tim. iv. 11. See the Christian Year: with the Harnius or Balkan. Those on the 
St. Luke's Day. west run in a southerly direction, and are con- 

4 The Christian women at Philippi have tinuous with the chain of Pindus. 

been alluded to before, p. 256. See especially i These are the mountains near the river 

Phil. iv. 2, 3. We cannot well doubt that Nestus, which, after the time of Philip, was 

presbyters also were appointed, as at Thessa- considered the boundary of Macedonia and 

lonica. See below. Compare Phil. i. 1. Thrace. 



272 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

and on the south shuts out the plain of Thessaly, and rises near the shore 
to the high summits of Pelion, Ossa, and the snowy Olympus. 1 The 
space thus enclosed is intersected by two great rivers. One of these is 
Homer's " wide-flowing Axius," which directs its course past Pella, the 
ancient metroplis of the Macedonian kings, and the birthplace of Alexan- 
der, to the low levels in the neighborhood of Thessalonica, where other 
rivers 2 flow near it into the Thermaic gulf. The other is the Strymon, 
which brings the produce of the great inland level of Serres 3 by Lake 
Cercinus to the sea at Amphipolis, and beyond which was Philippi, the 
military outpost that commemorated the successful conquests of Alexan- 
der's father. Between the mouths of these two rivers a remarkable 
tract of country, which is insular rather than continental, 4 projects into 
the Archipelago, and divides itself into three points, on the farthest of 
which Mount Athos rises nearly into the region of perpetual snow. 5 
Part of St. Paul's path between Philippi and Bercea lay across the neck 
of this peninsula. The whole of his route was over historical ground. 
At Philippi he was close to the confines of Thracian barbarism, and on 
the spot where the last battle was fought in defence of the Eepublic. At 
Borcea he came near the mountains, beyond which is the region of Clas- 
sical Greece, and close to the spot where the battle was fought which 
reduced Macedonia to a province. 6 

If we wish to view Macedonia as a province, some modifications must 
be ir-r\)duced into the preceding description. It applies, indeed, with 
sufficient exactness to the country on its first conquest by the Romans. 7 
The rivers already alluded to define the four districts into which it was 
divided. Macedonia Prima was the region east of the Strymon, of which 

1 The natural boundarj between Macedonia 3 This is the great inland plain at one ex- 
and Thessaly is formed by the Cambunian treraity of which Philippi was situated, and 
hills, running in an easterly direction from the which has been mentioned above (p. 250). Its 
central chain of Pindus. The Cambunian principal town at present is Serres, the resi- 
range is vividly described in the following dence of the governor of the whole district, 
view from the "giddy height" of Olympus, and a place of considerable importance, often 
which rises near the coast. " I seemed to mentioned by Cousinery, Leake, and other 
stand perpendicularly over the sea, at the traveller?. 

height of 10,000 feet. Salonica was quite dis- 4 The peninsula anciently called Chalcidice. 

tinguishable, lying North-East. Larissa [in 5 The elevation of Mount Athos is between 

Thessaly] appeared under my very feet. The 4,000 and 5,000 feet. The writer has heard 

whole horizon from North to South -West was English sailors say that there is almost always 

occupied by mountains, hanging on, as it were, snow on Athos and Olympus, and that, 

to Olympus. This is the range that runs West though the land generally is higher in this 

ward along the North of Thessaly, ending ia part of the iEgean, these mountains are by 

Pindus." — Urquhart's Spirit of the East, vol. far the most conspicuous. 

i. p. 429. 6 Pydna is within a few miles of Bercoa, 

2 The Haliacmon, which flows near Beroea, on the other side of the Haliacmon. 
is the most important of them 7 See Liv. xlv. 29. 



chap. ix. ROMAN MACEDONIA. 273 

Amphipolis was the capital ; * Macedonia Secunda lay between the Strymon 
and the Axius, and Thessalonica was its metropolis ; and the other two re- 
gions were situated to the south towards Thessaly, and on the mountains to 
the west. 2 This was the division adopted by Paulus iEmilius after the 
battle of Pydna. But the arrangement was only temporary. The whole of 
Macedonia, along with some adjacent territories, was made one province, 3 
and centralized under the jurisdiction of a proconsul, 4 who resided at 
Thessalonica. This province included Thessaly, 5 and extended over the 
mountain-chain which had been the western boundary of ancient Mace- 
donia, so as to embrace a seaboard of considerable length on the shore 
of the Adriatic. The political limits, in this part of the Empire, are far 
more easily discriminated than those with which we have been lately 
occupied (Chap. VIII.) . Three provinces divided the whole surface 
which extends from the basin of the Danube to Cape Matapan. All of 
them are familiar to us in the writings of St. Paul. The extent of 
Macedonia has just been denned. Its relations with the other provinces 
were as follows. On the north-west it was contiguous to Illyricumf 
which was spread down the shore of the Adriatic nearly to the same 
point to which the Austrian territory now extends, fringing the Moham- 
medan empire with a Christian border. 7 A hundred miles to the south- 
ward, at the Acroceraunian promontory, it touched Achaia, the boundary 
of which province ran thence in an irregular line to the bay of Ther- 
mopylae and the north of Euboea, including Epirus, and excluding 
ThessUly. 8 Achaia and Macedonia were traversed many times by the 
Apostle ; 9 and he could say, when he was hoping to travel to Rome, that 
he had preached the Gospel "round about unto Illyricum." 10 

1 See above. series of wars which gradually reduced it to a 

2 Macedonia Tenia was between the Axius province. 

and Peneus, with Pella for its* capital. Pela- 7 The border town was Lissus, the modern 
gonia was the capital of Macedonia Quarta. It Alessio, not far from Scutari, 
is remarkable that no coins of the third division 8 Except in the western portion, the bound- 
have been found, but only of the first, second, ary nearly coincided with that of the modern 
and fourth. kingdom of Greece. The provincial arrange- 

3 By Metellus. ments of Achaia will be alluded to more par- 

4 At first it was one of the Emperor's prov- ticularly hereafter. 

inces, but afterwards it was placed under the 9 Observe how these provinces are men- 

Senate, tioned together, Eom. xv. 26 ; 2 Cor. ix. 2, xi. 

5 Thessaly was subject to Macedonia when 9, 10 ; also 1 Thess. i. 7, 8. 

the Roman wars began. At the close of the i° Rom. xv. 19. Dalmatia (2 Tim. iv. 10) 

first war, under Elaminius, it was declared was a district in this province. See ch. XVII. 

free; but ultimately it was incorporated with Nicopolis (Tit. iii. 12) was in Epirus, which, 

the province. as we have seen, was a district in the province 

6 At first the wars of Rome with the peo- of Achaia, but it was connected by a branch 
pie of this coast merely led to mercantile road with the Via Egnatia from Dyrrhachium, 
treaties for the free navigation of the Adriatic. which is mentioned below. 

Julius Caesar and Augustus concluded the 
18 



274 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



When we allude to Rome, and think of the relation of the City to the 
provinces, we are inevitably reminded of the military roads ; and here, 
across the breadth of Macedonia, was one of the greatest roads of the 
Empire. It is evident that, after Constantinople was founded, a line of 
communication between the Eastern and Western capitals was of the 
utmost moment ; but the Via Egnatia was constructed long before that 
period. Strabo, in the reign of Augustus, informs us that it was regu- 
larly made and marked out by milestones, from Dyrrhachiuui on the 
Adriatic, to Cypselus on the Hebrus in Thrace ; and, even before the 
close of the republic, we find Cicero speaking, in one of his orations, of 
" that military way of ours, which connects us with the Hellespont." 
Certain districts on the European side of the Hellespont had been part 
of the legacy of King Attalus, 1 and the simultaneous possession of 
Macedonia, Asia, and Bithynia, with the prospect of further conquests in 
the East, made this line of communication absolutely necessary. When 
St. Paul was on the Roman road at Troas 2 or Philippi, he was on a road 
which led to the gates of Rome. It was the same pavement which be 
afterwards trod at Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. 3 The nearest 
parallel which the world has seen of the imperial roads is the present 
European railway system. The Hellespont and the Bosphorus, in the 
reign of Claudius, were what the Straits of Dover and Holyhead are 
now ; and even the passage from Brundusium in Italy, to Dyrrhachium 
and Apollonia 4 in Macedonia; was only a tempestuous ferry, — only one 
of those difficulties of nature which the Romans would have overcome if 
they could, and which the boldest of the Romans dared to defy. 5 From 
Dyrrhachium and Apollonia, the Via Egnatia, strictly so called, extended 
a distance of five hundred miles, to the Hebrus, in Thrace. 6 Thes- 



1 See the preceding chapter, under "Asia." 
3 See what is said of the road between 
Troas and Pergamus, &c, p. 240. 

3 Acts xxviii. 15. For notices of the 
'Via Appia, where it approaches the Adriatic, 

in tjke neighborhood of Egnatia (" Gnatia lym- 
phis iratis extructa"), whence, according to 
some writers, the Macedonian continuation 
received its name, see Horace's journey, Sat. 
i. v. Dean Milman's Horace contains an ex- 
pressive representation of Brundusium, the 
harbor on the Italian side of the water. 

4 i. e. Apollonia on the Adriatic, which 
must be carefully distinguished from the other 
town of the same name, and on the same road, 
between Thessalonica and Amphipolis (Acts 
xvii. 1). 

5 See the anecdotes of Caesar's bold pro- 



ceedings between Brundusium and the oppo- 
site side of the sea in Plutarch. The same 
writer tells us that Cicero, when departing on 
his exile, was driven back by a storm into 
Brundusium. See below, p. 278, n. 3. The 
great landing-place on the Macedonian side 
was Dyrrhachium, the ancient Epidamnus, 
called by Catullus " Adria3 Tabernas." 

6 The roads from Dyrrhachium and Apollo- 
nia met together at a place called Clodiana, 
and thence the Via Egnatia passed over 
the mountains to Heraclea in Macedonia. It 
entered the plain at Edessa (see below), and 
thence passed by Pella to Thessalonica. The 
stations, as given by the Antonine and Jeru- 
salem Itineraries and the Peutinger Table, 
will be found in Cramer's Ancient Greece, v. i. 
pp. 81-84. 



chap. ix. THE VIA EGNATIA. 275 

salonica was about half way between these remote points, and Philippi 
was the last * important town in the province of Macedonia. Our con- 
cern is only with that part of the Yia Egnatia which lay between the two 
last-mentioned cities. 

The intermediate stages mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles are 
Amphipolis and Apollonia. The distances laid down in the Itineraries 
are as follows : — Philippi to Amphipolis, thirty-three miles ; Amphipolis 
to Apollonia, thirty miles ; Apollonia to Thessalonica, thirty-seven miles. 
These distances are evidently such as might have been traversed each in 
one day ; and since nothing is said of any delay on the road, but every 
thing to imply that the journey was rapid, we conclude (unless, indeed, 
their recent sufferings made rapid travelling impossible) that Paul and 
Silas rested one night at each of the intermediate places, and thus our 
notice of their journey is divided into three parts. 

From Philippi to Amphipolis, the Roman way passed across the plain 
to the north of Mount RangaBus. A traveller, going direct from Neapolis 
to the mouth of the Strymon, might make his way through an opening in 
the mountains 2 nearer the coast. This is the route by which Xerxes 
brought his army, 3 and by which modern journeys are usually made. 4 
But Philippi was not built in the time of the Persian war, and now, 
under the Turks, it is a ruined village. Under the Roman emperors, the 
position of this colony determined the direction of the road. The very 
productiveness of the soil, 5 and its liability to inundations, 6 must have 
caused this road to be carefully constructed. The surface of the plain, 
which is intersected by multitudes of streams, is covered now with 
plantations of cotton and fields of Indian corn, 7 and the villages are so 
numerous, that, when seen from the summits of the neighboring moun- 
tains, they appear to form one continued town. 8 Not far from the coast, 

1 See above, p. 249, n. 3, and p. 250, n. 9. yielding abundant harvests of cotton, wheat, 

2 This opening is the Pieric valley. See barley, and maize, contains extensive pastures 
Leake, p. 180. " Though the modern route peopled with oxen, horses, and sheep. No 
from Cavalla to Orphano and Saloniki, leading part of the land is neglected ; and the district, 
by Pravista through the Pieric valley along in its general appearance, is not inferior to 
the southern side of Mount Pangseum, exactly any part of Europe." — Leake, p. 201. 

in the line of that of Xerxes, is the most 6 See Leake. 

direct, it does not coincide with the Roman 7 "Des plantes de coton, des rizieres im- 

road or the Via Egnatia, which passed along menses, de grandes plantations de tabac, des 

the northern base of that mountain, probably vignes entrecoupees de terres a ble, formaient 

for the sake of connecting both these impor- sous nos yeux le plus agreable spectacle. . . . 

tant cities, the former of which was a Roman Les produits de cette plaiiie seraient immenses, 

colony." si l'activite et l'industrie des habitans re'- 

3 Herod, vii. 112. pondaient a la liberalite de la nature." — Cou- 

4 Dr. Clarke and Cousinery both took this sinery, ii. 4, 5. 

route. 8 Clarke, ch. xii. At the head of the chap- 



" The plain is very fertile, and besides 



276 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. 



the Strymon spreads out into a lake as large as Windermere ; * and be - 
tween the lower end of this lake and the inner reach of the Strymonic 
gulf, where the mountains leave a narrow opening, Amphipolis was 
situated on a bend of the river. 

" The position of Amphipolis is one of the most important in Greece. 
It stands in a pass which traverses the mountains bordering the Strymonic 
gulf, and it commands the only easy communication from the coast of 
that gulf into the great Macedonian plains, which extend, for sixty miles, 
from beyond Meleniko to Philippi." 2 The ancient name of the place was 
" Nine Ways," from the great number of Thracian and Macedonian 
roads which met at this point. 3 The Athenians saw the importance of 
the position, and established a colony there, which they called Amphipo- 
lis, because the river surrounded it. Some of the deepest interest in 
the history of Thucydides, not only as regards military and political 
movements, 4 but in reference to the personal experience of the historian 
himself, 5 is concentrated on this spot. And again, Amphipolis appears. in 
the speeches of Demosthenes as a great stake in the later struggle be- 
tween Philip of Macedon and the citizens of Athens. 6 It was also the 
scene of one striking passage in the history of Roman conquest : here 
Paulus iEmilius, after the battle of Pydna, publicly proclaimed that the 
Macedonians should be free; 1 and now another Paulus was here, whose 
message to the Macedonians was an honest proclamation of a better 
liberty, without conditions and without reserve. 

St. Paul's next stage was to the city of Apollonia. After leaving 
Amphipolis, the road passes along the edge of the Strymonic gulf, first 
between cliffs and the sea, and then across a well- wooded maritime plain, 
whence the peak of Athos is seen far across the bay to the left. 8 We 
quit the seashore at the narrow gorge of Aulon, or Arethusa, 9 and there 
enter the valley which crosses the neck of the Chalcidic peninsula. Up 
to this point we have frequent historical landmarks reminding us of 



ter he gives a view of the plain as seen from 
the hills on the south. 

1 Anciently the lake Cercinitis. 

2 Leake. For other notices of the impor- 
tance of this position, see Bp. Thirhvall's 
Greece, iii. 284, and especially Mr. Grote's 
Greece, vi. 554-562, and 625-647. A view of 
Amphipolis is giren in our larger editions. 

3 See Herod, vii. 114. Here Xerxes 
crossed the Strymon, and offered a sacrifice 
of white horses to the river, and buried alive 
nine youths and maidens. 

4 See especially all that relates to Cleon 
and Brasidas in the fourth and fifth books. 



5 It was his failure in an expedition against 
Amphipolis that caused the exile of Thucyd- 
ides. 

6 See the passages in the speeches which re- 
late to Philip's encroachment on the Athenian 
power in the North of the iEgean. 

7 Livy's words (xlv. 30) show that the 
Romans fully appreciated the importance of 
the position. 

8 Dr. Clarke. 

9 Dr. Clarke, ch. xii., devotes several 
pages to this tomb. The Jerusalem Itinerary, 
besides another intermediate station at Pen- 
nana, mentions that at the tomb of Euripides. 



chap. ix. AMPHLPOLIS AND APOLLONIA. 277 

Athens. Thucydides has just been mentioned in connection with Am- 
phipolis and the Strymon. As we leave the sea, we have before us, 
on the opposite coast, Stagirus, 1 the birthplace of Aristotle ; and in the 
pass, where the mountains close on the road, is the tomb of Euripides. 2 
Thus the steps of our progress, as we leave the East and begin to draw 
near to Athens, are already among her historians, philosophers, and 
poets. 

Apollonia is somewhere in the inland part of the journey, where the 
Via Egnatia crosses from the gulf of the Strymon to that of Thessaloni- 
ca ; but its exact position has not been ascertained. "We will, therefore, 
merely allude to the scenery through which the traveller moves, in going 
from sea to sea. The pass of Arethusa is beautiful and picturesque. A 
river flows through it in a sinuous course, and abundant oaks and plane- 
trees are on the rocks around. 3 Presently this stream is seen to emerge 
from an inland lake, whose promontories and villages, with the high 
mountains rising to the south-west, have reminded travellers of Switzer- 
land, 4 As we journey towards the west, we come to a second lake. 
Between the two is the modern post-station of Klisali, which may 
possibly be Apollonia, 5 though it is generally believed to be on the moun- 
tain slope to the south of the easternmost lake. The whole region of 
these two lakes is a long valley, or rather a succession of plains, where 
the level spaces are richly wooded with forest-trees, and the nearer hills 
are covered to their summits with olives. 6 Beyond the second lake, the 
road passes over some rising ground, and presently, after emerging from 
a narrow glen, we obtain a sight of the sea once more, the eye ranges 
freely over the plain of the Axius, and the city of Thessalonica is imme- 
diately before us. 

Once arrived in this city, St. Paul no longer follows the course of the 
Via Egnatia. He may have done so at a later period, when he says 
that he had preached the Gospel " round about unto Illyricum." 7 But 
at present he had reached the point most favorable for the glad procla- 
mation. The direction of the Roman road was of course determined 
by important geographical positions ; and along the whole line from 

1 Leake identifies Stagirus with Stavros, Cousinery both agree in placing it to the 
a little to the south of Aulon, p. 167. south of Lake Bolbe. We ought to add, that 

2 See the last note but one. the Antonine and Jerusalem Itineraries appear 
8 See Dr. Clarke. Cousine'ry writes with to give two distinct roads between Apollonia 

great enthusiasm concerning this glen. and Thessalonica. See Leake, p. 46. 

4 See Dr. Clarke. Both he and Cousine'ry 6 See Clarke's Travels. 

make mention of the two villages, the Little "< See above, pp. 274, 275. This expres- 

Bechik and Great Bechik, on its north bank, sion, however, might be used if nothing more 

along which the modern road passes. were meant than a progress to the very 

5 This is Tafel's opinion ; but Leake and frontier of Illyricum. 



278 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



Dyrrhacliium to the Hebrus, no city was so large and influential as 
Thessalonica. 

The Apostolic city at which we are now arrived was known in the 
earliest periods of its history under various names. Under that of 
Therma it is associated with some interesting recollections. It was the 
resting-place of Xerxes on his march ; it is not unmentioned in the 
Peloponnesian war ; and it was a frequent subject of debate in the last 
independent assemblies of Athens. When the Macedonian power began 
to overshadow all the countries where Greek was spoken, this city re- 
ceived its new name, and began a new and more distinguished period of 
its history. A sister of Alexander the Great was called Thessalonica, 
and her name was given to the city of Therma, when rebuilt and em- 
bellished by her husband, Cassander the son of Antipater. 1 This name, 
under a form slightly modified, has continued to the present day. The 
Salneck of the early German poets has become the Saloniki of the mod- 
ern Levant. Its history can be followed as continuously as its name. 
When Macedonia was partitioned into four provincial divisions by Paulus 
JEmilius, Thessalonica Was the capital of that which lay between the 
Axius and the Strymon. 2 When the four regions were united into one 
Roman province, this city was chosen as the metropolis of the whole. 
Its name appears more than once in the annals of the Civil Wars. It 
was the scene of the exile of Cicero, 3 and one of the stages of his 
journey between Rome and his province in the East. 4 Antony and 
Octavius were here after the battle of Philippi ; and coins are still extant 
which allude to the " freedom" granted by the victorious leaders to the 
city of the Thermaic gulf. Strabo, in the first century, speaks of 
Thessalonica as the most populous town in Macedonia. Lucian, in the 
second century, uses similar language. Before the founding of Constan- 
tinople, it was virtually the capital of Greece and Illyricum, as well as 
of Macedonia, and shared the trade of the iEgean with Ephesus and 
Corinth. Even after the Eastern Rome was built and reigned over the 
Levant, we find both Pagan and Christian writers speaking of Thessalo- 
nica as the metropolis of Macedonia and a place of great magnitude. 



1 The first author in which the new name 
occurs is Polybius. Some say that the name 
was given by Philip in honor of his daughter, 
and others that it directly commemorated a 
victory over the Thessalians. But the opinion 
stated above appears the most probable. 
Philip's daughter was called Thessalonica, in 
commemoration of a victory obtained by her 
father on the day when he heard of her 
birth. Cousinery sees an allusion to this in 



the Victory on the coins of the city. See 
below. 

2 See above, pp. 272, 273. 

3 Both in going out and returning he 
crossed the Adriatic, between Brundusiura 
and Dyrrhacliium. See p. 274, n. 5. In 
travelling through Macedonia, he would follow 
the Via Egnatia. 

4 Several of his letters were written from 
Thessalonica on this journey. 



chap. ix. THESSALONICA. 279 

Through the Middle Ages it never ceased to be important : and it is, at 
the present day, the second city in European Turkey. 1 The reason of 
this continued pre-eminence is to be found in its geographical position. 
Situated on the inner bend of the Thermaic Gulf, — half way between 
the Adriatic and the Hellespont, 2 — on the sea-margin of a vast plain 
watered by several rivers, — and at the entrance of the pass 4 which 
commands the approach to the other great Macedonian level, — it was 
evidently destined for a mercantile emporium. Its relation with the 
inland t?'ade of Macedonia was as close as that of Amphipolis ; and its 
maritime advantages were perhaps even greater. Thus, while Amphipo- 
lis decayed under the Byzantine emperors, Thessalonica continued to 
prosper. 5 There probably never was a time, from the day when it first 
received its name, that this city has not had the aspect of a busy com- 
mercial town. 6 We see at once how appropriate a place it was for one of 
the starting-points of the Gospel in Europe ; and we can appreciate the 
force of the expression used by St. Paul within a few months of his 
departure from the Thessalonians, 7 when he says, that " from them the 
Word of the Lord had sounded forth like a trumpet, 8 not only in Mace- 
donia and Achaia, but in every place." 

No city, which we have yet had occasion to describe, has had so dis- 
tinguished a Christian history, with the single exception of the Syrian 
Antioch ; and the Christian glory of the Patriarchal city gradually faded 
before that of the Macedonian metropolis. The heroic age of Thessalonica 
was the third century. 9 It was the bulwark of Constantinople in the 
shock of the barbarians ; and it held up the torch of the truth to the suc- 
cessive tribes who overspread the country between the Danube and the 
iEgean, — the Goths and the Sclaves, the Bulgarians of the Greek 
Church, and the W allachians, 10 whose language still seems to connect them 

1 For a very full account of its modern con- 7 1 Thess. i. 8. The Epistle was written 
dition see Dr. [Sir Henry] Holland's Travels. from Corinth very soon after the departure 

2 See above, p. 273. from Thessalonica. See Ch. XI. 

3 The chief of these are the Axius and 8 Chrysostom employs this image in com- 
Haliacmon. The whole region near the sea menting on 1 Cor. i. 

consists of low alluvial soil. See below, on the 9 Tafel traces the history of Thessalonica, 

journey from Thessalonica to Beroea. in great detail, through the Middle Ages ; 

4 This is the pass mentioned above, through and shows how, after the invasion of the 
which the road to Amphipolis passed, and in Goths, it was the means of converting the 
which Apollonia was situated. Sclaves, and through them the Bulgarians, to 

5 Notices of its mercantile relations in the the Christian faith. The peasant population to 
Middle Ages are given by Tafel. For an ac- the east of Thessalonica is Bulgarian, to the 
count of its modern trade, and the way in west it is Greek (Cousinery, p. 52). Both 
which it was affected by the last war, see Hoi- belong to the Greek Church. 

land's Travels. i° See what Cousine'ry says (ch. i.) of the 

A view of the place, as seen from the sea, Wallachians, who are intermixed among the 

is given in the larger editions. other tribes of Modern Macedonia. They 



280 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



with Philippi and the Roman colonies. Thus, in the mediaeval chroni 
clers, it has deserved the name of " the Orthodox City." 1 The remains 
of its Hippodrome, which is forever associated with the history of Theo- 
dosius and Ambrose, 2 can yet be traced among the Turkish houses. Its 
bishops have sat in great councils. 3 The writings of its great preacher 
and scholar Eustathius 4 are still preserved to us. It is true that the 
Christianity of Thessalonica, both mediaeval and modern, has been de- 
based by humiliating superstition. The glory of its patron saint, Deme- 
trius, has eclipsed that of St. Paul, the founder of its Church. But the 
same Divine Providence, which causes us to be thankful for the past, 
commands us to be hopeful for the future ; and we may look forward to 
the time when a new harvest of the " work of faith, and labor of love, 
and patience of hope," 5 shall spring up from the seeds of Divine Truth, 
which were first sown on the shore of the Thermaic Gulf by the Apostle 
of the Gentiles. 

If Thessalonica can boast of a series of Christian annals, unbroken 
since the day of St. Paul's arrival, its relations with the Jewish people 
have continued for a still longer period. In our own day it contains a 
multitude of Jews 6 commanding an influential position, many of whom 
are occupied (not very differently from St. Paul himself) in the manu- 



speak a corrupt Latin, and he thinks they are 
descended from the ancient colonies. They 
are a fierce and bold race, living chiefly in the 
mountains ; and when trading caravans have 
to go through dangerous places they are 
posted in the front. 

1 One Byzantine writer who uses this 
phrase is Cameniata. His history is curious. 
He was crozier-bearer to the archbishop, and 
was carried off bj the Arabs, and landed at 
Tarsus, where he wrote his book. 

* Some accounts say that 15,000 persons 
were involved in the massacre, for which the 
archbishop of Milan exacted penance from the 
Emperor. See Gibbon, ch. xxvii. For some 
notice of the remains of the Hippodrome, which 
still retains its name, see Cousinery, ch. ii. 

3 We find the bishop of Thessalonica in the 
Council of Sardis, a. d. 347 ; and a decree of 
the council relates to the place. 

4 Eustathius preached and wrote there in 
the twelfth century. He was highly esteemed 
by the Comneni, and is held to have been 
" beyond all dispute the most learned man of 
his age." 

5 1 Thess. i. 3. 

6 Paul Lucas, in his later journey, says : — 



" Les Chretiens y sont environ an nombre de 
10,000. On y compte 30,000 Juifs, qui y ont 
22 synagogues, et ce sont eux qui y font tout 
le commerce. Comme ils sont fort indus- 
trieux, deux grand-vizirs sc sont mis succes- 
sivement en tete de les faire travailler aux 
manufactures du clraps de France, pour mettre 
la Turquie en e'tat cle se passer des etrangers ; 
mais ils n'ont jamais pu reussir: cependant 
*ils vendent assez bien leurs gros draps au 
grand seigneur, qui en fait habiller ses troupes." 
— p. 37. In the 17th century a Turkish au- 
thority speaks of them as carpet and cloth 
makers, of their liberality to the poor, and of 
their schools, with more than 1,000 children. 
Cousinery reckons them at 20,000, many of 
them from Spain. He adds : " Chaque syna- 
gogue a Salonique porte le nom de la province 
d'ou sont originaires les families qui la compo- 
sent." — p. 19. In the " Jewish Intelligence" 
for 1849, the Jews at Salonica are reckoned at 
35,000, being half the whole population, and 
having the chief trade in their hands. They 
are said to have thirty-six synagogues, " none 
of them remarkable for their neatness or ele- 
gance of style." 



chap. EC. THE SYNAGOGUE. 281 

facture of cloth. A considerable number of them are refugees from 
Spain, and speak the Spanish language. There are materials for tracing 
similar settlements of the same scattered and persecuted people in this 
city, at intervals, during the Middle Ages ; 1 and even before the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem we find them here, numerous and influential, as at 
Antioch and Iconium. Here, doubtless, was the chief colony of those 
Jews of Macedonia of whom Philo speaks ; 2 for while there was only a 
proseucha- at Philippi, and while Amphipolis and Apollonia had no 
Israelite communities to detain the Apostles, " the synagogue " 3 of the 
neighborhood was at Thessalonica. 

The first scene to which we are introduced in this city is entirely 
Jewish. It is not a small meeting of proselyte women by the river-side, 
but a crowded assembly of true-born Jews, intent on their religious 
worship, among whom Paul and Silas now make their appearance. If 
the traces of their recent hardships were manifest in their very aspect, 
and if they related to their Israelitish brethren how they had " suffered 
before and been cruelly treated- at Philippi" (1 Thess. ii. 2), their en- 
trance in among them must have created a strong impression of indigna- 
tion and sympathy, which explains the allusion in St. Paul's Epistle. He 
spoke, however, to the Thessalonian Jews with the earnestness of a man 
who has no time to lose and no thought to waste on his own sufferings. 
He preached, not himself, but Christ crucified. The Jewish Scriptures 
were the ground of his argument. He recurred to the same subject again 
and again. On three successive Sabbaths 4 he argued with them; and 
the whole body of Jews resident in Thessalonica were interested and ex- 
cited with the new doctrine, and were preparing either to adopt or 
oppose it. 

The three points on which he insisted were these : — that He who was 
foretold in prophecy was to be a suffering Messiah, — that after death He 
was to rise again, — and that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth was indeed 
the Messiah who was to come. Such is the distinct and concise state- 
ment in the Acts of the Apostles (xvii. 3) : and the same topics of teach- 
ing are implied in the first Epistle, where the Thessalonians are appealed 
to as men who had been taught to " believe that Jesus had really died 
and. risen again" (iv. 14), and who had " turned to serve the true God, 
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, 

1 They are alluded to in the 7th century, it, still the phrase would imply that there was 
and again in considerable numbers in the 12th. no synagogue in the towns recently passed 
See Tafel. through. There was another synagogue at 

2 See Ch. I. p. 17. Bercea. Acts xvii. 10. 

3 The best MSS. here have the definite 4 Acts xvii. 2. 
article. If authority preponderated against 






282 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

even Jesus " (i. 10). Of the mode in which these subjects would be pre- 
sented to his hearers we can form* some idea from what was said at 
Antioch in Pisidia. The very aspect of the worshippers was the same ; l 
proselytes were equally attached to the congregations in Pisidia and 
Macedonia,' 2 and the " devout and honorable women " in one city found 
their parallel in the " chief women " in the other. 3 The impression, too, 
produced by the address, was not very different here from what it had 
been there. At first it was favorably received, 4 the interest of novelty 
having more influence than the seriousness of conviction. Even from 
the first some of the topics must have contained matter for perplexity or 
cavilling. Many would be indisposed to believe the fact of Christ's 
resurrection : and many more who, in their exile from Jerusalem, were 
looking intently for the restoration of an earthly kingdom, 5 must have 
heard incredulously and unwillingly of the humiliation of Messiah. 

That St. Paul did speak of Messiah's glorious kingdom, the kingdom 
foretold in the Prophetic Scriptures themselves, may be gathered by com- 
paring together the Acts and the Epistles to the Thessalonians. The ac- 
cusation brought against him (Acts xvii. 7) was, that he was proclaiming 
another king, and virtually rebelling against the emperor. And in strict 
conformity to this the Thessalonians are reminded of the exhortations 
and entreaties he gave them, when among them, that they would " walk 
worthily of the God who had called them to His kingdom and glory " 
(1 Thess. ii: 12), and they are addressed as those who had " suffered 
affliction for the sake of that kingdom" (2 Thess. i. 5). Indeed, the 
royal' state of Christ's second advent was one chief topic which was 
urgently enforced, and deeply impressed, on the minds of the Thes- 
salonian converts. This subject tinges the whole atmosphere through 
which the aspect of this church is presented to us. It may be said that 
in each of the primitive churches, which are depicted in the apostolic 
epistles, there is some peculiar feature which gives it an individual char- 
acter. In Corinth it is the spirit of party, 6 in Galatia the rapid declension 
into Judaism, 7 in Philippi it is a steady and self-denying generosity. 8 And 
if we were asked for the distinguishing characteristic of the first Chris- 
tians of Thessalonica, we should point to their overwhelming sense of the 
nearness of the second advent, accompanied with melancholy thoughts 

1 See the account of the synagogue-wor- the synagogues was in a separate gallery or 
ship, — the desk, the ark, the manuscripts, behind a lattice, p. 153. 

the prayers, the Scripture-reading, the Tallith, 4 Acts xvii. 4 compared with xiii. 42-44. 

&c, — given in pp. 152-155. 5 Acts i. 6. 

2 Compare Acts xiii. 16, 26, with xvii. 4. 6 1 Cor. i. 10, &c. 
See Paley on 1 Thess. 7 Gal. i. 6, &c. 

3 Compare Acts xiii. 50 with xvii. 4. It 8 Phil, iv, 10-16. 
will be remembered that the women's place in 



chap. ix. ST. PAUL AMONG THE THESSALONIANS. 283 

« 

concerning those who might die before it, and with gloomy and unprac- 
tical views of the shortness of life and the vanity of the world. Each 
chapter in the first Epistle to the Thessalonians ends with an allusion to 
this subject ; and it was evidently the topic of frequent conversations, 
when the Apostle was in Macedonia. But St. Paul never spoke or wrote 
of the future as though the present was to be forgotten. When the 
Thessalonians were admonished of Christ's advent, he told them also of 
other coming events, full of practical warning to all ages, though to our 
eyes still they are shrouded in mystery, — of " the falling-away," and of 
" the man of sin." 1 " These awful revelations," he said, " must precede 
the revelation of the Son of God. Do you not remember" he adds with 
emphasis in his letter, " that when I was still with you I often 2 told you 
this 9 - You know, therefore, the hinderance why he is not revealed, as he 
will be in his own season." He told them, in the words of Christ himself, 
that " the times and the seasons" of the coming revelations were known 
only io God ; 3 and he warned them, as the first disciples had been warned 
in' Judaea, that the great day would come suddenly on men unprepared, 
" as the pangs of travail on her whose time is full," and " as a thief in 
the night ; " and he showed them, both by precept and example, that 
though it be true that life is short and the world is vanity, yet God's work 
must be done diligently and to the last. 

The whole demeanor of St. Paul among the Thessalonians may be 
traced, by means of these Epistles, with singular minuteness. We see 
there, not only. what success he had on his first entrance among them, 4 
not only how the Gospel came " with power and with full conviction of 
its truth," 5 but also " what manner of man he was among them for their 
sakes." 6 We see him proclaiming the truth with unflinching courage, 7 
endeavoring to win no converts by flattering words, 8 but warning his 
hearers of all the danger of the sins and pollution to which they were 
tempted ; 9 manifestly showing that his work was not intended to gratify 

1 2 Thess. ii. 6 " You know the manner in which I behaved 

2 The verb is in the imperfect. myself among you," &c. 1 Thess. i. 5. 
8 " But of the times and seasons, brethren, ("What manner of men we were." — Auth. 

when these things shall be you need no warn- Vers. ) Though the words are in the plural, 

ing. For yourselves know perfectly that the the allusion is to himself only. See the notes 

day of the Lord will come as a thief in the on the Epistle itself. 

night ; and while men say, Peace and safety, 7 " After I had borne suffering and outrage, 

destruction shall come upon them in a moment, as you know, at Philippi, I boldly declared to 

as the pangs of travail on her whose time is you God's Glad Tidings, though its adversa- 

full." — 1 Thess. v. 1-3. See Acts i. 7 ; Matt. ries contended mightily against me." — 1 Thess. 

xxiv. 43 ; Luke xii. 39 ; 2 Pet. iii. 10. ii. 2. 

4 " You know yourselves, brethren, that my 8 " Neither did I use nattering words, as 

coming amongst you was not fruitless." — 1 you know." — 1 Thess. i. 5. 

Thess. ii. 1. G 1 Thess. i. 5. 9 "This is the will of God, even your 



284 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, n, 

any desire of self-advancement, 1 but scrupulously maintaining an honor- 
able and unblamable character. 2 We see him rebuking and admonishing 
his converts with all the faithfulness of a father to his children, 3 and 
cherishing them with all the affection of a mother for the infant of her 
bosom. 4 We see in this Apostle at Thessalonica all the devotion of a 
friend who is ready to devote his life for those whom he loves, 5 all the 
watchfulness of the faithful pastor, to whom " each one" of his flock is 
the separate object of individual care. 6 

And from these Epistles we obtain further some information concern- 
ing what may be called the outward incidents of St. Paul's residence in 
this city. He might when there, consistently with the Lord's institution 7 
and with the practice of the other Apostles, 8 have been " burdensome " to 
those whom he taught, so as to receive from them the means of his tem- 
poral support. But that he might place his disinterestedness above all 
suspicion, and that he might set an example to those who were too much 
inclined to live by the labor of others, he declined to avail himself of that 
which was an undoubted right. He was enabled to maintain this indepen- 
dent position partly by the liberality of his friends at Philippi, who once 
and again, on this first visit to Macedonia, sent relief to his necessities 
(Phil. iv. 15, 16). And the journeys of those pious men who followed 
the footsteps of the persecuted Apostles along the Via Egnatia by Amphip- 
olis and Apollonia, bringing the alms which had been collected at Phil- 
ippi, are among the most touching incidents of the Apostolic history. 
And not less touching is that description which St. Paul himself gives us 
of that other means of support — " his own labor night and day, that he 
might not be burdensome to any of them" (1 Thess. ii. 9). He did not 
merely " rob other churches," 9 that he might do the Thessalonians ser- 
vice, but the trade he had learnt when a boy in Cilicia 10 justified the old 

sanctincation ; that you should keep yourselves ness and forbearance ; and as a nurse cherishes 

from fornication . . . not in lustful passions, her own children, so," &c. — 1 Thess. ii. 7. 

like the heathen, who know not God. . . . All The Authorized Version is defective. St. 

such the Lord will punish, as I have forewarned Paul compares himself to a mother who is 

you by my testimony." — 1 Thess. iv. 4-6. It nursing her own child. 

is needless to add that such temptations must 5 " It was my joy to give you, not only 

have abounded in a city like Thessalonica. the Gospel of Christ, but my own life also, 

We know from Lucian that the place had a bad because ye were dear unto me." — 1 Thess. ii. 

character. 8. 

1 1 Thess. ii. 5. 6 " You know how I exhorted each one 

2 " You are yourselves witnesses how holy, among you to walk worthy of God." — 1 
and just, and unblamable, were my dealings Thess. ii. 11. 

towards you." — 1 Thess. ii. 10. » Matt. x. 10; Luke x. 7; See 1 Tim. v. 

3 "• You hnow how earnestly, as a father his 18. 

own children, I exhorted, and entreated, and ad- 8 1 Cor. ix. 4, &c. 

jured," &c — I Thess. ii. 11. 9 2 Cor. xi. 8. 

4 " I behaved myself among you with mild- 10 Ch. II. p. 44. 



chap. ix. THE THESSALONIAN LETTEKS. 285 

Jewish maxim; 1 "he was like a vineyard that is fenced;" and he was 
able to show an example, not only to the " disorderly busy-bodies " of 
Thessalonica (1 Thess. iv. 11), but to all, in every age of the Church, 
who are apt to neglect their proper business (2 Thess. iii. 11), and 
ready to eat other men's bread for nought (2 Thess. iii. 8). Late at 
night, when the sun had long set on the incessant spiritual labors of the 
day, the Apostle might be seen by lamplight laboring at the rough hair- 
cloth, 2 "that he might be chargeable to none." It was an emphatic 
enforcement of the "commands" 3 which he found it necessary to give 
when lie was among them, that they should " study to be quiet and to 
work with their own hands" (1 Thess. iv. 11), and the stern principle 
he laid down, that " if a man will not work, neither should he eat." 
(2 Thess. iii. 10.) 

In these same Epistles, St. Paul speaks of his work at Thessalonica as 
having been encompassed with afflictions, 4 and of the Gospel as having 
advanced by a painful struggle. 5 What these afflictions and struggles 
were, we can gather from the slight notices of events which are contained 
in the Acts. The Apostle's success among the Gentiles roused the 
enmity of his own countrymen. Even in the Synagogue the Proselytes 
attached themselves to him more readily than the Jews. 6 But he did not 
merely obtain an influence over the Gentile mind by the indirect means 
of his disputations on the Sabbath in the Synagogue, and through the 
medium of the Proselytes ; but on the intermediate days 7 he was doubt- 
less in frequent and direct communication with the Heathen. We need 
i not be surprised at the results, even if his stay was limited to the period 
corresponding to three Sabbaths. No one can say what effects might fol- 
low from three weeks of an Apostle's teaching. But we are by no means 
forced to adopt the supposition that the time was limited to three weeks. 
It is highly probable that St. Paul remained at Thessalonica for a longer 
period. 8 At other cities, 9 when he was repelled by the Jews, he became 
the evangelist of the Gentiles, and remained till he was compelled to 
depart. The Thessalonian Letters throw great light on the rupture which 

1 " He that hath a trade in his hand, to 7 As at Athens. Acts xvii. 17. 

what is he like 1 He is like a vineyard that is 8 Paley, among others, argues for a longer 

fenced." Ibid. residence than three weeks. Horoz Paulince, 

2 See note, p. 45. on 1 Thess. No. vi. Benson lays stress on 

3 Note the phrases, — "as I commanded the coming of repeated contributions from 
you," and" even when I was with you I gave you Philippi : to which it maybe replied, on the 
this precept." other hand, that they might have come within 

4 1 Thess. i. 6. 5 1 Thess. ii. 2. three weeks, if they were sent by different 
6 " Some of them [the Jews] believed and contributors. 

consorted with Paul and Silas ; and of the 9 Acts xiii., xviii., xix., &c. 

devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the 
chief women not a few." — Acts xvii. 4. 



286 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. ix. 

certainly took place with the Jews on this occasion, and which is implied 
in that one word in the Acts which speaks of their jealousy 1 against the 
Gentiles. The whole aspect of the Letters shows that the main body of 
the Thessalonian Church was not Jewish, but Gentile. The Jews are 
spoken of as an extraneous body, as the enemies of Christianity and of 
all men, not as the elements out of which the Church was composed. 2 
The ancient Jewish Scriptures are not once quoted in either of these 
Epistles. 3 The converts are addressed as those who had turned, not from 
Hebrew fables and traditions, but from the practices of Heathen idolatry. 4 
How new and how comforting to them must have been the doctrine of the 
resurrection from the dead ! What a contrast must this revelation of " life 
and immortality " have been to the hopeless- lamentations of their own 
pagan funerals, and to the dismal teaching which we can still read in the 
sepulchral inscriptions 5 of Heathen Thessalonica, — such as told the by- 
stander that after death there is no revival, after the grave no meeting of 
those who have loved each other on earth ! How ought the truth taught 
by the Apostle to have comforted the new disciples at the thought of inev- 
itable, though only temporary, separation from their Christian brethren ! 
IAnd yet how difficult was the truth to realize, when they saw those 
brethren sink into lifeless forms, and after they had committed them to 
the earth which had received all their heathen ancestors ! How eagerly 
can we imagine them to have read the new assurances of comfort which 
came in the letter from Corinth, and which told them " not to sorrow 
like other men who have no hope " ! 6 

But we are anticipating the events which occurred between the Apos- 
tle's departure from Thessalonica and the time when he wrote the letter 
from Corinth. We must return to the persecution that led him to un- 
dertake that journey, which brought him from the capitol of Macedonia 
to that of Achaia. 

When the Jews saw Proselytes and Gentiles, and many of the leading 
women 7 of the city, convinced by St. Paul's teaching, they must have 
felt that his influence was silently undermining theirs. In proportion to 
his success in spreading Christianity, their power of spreading Judaism 
declined. Their sensitiveness would be increased in consequence of the 

1 Acts xvii. 5. 8 The Epistles to Titus and Philemon, if 

2 "You have suffered the like persecution we mistake not, are the only other instances. 
from your own countrymen which they [the 4 1 Thess. i. 9. 

churches in Judaea] endured from the Jews, 5 Here and there in such inscriptions is a 

who killed hoth the Lord Jesus and the hint of immortality ; but the general feeling 

prophets ... a people displeasing to God, of the Greek world concerning the dead is that 

and enemies to all mankind ; who would hin- of utter hopelessness, 
der me from speaking to the Gentiles," &c. — 6 1 Thess. iv. 13. 

1 Thess. ii. Contrast Rom. ix. 7 Acts xvii. 4. See above. 



chap. ix. PERSECUTION. 287 

peculiar dislike with which they were viewed at this time by the Roman 
power. 1 Thus they adopted the tactics which had been used with some 
success before at Iconium and Lystra, 2 and turned against St. Paul and 
his companions those weapons which are the readiest instruments of vul- 
gar bigotry. They excited the mob # of Thessalonica, gathering together 
a multitude of those worthless idlers about the markets and landing- 
places 3 which abound in every such city, and are always ready for any 
evil work. With this multitude they assaulted the house of Jason (per- 
haps some Hellenistic Jew, 4 whose name had been moulded into Gentile 
form, and possibly one of St. Paul's relations, who is mentioned in the 
Epistle to the Romans), 5 with whom Paul and Silas seem to have been 
lodging. Their wish was to bring Paul and Silas out to the demus, or 
assembly of the people. But they were absent from the house ; and 
Jason and some other Christians were dragged before the city magis- 
trates. The accusation vociferously brought against them was to the fol- 
lowing effect : " These Christians, who are setting the whole world in 
confusion, are come hither at last ; and Jason has received them into his 
house ; and they are all acting in the face of the Emperor's decrees, for 
they assert that there is another king, whom they call Jesus." We have 
seen 6 how some of the parts of St. Paul's teaching at Thessalonica may 
have given occasion to the latter phrase in this indictment ; and we ob- 
tain a deeper insight into the cause why the whole indictment was 
brought forward with so much vehemence, and why it was so likely to 
produce an effect on the magistrates, if we bear in mind the circumstance 
alluded to in reference to Philippi, 7 that the Jews were under the ban of 
the Roman authorities about this time, for having raised a tumult in the 
metropolis, at the instigation (as was alleged) of one Chrestus, or Chris- 
tus ; 8 and that they must have been glad, in the provincial cities, to be 
able to show their loyalty and gratify their malice, by throwing the odium 
off themselves upon a sect whose very name might be interpreted to im- 
ply a rebellion against the Emperor. 

Such were the circumstances under which Jason and his companions 
were brought before the politarchs. We use the Greek term advisedly ; 

1 See next page. 6 Above, p. 283. 

2 Acts xiv. See pp. 164, 172, &c. ; also 7 P. 335. 

pp. 161, 162. 8 T^ wor( j s f Suetonius are quoted p. 

3 Like the Lazzaroni at Naples. 262, n. 2. We shall return to them again 

4 Jason is the form which the name Joshua when we come to Acts xviii. 2. At present 
seems sometimes to have taken. See p. 137. we need only point out their probable conncc- 
It occurs 1 Mace. viii. 17, 2 Mace. ii. 23 ; also tion with the word " Christian" See pp. Ill, 
in Josephus, referred to p. 136, n. 6. ^12, and the notes. We should observe that 

5 Bom. xvi. 21. Tradition says that he St. Paul had proclaimed at Thessalonica that 
became Bishop of Tarsus. For some remarks Jesus was the Christ. Acts xvii. 3. 

on St. Paul's kinsmen, see p. 44. 



288 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. 



for it illustrates the political constitution of Thessalonica, and its contrast 
with that of Philippi, which has lately been noticed. Thessalonica was 
not a colony, like Philippi, Troas, or the Pisidian Antioch, but a, free city 
(Urbs libera), like the Syrian Antioch, or like Tarsus * and Athens. The 
privilege of what was technically called " freedom " was given to certain 
cities of the Empire for good service in the Civil Wars, or as a tribute of 
respect to the old celebrity of the place, or for other reasons of conve- 
nient policy. There were few such cities in the western provinces, 2 as 
there were no municipia in the eastern. The free towns were most nu- 
merous in those parts of the Empire where the Greek language had long 
prevailed ; and we are generally able to trace the reasons why this privi- 
lege was bestowed upon them. At Athens, it was the fame of its ancient 
eminence, and the evident policy of paying a compliment to the Greeks. 
At Thessalonica it was the part which its inhabitants had prudently taken 
in the great struggle of Augustus and Antony against Brutus and Cas- 
sius. 3 When the decisive battle had been fought, Philippi was made a 
military colony, and Thessalonica became free. 

The privilege of such a city consisted in this, — that it was entirely 
self-governed in all its internal affairs, within the territory that might be 
assigned to it. The governor of the province had no right, under ordinary 
circumstances, to interfere with these affairs. 4 The local magistrates had 
the power of life and death over the citizens of the place. No stationary 
garrison of Roman soldiers was quartered within its territory. 5 No 
insignia of Roman office were displayed in its streets. An instance of 
the care with which this rule was observed is recorded by Tacitus, who tells 
us, that Germanicus, whose progress was usually distinguished by the 
presence of twelve lictors, declined to enter Athens attended with more 
than one. There is no doubt that the magistracies of such cities would 
be very careful to show their loyalty to the Emperor on all suitable occa- 
sions, and to avoid every disorder which might compromise their valued 
dignity, and cause it to be withdrawn. And on the other hand, the Roman 



1 See p. 42. 

2 There were a few in Gaul and Spain, 
none in Sardinia. On the other hand, they 
were very numerous in Greece, the Greek 
islands, and Asia Minor. Such compliment- 
ary privileges would have had little meaning 
if bestowed on a rude people, which had no 
ancient traditions. 

3 See the coins alluded to above, p. 278. 
Some have the word EAET9EPIA.2 with the # 
head of Octavia. 

4 He might, however, have «his residence 
there, as at Antioch and Tarsus. We find, 



under the Republic, the governor of Asia 
directed to administer justice to free commu- 
nities ; but usually he did not interfere with 
the local magistrates. Even his financial of- 
ficers did not enter the territory to collect the 
taxes, but the imposts were sent to Rome in 
some other way. We may add that a free 
city might have libertas cum immunitate, i. e. 
freedom from taxation, as a Colonia might 
have the Jus Italicum. 

5 Hence such cities were sometimes called 
" ungarrisoned." 



chap. ix. THE MAGISTRACY OF THESSALOKICA. 289 

State did wisely to rely on the Greek love of empty distinction ; and it 
secured its dominion as effectually in the East by means of these privileged 
towns, as by the stricter political annexation of the municipia in the West. 
The form of government in the free cities was very various. 1 In some 
cases the old magistracies and customs were continued without any 
material modification. In others, a senate, or an assembly, was allowed to 
exist where none had existed before. Here, at Thessalonica, we find an 
assembly of the people QDemus? Acts xvii. 5) and supreme magistrates, 
who are called politarchs (Acts xvii. 8). It becomes an interesting inquiry, 
whether the existence of this title of the Thessalonian magistracy can be 
traced in any other source of information. This question is immediately 
answered in the affirmative, by one of those passages of monumental 
history which we have made it our business to cite as often as possible 
in the course of this biography. An inscription which is still legible 
on an archway in Thessalonica gives this title to the magistrates of the 
place, informs us of their number, and mentions the very names of some 
who bore the office not long before the day of St. Paul. 

A long street intersects the city from east to west. 3 This is doubtless 
the very direction which the ancient road took in its course from the 
Adriatic to the Hellespont ; for though the houses of ancient cities are 
destroyed and renewed, the lines of the great thoroughfares are usually 
unchanged. 4 If there were any doubt of the fact at Thessalonica, the 
question is set at rest by two triumphal arches which still, though disfig- 
ured by time and injury, and partly concealed by Turkish houses, span 
the breadth of this street, and define a space which must have been one 
of the public parts of the city in the apostolic age. One of these arches 
is at the western extremity, near the entrance from Rome, and is thought 
to have been built by the grateful Thessalonians to commemorate the 
victory of Augustus and Antony. 5 The other is farther to the east, and 
records the triumph of some later emperor (most probably Constantine) 
over enemies subdued near the Danube or beyond. The second of these 

1 The degree of libertas was various also. 5 A view of the arch is given in Cousinery, 
It was settled by a distinct concordat (fcedus), p. 26. See his description. He believes Oc- 
The granting and withdrawing of this privi- tavius and Antony to have staid here some 
lege, as well as its amount, was capricious and time after the victory. The arch is also de- 
irregular under the Eepublic, and especially scribed by Sir H. Holland and Dr. Clarke, 
during the Civil Wars. Under the Emperors who take the same view of its origin. The 
it became more regulated, like all the other latter traveller says that its span is 12 feet, 
details of provincial administration. and its present height 18 feet, the lower part 

2 Tafel seems to think it had also a senate. being buried to the depth of 27 feet more. It 

3 See Cousine'ry, ch. ii., and Leake, ch. is now part of the modern walls, and is called 
xxvi. the Vardar Gate, because it leads towards that 

4 See a traveller's just remark, quoted in river (the Axius). 
reference to Damascus, p. 87, n. 4. 

19 



290 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.ix. 

arches, with its sculptured camels, 1 has altogether an Asiatic aspect, and 
belongs to a period of the Empire much later than that of St. Paul. The 
first has the representation of consuls with* the toga, and corresponds in 
appearance with that condition of the arts which marks the passing of the 
Republic into the Empire. If erected at that epoch, it was undoubtedly 
existing when the Apostle was in Macedonia. The inscription in Greek 
letters, 2 which is given on the opposite page, is engraved on this arch of 
marble, 3 and informs us still of the magistracy which the Romans recog- 
nized and allowed to subsist in the " free city " of Thessalonica. We learn 
from this source that the magistrates of the city were called politarchs* 
and that they were seven in number ; and it is perhaps worth observing 
(though it is only a curious coincidence) that three of the names are * 
identical with three of St. Paul's friends in this region, — Sopater of 
Bercea? Grains the Macedonian* and Secundus of Thessalonica.' 1 

It is at least well worth our while to notice, as a mere matter of 
Christian evidence, how accurately St. Luke writes concerning the 
political characteristics of the cities and provinces which he mentions. 
He takes notice, in the most artless and incidental manner, of minute 
details which a fraudulent composer would judiciously avoid, and which 
in the mythical result of mere oral tradition would surely be loose and 
inexact. Cyprus is a " proconsular" province. 8 Philippi is a " colony." 9 
The magistrates of Thessalonica have an unusual title, unmentioned in 
ancient literature ; but it appears, from a monument of a different kind, 
that the title is perfectly correct. And the whole aspect of what hap- 
pened at Thessalonica, as compared with the events at Philippi, is in 
perfect harmony with the ascertained difference in the political condition 
of the two places. There is no mention of the rights and privileges of 
Roman citizenship ; 10 but we are presented with the spectacle of a mixed 
mob of Greeks and Jews, who are anxious to show themselves to be 
" Cozsar's friends." n No lictors, 12 with rods and fasces, appear upon the . 

1 There is also a view of this arch in Con- 3 The masonry consists of square blocks 
sinery, p. 29. He refers its origin to one of of marble, six feet thick. 

Constantiue's expeditions, mentioned by Zosi- * Nor is this the only ancient inscription in 

mus. The whole structure formerly consisted Thessalonica, on which, the same techinical 

of three arches ; it is built of brick, and seems term occurs. 6 Acts xx. 4. 6 Acts xix. 29. 
to have been faced with marble. 7 Acts xx. 4. 8 See Ch. V. p. 131. 

2 From Boeckh, No. 1,967. The inscrip- 9 See above, p. 251, &c. 
tion is given by Leake (p. 236), with a slight 10 Compare Acts xvi. 21. 

difference in one of the names. It goes on to u The conduct and language of the Jews 

mention the ra//mc r^f ttoXsoc; and the in Acts xvii. 7, should, by all means, be com- 

■yvfivaoLtipxuv. The names being chiefly Ro- pared with what was said to Pilate at Jerusa- 

man, Leake argues for a later date than that lem : " If thou let this man go, thou art not 

which is suggested by Cousinery. In either Ccesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a 

case the confirmation of St. Luke's accuracy king speaketh against Caesar." — John six. 12. 

remains the same. 12 Ta/?c>vrof. Acts xvi. 35, 38. 





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chap. ix. DEPARTURE FROM THESSALOMCA. 291 

scene ; but we hear something distinctly of a demus, 1 or free assembly of 
the people. Nothing is said of religious ceremonies 2 which the citizens, 
" being Romans," may not lawfully adopt ; all the anxiety, both of 
people and magistrates, is turned to the one point of showing their loy- 
alty to the Emperor? And those magistrates by whom the question at 
issue is ultimately decided are not Roman prcetorsf but Greek poli- 
tarchs. 5 

It is evident that the magistrates were excited and unsettled 6 as well 
as the multitude. No doubt they were anxious to stand well with the 
Roman government, and not to compromise themselves or the privileges 
of their city by a wrong decision in this dispute between the Christians 
and the Jews. 7 The course they adopted was to " take security " from 
Jason and his companions. By this expression 8 it is most probably 
meant that a sum of money was deposited with the magistrates, and that 
the Christian community of the place made themselves responsible 
that no attempt should be made against the supremacy of Rome, and 
that peace should be maintained in Thessalonica itself. By these means 
the disturbance was allayed. 

But though the magistrates had secured quiet in the city for the 
present, the position of Paul and Silas was very precarious. The lower 
classes were still excited. The Jews were in a state of fanatical dis- 
pleasure. It is evident that the Apostles could not appear in public as 
before, without endangering their own safety, and compromising their 
fellow-Christians who were security for their good behavior. The alter- 
natives before them were, either silence in Thessalonica, or departure to 
some other place. The first was impossible to those who bore the divine 
commission to preach the Gospel everywhere. They could not hesitate 
to adopt the second course ; and, under the watchful care of " the 
brethren," they departed the same evening from Thessalonica, their steps 
being turned in the direction of those mountains which are the western 
boundary of Macedonia. 9 We observe that nothing is said of the de- 



1 Acts xvii. 5. this means, as has been imagined, that Ja- 

2 Acts xvi. 21. s Acts xvii. 7. son and his friends gave bail for the appear- 

4 ZrpaTrjyoi. Acts xvi. 20, 22, 35, &c. ance of Paul and Silas before the magistrates, 
See p. 253 and p. 261. for they sent them away the same night. 

5 For a general account of Thessalonica, Some think that Jason pledged himself not to 
see the article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek receive them again into his house, or that he 
and Roman Geography. A coin of the city is gave a promise of their immediate departure, 
given at the end of Chap. XI. * Neither of these suppositions is improbable ; 

6 The words imply some disturbance of but it is clear that it was impossible for Paul 
mind on the part of the magistrates. and Silas to stay, if the other Christians were 

7 See above. security for the maintenance of the peace. 

8 Acts xvii. 9. It is very unlikely that 9 Pp. 271, 272, and the notes. 



292 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.es 

parture of Timotheus. If he was at Thessalonica at all, he stays there 
now, as Luke had staid at Philippi. 1 We can trace in all these 
arrangements a 4 deliberate care and policy for the well-being of the new 
Churches, even in the midst of the sudden movements caused by the 
outbreak of persecution. It is the same prudent and varied forethought 
which appears afterwards in the pastoral Epistles, where injunctions are 
given, according to circumstances, — to " abide " while the Apostle goes 
to some other region, 2 " hoping that he may come shortly " again, 3 — to 
" set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders," 4 — or "to 
use all diligence " to follow 5 and co-operate again in the same work at 
some new place. 

Passing under the Arch of Augustus and out of the Western Gate, the 
Via Egnatia crosses the plain and ascends the mountains which have just 
been mentioned, — forming a communication over a very rugged country 
between the Hellespont and the Adriatic. Just where the road strikes 
the mountains, at the head of a bay of level ground, the city of Edessa 
is situated, described as commanding a glorious view of all the country, 
that stretches in an almost unbroken surface to Thessalonica and the 
sea. 6 This, however, was not the point to which St. Paul turned his 
steps. He travelled, by a less important road, 7 to the town of Bercea, 
which was farther to the south. The first part of the journey was 
undertaken at night, but day must have dawned on the travellers long 
before they reached their place of destination. If the journey was at all 
like what it is now, 8 it may be simply described as follows. After leaving 
the gardens which are in the immediate neighborhood of Thessalonica, 
the travellers crossed a wide tract of corn-fields, and came to the shift- 
ing bed of the " wide-flowing Axius." About this part of the journey, 
if not before, the day must have broken upon them. Between the Axius 

1 See p. 271. ceivable, but not likely, that St. Paul went by 

2 1 Tim. i. 3. water from Thessalonica to the neighborhood 

3 1 Tim. iii. 14. of Pydna. Colonel Leake, after visiting this 

4 Tit. i. 5. city, took a boat from Eleftherokhori, and 

5 2 Tim. iv. 9, 21, and especially Tit. iii. sailed across the gulf to Salonica. Vol. iii. 
12. The first injunction we read of, after this pp. 436-438. So Dr. Clarke. 

point, to Timotheus, in conjunction with 8 The description of the journey is liter- 
Silas, is when St. Paul leaves Bercea, and ally taken from Cousinery, ch. iii. He was 
they are told " to come to him with all speed." travelling from Salonica with a caravan to a 
Acts xvii. 15. place called Perlepe, on the mountains to the 

6 See p. 274, n. 6. For a description of north-west. The usual road is up the Axius 
Edessa (Vodhena) see Cousinery. It seems to Gradisca. But one of the rivers higher up 
to be on a plateau at the edge of the moun- was said to be flooded and impassable ; hence 
tains, with waterfalls, like Tivoli. he went by Caraveria (Bercea), which is four- 

7 The Itineraries give two roads from teen leagues from Salonica. Leake travelled 
Thessalonica to Bercea, one passing through „from Salonica to PeUa crossing the Axius on 
l'ella, the other more to the south. It is con- his way. Ch. xxvii. 



chap.lx; JEWS AT BEECEA. 293 

and the Haliacmon 1 there intervenes another wide extent of the same 
continuous plain. The banks of this second river are confined by artifi- 
cial dikes to check its destructive inundations. All the country round is 
covered with a vast forest, with intervals of cultivated land, and villages 
concealed among the trees. The road extends for many miles through 
these woods, and at length reaches the base of the Western Mountains, 
where a short ascent leads up to the gate of Bercea. 

Bercea, like Edessa, is on the eastern slope of the Olympian range, and 
commands an extensive view of the plain which is watered by the Haliac- 
mon and Axius. It has many natural advantages, and is now considered 
one of the most agreeable towns in Rumili. 2 Plane-trees spread a grate- 
ful shade over its gardens. Streams of water are in every street. Its 
ancient name is said to have been derived from the abundance of its 
waters ; and the name still survives in the modern Yerria, or Kara- 
Verria. 3 It is situated on the left of the Haliacmon, about five miles 
from the point where that river breaks through an immense rocky ravine 
from the mountains to the plain. A few insignificant ruins of the Greek 
and Roman periods may yet be noticed. The foundations of an ancient 
bridge are passed on the ascent to the city-gate ; and parts of the Greek 
fortifications may be seen above the rocky bed of a mountain stream 
The traces of repairs in the walls, of Roman and Byzantine date, 4 are 
links between the early fortunes of Bercea and its present condition, 
It still boasts of eighteen or twenty thousand inhabitants, and is placed 
in the second rank of the cities of European Turkey. 5 

In the apostolic age Bercea was sufficiently populous to contain a colo- 
ny of Jews. 6 When St. Paul arrived, he went, according to his custom, 
immediately to the synagogue. The Jews here were of a " nobler " spirit 
than those of Thessalonica. Their minds were less narrowed by preju- 
dice, and they were more willing to receive " the truth in the love of it." 
There was a contrast between two neighboring communities apparently 
open to the same religious influences, like that between the " village of 
the Samaritans," which refused to receive Jesus Christ (Luke ix.), and 
that other " city " in the same country where " many believed " because 

1 The Haliacmon itself would not be 8 Leake uses the former term : Cousine'ry 
crossed before arriving at Bercea (see below). calls the town " Caraveria," or " Yerria the 
But there are other large rivers which flow Black." In the eleventh century we find it 
into it, and which are often flooded. Some called " Verre." 

of the "perils of rivers" (p. 146) may very 4 It was a fortified city in the eleventh 

possibly have been in this district. See the century. 

preceding note. Compare Leake's remarks 5 Cousinery reckons the inhabitants at 

on the changing channels of these rivers, p. 15,000 or 20,000. 

437. 6 Acts xvii. 10. 

2 See Leake, p. 290, &c. 



294 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.e. 

of the word of one who witnessed of Him, and " many more because of 
His own word " (John iv.). In a spirit very different from the ignoble 
violence of the Thessalonian Jews, the Berceans not only listened to the 
Apostle's arguments, but they examined the Scriptures themselves, to see 
if those arguments were justified by prophecy. And, feeling the impor- 
tance of the subject presented to them, they made this scrutiny of their 
holy books their " daily " occupation. This was the surest way to come 
to a strong conviction of the Gospel's divine origin. Truth sought in 
tills spirit cannot long remain undiscovered. The promise that " they 
who seek shall find " was fulfilled at Bercea ; and the Apostle's visit 
resulted in the conversion of " many." Nor was the blessing confined to 
the Hebrew community. The same Lord who " is rich unto all that call 
upon Him," 1 called many " not of the Jews only, but also of the Gen- 
tiles." 2 Both men and women, 3 and those of the highest rank, among 
the Greeks, 4 were added to the church founded by St. Paul in that pro- 
vincial city of Macedonia, which was his temporary shelter from the storm 
of persecution. 

The length of St. Paul's stay in the city is quite uncertain. From the 
fact that the Berceans were occupied " daily " in searching the Scriptures 5 
for arguments to establish or confute the Apostle's doctrine, we conclude 
that he remained there several days at least. From his own assertion in 
his first letter to the Thessalonians, 6 that, at the time when he had been 
recently taken away from them, he was very anxious, and used every 
effort to revisit them, we cannot doubt that he lingered as long as possi- 
ble in the neighborhood of Thessalonica. 7 This desire would account for 
a residence of some weeks ; and there are other passages 8 in the same 
Epistle which might induce us to suppose the time extended even to 
months. But when we find, on the other hand, that the cause which led 
him to leave Bercea was the hostility of the Jews of Thessalonica, and 
when we remember that the two cities were separated only by a distance 
of sixty miles, 9 — that the events which happened in the Synagogue of 

1 Rom. x. 12. rumor of the introduction of Christianity 

' 2 Acts ix. 24. into Thessalonica. See below, on 1 Thess. 

3 Acts xvii. 12. The stay at Athens was short, and the Epistle 

4 The word " Greek " (v. 22) must be con- was written soon after St. Paul's arrival at 
sidered as belonging to " men " as well as Corinth ; and, if a sufficient time had elapsed 
" women." for a general knowledge to be spread abroad 

5 Acts xvii. 11. of what had happened at Thessalonica, we 

6 1 Thess. ii. 17. should be inclined to believe that the delay at 

7 He says that he made more than one Beroea was considerable. 

attempt to return ; and in this expression he 9 Wieseler gives a different turn to this con- 
may be referring to what took place at Beroea, sideration, and argues that, because the dis- 
as probably as at Athens. tance between Bercea and Thessalonica was so 

8 Those which relate to the widely-extended great, therefore a long time must have elapsed 



chap. ix. DIRECTION OF ST. PAUL'S FLIGHT. 295 

one city would soon be made known in the Synagogue of the other, — 
and that Jewish bigotry was never long in taking active measures to 
crush its opponents, — we are led to the conclusion that the Apostle was 
forced to retreat from Bercea after no long interval of time. The Jews 
came like hunters upon their prey, as they had done before from Iconium 
to Lystra. 1 They could not arrest the progress of the Gospel ; but they 
" stirred up the people " there, as at Thessalonica before. 2 They made 
his friends feel that his continuance in the city was no longer safe. Pie 
was withdrawn from Bercea and sent to Athens, as in the beginning of his 
ministry (Acts ix. 30) he had been withdrawn from Jerusalem and sent 
to Tarsus. And on this occasion, as on that, 3 the dearest wishes of his 
heart were thwarted. The providence of God permitted "Satan" to 
hinder him from seeing his dear Thessalonian converts, whom " once and 
again " he had desired to revisit. 4 The divine counsels were accomplished 
by means of the antagonism of wicked men ; and the path of the Apostle 
was urged on, in the midst of trial and sorrow, in the direction pointed 
out in the vision at Jerusalem, 5 "far hence unto the Gentiles" 

An immediate departure was urged upon the Apostle ; and the 
Church of Bercea suddenly 6 lost its teacher. But Silas and Timotheus 
remained behind, 7 to build it up in its holy faith, to be a comfort and 
support in its trials and persecutions, and to give it such organization 
as might be necessary. Meanwhile some of the new converts ac- 
companied St. Paul on his flight ; 8 thus adding a new instance to 
those we have already seen of the love which grows up between 
those who have taught and those who have learnt the way of the soul's 
salvation. 9 * 

Without attempting to divine all the circumstances which may have 
concurred in determining the direction of this flight, we can mention 
some obvious reasons why it was the most natural course. To have 
returned in the direction of Thessalonica was manifestly impossible. To 

before the news from the latter place could 7 Acts xvii. 14. The last mention of Tim- 
have summoned the Jews from the former. othy was at Philippi, but it is highly probable 
But we must take into account, not merely the that he joined St. Paul at Thessalonica. See 
distance between the two cities, but the pecu- above, p. 292. Possibly he brought some of 
liarly close communication which subsisted the contributions from Philippi, p. 284. We 
among the Jewish synagogues. See, for in- shall consider hereafter the movements of 
stance, Acts xxvi. 11. Silas and Timothy at this point of St. Paul's 

1 See pp. 172, 173. journey. See note, p. 338. Meantime, we 

2 " There also," Acts xvii. 13. Compare may observe that Timotheus was very proba- 
v. 5. bly sent to Thessalonica (1 Thess. iii.) from 

8 See the remarks on the vision at Jerusa- Bercea, and not from Athens. 
lem, p. 97. 8 Acts xvii. 14, 15. 

* See the preceding page. 9 See above, on the jailer's conversion, pp. 

6 Acts xvii. 17=21. 6 See v. 14. 266, 267. Also p. 117. 



296 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. ix. 

have pushed over the mountains, by the Yia Egnatia, towards Illyricurn 
and the western parts of Macedonia, would have taken the Apostle 
from those shores of the Archipelago to which his energies were pri- 
marily to be devoted. Mere concealment and inactivity were not to be 
thought of. Thus the Christian fugitives turned their steps towards the 
sea, 1 and from some point on the coast where a vessel was found, they 
embarked for Athens. In the ancient tables two roads 2 are marked 
which cross the Haliacmon and intersect the plain from Bercea, one pass- 
ing by Pydna, 3 and the other leaving it to the left, and both coming to 
the coast at Dium near the base of Mount Olympus. The Pierian 
level (as this portion of the plain was called) extends about ten miles in 
breadth from the woody falls of the mountain to the seashore, forming a 
narrow passage from Macedonia into Greece. 4 Thus Dium was " the 
great bulwark of Macedonia on the south ; " and it was a Roman colony, 
like that other city which we have described on the eastern frontier. 5 
No city is more likely than Dium to have been the last, as Philippi was 
" the first," through which St. Paul passed in his journey through the 
province. 

Here then, — where Olympus, dark with woods, rises from the plain 
by the shore, to the broad summit, glittering with snow, which was the 
throne of the Homeric gods, 6 — at the natural termination of Macedo- 
nia, — and where the first scene of classical and poetic Greece opens on 
our view, — we take our leave, for the present, of the Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles. The shepherds from the heights 7 above the vale of Tempe 
may have watched the sails of his ship that day, as it moved like a 



1 The words (Acts xvii. 14) translated for other reasons, Dium was more convenient- 
" as it were to the sea " in the Authorized ly situated for the purpose. 

Version do not imply that there was any strat- 4 Leake describes the ruins of Dium, 

agem, but simply denote the intention or the among which are probably some remains of 

direction. It seems very likely that in the first the temple of Jupiter Olympius, who was 

instance they had no fixed plan of going to honored here in periodical games. Mount 

Athens, but merely to the sea. Their further Olympus he describes as a conspicuous object 

course was determined by providential circum- for all the country round, as far as Saloniki, 

stances ; and, when St. Paul was once arrived and as deriving from its steepness an increase 

at Athens, he could send a message to Tim- of grandeur and apparent height, 
othy and Silas to follow him (v. 15). Those 5 See above, on Philippi. 

are surely mistaken who suppose that St. 6 The epithets given by Homer to this 

Paul travelled from Macedonia to Attica by poetic mountain are as fully justified by the 

land. accounts of modern travellers, as the descrip- 

2 The distance in the Antonine Itinerary tions of the scenery alluded to at the close of 
is seventeen miles. A Byzantine writer says the preceding chapter, p. 243, n. 3. 

that Bercea is 160 stadia from the sea. 7 See Dr. Wordsworth's Greece, p. 197, 

8 Mr. Tate ( Continuous History, frc.) sug- and Mr ITrquhart's Spirit of the East, vol. i 

gests that St. Paul may have sailed from p. 426 
Pydna. But Pydna was not a seaport, and, 



VOYAGE TO ATHENS. 



297 



white speck oyer the outer waters of the Thermaic Gulf. The sailors, 
looking back from the deck, saw the great Olympus rising close above 
them in snowy majesty. 1 The more distant mountains beyond Thessa- 
lonica are already growing faint and indistinct. As the vessel approaches 
the Thessalian archipelago, 2 Mount Athos begins to detach itself from 
the isthmus that binds it to the main, and, with a few other heights 
of Northern Macedonia, appears like an island floating in the hori- 
zon. 3 . 




The Tullianum at Rome. 4 



1 Compare p. 272, n. 1, and p. 272, n. 5. 

See also Purdy's Sailing Directory, p. 148 : 
" To the N. W. of the Thessalian Isles the 
extensive Gulf of Salonica extends thirty 
leagues to the north-westward, before it 
changes its direction to the north-eastward 
and forms the port. The country on the west, 
part of the ancient Thessaly, and now the 
province of Tricala, exhibits a magnificent 
range of mountains, which include Pelion, 
now, Patras, Ossa, now Kissova, and Olym- 
pus, now Elymbo. The summit of the latter 
is six thousand fiaet above the level of the 



2 The group of islands off the north end 
of Eubcea, consisting of Sciathos, Scopelos, 
Peparethos, &c. For an account of them, see 
Purdy, pp. 145-148. 

8 Cousinery somewhere gives this descrip- 
tion of the appearance of heights near Sa- 
loniki, as seen from the Thessalian islands. 
For an instance of a very unfavorable voyage 
in these seas, in the month of December, 
thirteen days being spent at sea between Sa- 
lonica and Zeitun, the reader may consult 
Holland's. Travels, ch. xvi. 

4 From Rich's Dictionary of Greek and 72o 
man Antiquities. 



CHAPTER X. 

Arrival on the Coast of Attica. — Scenery round Athens. — The Pirasus and the " Long 
Walls." — The Agora. — The Acropolis. — The "Painted Porch " and the " Garden." — 
The Apostle alone in Athens. — Greek Religion. — The Unknown God. — Greek Philoso- 
phy. — The Stoics and Epicureans. — Later Period of the Schools. — St. Paul in the Agora. 
— The Areopagus. — Speech of St. Paul. — Departure from Athens. 

IN the life of Apollonius of Tyana, 1 there occurs a passage to the 
following effect : — - " Having come to anchor in the Piraeus, he went 
up from the Harbor to the City. Advancing onward, he met several of 
the Philosophers. In his first conversation, finding the Athenians much 
devoted to Religion, he discoursed on sacred subjects. This was at 
Athens, where also altars of Unknown Divinities are set up." To draw 
a parallel between a holy Apostle and an itinerant Magician would be 
unmeaning and profane : but this extract from the biography of Apollo- 
nius would be a suitable and comprehensive motto to that passage in St. 
Paul's biography on which we are now entering. The sailing into the 
Piraeus, — the entrance into the city of Athens, — the interviews with 
philosophers, — the devotion of the Athenians to religious ceremonies 
— the discourse concerning the worship of the Deity, — the ignorance 



1 He has heen alluded to before, p. 112, trates that peculiar state of philosophy and 

n. 3. " His life by Philostratus is a mass of superstition which the Gospel preached by 

incongruities and fables ; " but it is an impor- St. Paul had to encounter. Apollonius was 

tant book as reflecting the opinions of the age partly educated at Tarsus; he travelled from 

in which it was written. Apollonius himself city to city in Asia Minor; from Greece he 

produced a great excitement in the Apostolic went to Rome, in the reign of Nero, about the 

age. See Neander's General Church History time when the magicians had lately been ex- 

(Eng. Trans.), pp. 40-43, and pp. 236-238. pelled; he visited Athens and Alexandria, 

It was the fashion among the anti-Christian where he had a singular meeting with Vespa- 

writers of the third century to adduce him as sian : on a second visit to Italy he vanished 

a rival of our Blessed Lord ; and the same miraculously from Puteoli : the last scene of 

profane comparison has been renewed by his life was Ephesus, or, possibly, Crete or 

some of our English freethinkers. Without Rhodes. See the Life in Smith's Dictionary 

alluding to this any further, we may safely of Biography. It is thought by many that St. 

find some interest in putting his life by the Paul and Apollonius actually met in Ephesus 

side of that of St. Paul. They lived at the and Rome. Burton's Lectures on Ecclesiastical 

same time, and travelled through the same History, pp. 157, 240. 
countries ; and the life of the magician illus- 
298 



cbap.x. AEEIYAL ON THE COAST OF ATTICA. 299 

implied by the altars to unknown Gods, 1 — these are exactly the subjects 
which are now before us. If a summary of the contents of the seven- 
teenth chapter of the Acts had been required, it could not have been 
more conveniently expressed. The city visited by Apollonius was the 
Athens which was visited by St. Paul : the topics of discussion — the 
character of the people addressed — the aspect of every thing around — 
were identically the same. The difference was this, that the Apostle 
could give to his hearers what the philosopher could not give. The God 
whom Paul " declared" was worshipped by Apollonius himself as " igno- 
rantly" as by the Athenians. 

We left St. Paul on that voyage which his friends induced him to 
undertake on the flight from Beroea. The vessel was last seen among 
the Thessalian islands. 2 About that point the highest land in Northern 
Macedonia began to be lost to view. Gradually the nearer heights of the 
6nowy Olympus 3 itself receded into the distance as the vessel on her prog- 
ress approached more and more near to the centre of all the interest of 
classical Greece. All the land and water in sight becomes more eloquent 
as we advance ; the lights and shadows, both of poetry and history, are on 
every side ; every rock is a monument ; every current is animated with 
some memory of the past. For a distance of ninety miles, from the con- 
fines of Thessaly to the middle part of the coast of Attica, the shore is 
protected, as it were, by the long island of Eubcea. Deep in the inner- 
most gulf, where the waters of the iEgean retreat far within the land, 
over against the northern parts of this island, is the pass of Thermopylae, 
where a handful of Greek warriors had defied all the hosts of Asia. 
In the crescent-like bay on the shore of Attica, near the southern extremi- 
ty of the same island, is the maritime sanctuary of Marathon, where 
the battle was fought which decided that Greece was never to be a Per 
sian Satrapy. 4 When the island of Eubcea is left behind, we soon reach 
the southern extremity of Attica, — Cape Colonna, — Sunium's , high 
promontory, still crowned with the white columns of that temple of 
Minerva, which was the landmark to Greek sailors, and which asserted 
the presence of Athens at the very vestibule of her country. 5 

After passing this headland, our course turns to the westward across 
the waters of the Saronic Gulf, with the mountains of the Morea on our 
left, and the islands of iEgina and Salamis in front. To one who travels 



1 This subject is fully entered into below. 5 See Wordsworth's Athens and Attica, ch. 

2 Above, p. 297. xxvii. A description of the promontory and 
8 See the preceding chapter, p. 296, also ruins will be found in Mure's Journal of a 

272. Tour in Greece. See Falconer's Shipwreck, 

4 See Quarterly Review for September, 1846, iii. 526. 
and the first number of the Classical Museum. 



300 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat. x. 

in classical lands no moment is more full of interest and excitement than 
when he has left the Cape of Sunium behind, and eagerly looks for the 
first glimpse of that city " built nobly on the JEgean shore," which was 
" the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence." 1 To the traveller 
in classical times its position was often revealed by the flashing of the 
light on the armor of Minerva's colossal statue, which stood with shield 
and spear on the summit of the citadel. 2 At the very first sight of Athens, 
and even from the deck of the vessel, we obtain a vivid notion of the 
characteristics of its position. And the place where it stands is so re- 
markable — its ancient inhabitants were so proud of its climate and its 
scenery — that we may pause on our approach to say a few words on 
Attica and Athens, and their relation to the rest of Greece. 

Attica is a triangular tract of country, the southern and eastern sides 
of which meet in the point of Sunium ; its third side is defined by the 
high mountain ranges of Cithaeron and Parnes, which separate it by a 
strong barrier from Bceotia and Northern Greece. Hills of inferior ele- 
vation connect these ranges with the mountainous surface of the south- 
east, which begins from Sunium itself, and rises on the south coast to the 
round summits of Hymettus, and the higher peak of Pentelicus near 
Marathon on the east. The rest of Attica is a plain, one reach of which 
comes down to the sea on the south, at the very base of Hymettus. Here, 
about five miles from the shore, an abrupt rock rises from the level, like 
the rock of Stirling Castle, bordered on the south by some lower eminences, 
and commanded by a high craggy peak on the north. This rock is 
the Acropolis of Athens. These lower eminences are the Areopagus, the 
Pnyx, and the Museum, which determined the rising and falling of 
the ground in the ancient city. That craggy peak is the hill of Lycabet- 
tus, 3 from the summit of which the spectator sees all Athens at his feet, 
and looks freely over the intermediate plain to the Piraeus and the 
sea. 

Athens and the Piraeus must never be considered separately. One 
was the city, the other was its harbor. Once they were connected 
together by a continuous fortification. Those who looked down from 
Lycabettus in the time of Pericles could follow with the eye all the long 
line of wall from the temples on the Acropolis to the shipping in the port. 
Thus we are brought back to the point from which we digressed. We 
were approaching the Piraeus; and, since we must land in maritime 

1 Paradise Regained, iv. 240. burgh and its neighborhood, and there is so 

2 This is stated by Pausanias. much resemblance between Edinburgh Castle 
8 The relation of Lycabettus to the crowded and the Acropolis, that a comparison between 

buildings below, and to the surrounding land- the city of the Saronic gulf and the city of the 
scape, is so like that of Arthur's Seat to Edin- Forth has become justly proverbial. 



chap.x. SCEKEKY BOUND ATHENS. 301 

Athens before we cau enter Athens itself, let us return once more to the 
vessel's deck, and look round on the land and the water. The island on our 
left, with steep cliffs at the water's edge, is iEgina. The distant heights 
beyond it are the mountains of the Morea. Before us is another island, 
the illustrious Salamis ; though in the view it is hardly disentangled from 
the coast of Attica, for the strait where the battle was fought is narrow 
and winding. The high ranges behind stretch beyond Eleusis and 
Megara, to the left towards Corinth, and to the right along the frontier of 
Bceotia. This last ridge is the mountain-line of Parnes, of which we have 
spoken above. Clouds l are often seen to rest on it at all seasons of the 
year, and in winter it is usually white with snow. The dark heavy moun- 
tain rising close to us on the right immediately from the sea is Hymettus. 
Between Parnes and Hymettus is the plain ; and rising from the plain is 
the Acropolis, distinctly visible, with Lycabettus behind, and seeming in 
the clear atmosphere to be nearer than it is. 

The outward aspect of this scene is now what it ever was. The lights 
and shadows on the rocks of iEgina and Salamis, the gleams on the dis- 
tant mountains, the clouds or the snow on Parnes, the gloom in the deep 
dells of Hymettus, the temple-crowned rock and the plain beneath it, — 
are natural features, which only vary with the alternations of morning and 
evening, and summer and winter. 2 Some changes indeed have taken 
place : but they are connected with the history of man. The vegetation 
is less abundant, 3 the population is more scanty. In Greek and Roman 
times, bright villages enlivened the promontories of Sunium and iEgina, 
and all the inner reaches of the bay. Some readers will indeed remem- 
ber a dreary picture which Sulpicius gave his friend Atticus of the deso- 
lation of these coasts when Greece had ceased to be free ; 4 but we must 
make some allowances for the exaggerations of a poetical regret, and 
must recollect that the writer had been accustomed to the gay and busy 
life of the Campanian shore. After the renovation of Corinth, 5 and in 
the reign of Claudius, there is no doubt that all the signs of a far more 
numerous population than at present were evident around the Saronic 
Gulf, and that more white sails were to be seen in fine weather plying 
across its waters to the harbors of Cenchrea 6 or Piraeus. 

Now there is indeed a certain desolation over this beautiful bay : 

1 See the passage from the Clouds of now. Plato complains that in his day the 
Aristophanes quoted by Dr. Wordsworth. wood was diminishing. 

Athens and Attica, p. 58. * Cic. Ep. Fam. iv. 5. 

2 This is written under the recollection of 6 Corinth was in ruins in Cicero's time, 
the aspect of the coast on a cloudy morning in For the results of its restoration, see the next 
winter. It is perhaps more usually seen under chapter. 

the glare of a hot sky. 6 See Acts xviii. 18. Kom. xvi. 1. 

3 Athens was not always as bare as it is 



302 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

Corinth is fallen, and Cenchrea is an insignificant village. The Pirceus 
is probably more like what it was, than any other spot upon the coast. 
It remains what by nature it has ever been, — a safe basin of deep water, 
concealed by the surrounding rock ; and now, as in St. Paul's time, the 
proximity of Athens causes it to be the resort of various shipping. We 
know that we are approaching it at the present day, if we see, rising 
above the rocks, the tall masts of an English line-of-battle ship, side by 
side with the light spars of a Russian corvette 1 or the black funnel of a 
French steamer. The details were different when the Mediterranean was 
a Roman lake. The heavy top-gear 2 of corn-ships from Alexandria or 
the Euxine might then be a conspicuous mark among the small coasting- 
vessels and. fishing-boats ; and one bright spectacle was then pre-eminent, 
which the lapse of centuries has made cold and dim, the perfect buildings 
on the summit of the Acropolis, with the shield and spear of Minerva 
Promachus glittering in the sun. 3 But those who have coasted along be- 
neath Hymettus, — and past the indentations in the shore, 4 which were 
sufficient harbors for Athens in the days of her early navigation, — and 
round by the ancient tomb, which tradition has assigned to Themistocles, 5 
into the better and safer harbor of the Piraeus, — require no great effort 
of the imagination to picture the Apostle's arrival. For a moment, as 
we near the entrance, the land rises and conceals all the plain. Idlers 
come down upon the rocks to watch the coming vessel. The sailors are 
all on the alert. Suddenly an opening is revealed ; and a sharp turn of 
the helm brings the ship in between two moles, 6 on which towers are 
erected. We are in smooth water ; and anchor is cast in seven fathoms 
in the basin of the Piraeus. 7 

The Piraeus, with its suburbs (for so, though it is not strictly accurate, 
we may designate the maritime city), was given to Athens as a natural 



1 This was written in 1850. The entrance lies E. by S. and W. by N., and 

2 See Smith's Shipwreck, fyc. has in it nine and ten fathoms. There are 
8 See above, p. 300. three moleheads, two of which yon have on the 

4 The harbors of Phalerum and Munychia. starboard hand, and one on the larboard. 

5 For the sepulchre by the edge of the "When past these moleheads, shorten all sail, 
water, popularly called the " tomb of Themis- luff up, and anchor in seven fathoms. The 
tocles," see Leake's Athens, pp. 379, 380, and ground is clear and good. There is room 
the notes. enough for three frigates. As the place is very 

6 Some parts of the ancient moles are re- narrow, great care is required. . . . During 
maining. Leake, p. 272. See what is said of the summer months the sea-breezes blow, nearly 
the colossal lions (now removed to Venice) all day, directly into the harbor. . . . The 
which gave the harbor its modern name, p. 254. middle channel of the harbor, with a depth 

7 " The entrance of the Pireeus (Port Leoni) of 9 or 10 fathoms, is 110 feet in breadth; 
is known by a small obelisk, built on a low the starboard channel, with 6 fathoms, 40* feet ; 
point by the company of H. M. ship Cambria, the larboard, with 2 fathoms, only 28 feet." — 
in 1820, on the starboard hand going in. . . . Purdy's Sailing Directions, p. 83. 



L 



chap.x. THE "LONG WALLS." 303 

advantage, to which much of her greatness must be traced. It consists 
of a projecting, portion of rocky ground, which is elevated above the 
neighboring shore, and probably was originally entirely insulated in the 
sea. The two rivers of Athens — the Cephisus and Ilissus — seem to 
have formed, in the course of ages, the low marshy ground which now 
connects Athens with its port. The port itself possesses all the advan- 
tages of shelter and good anchorage, deep water, and sufficient space. 1 
Themistocles, seeing that the pre-eminence of his country could only be 
maintained by her maritime power, fortified the Piraeus as the outpost of 
Athens, and enclosed the basin of the harbor as a dock within the walls. 
In the long period through which Athens had been losing its political 
power, these defences had been neglected and suffered to fall into decay, 
or had been used as materials for other buildings : but there was still a 
fortress on the highest point ; 2 the harbor was still a place of some re- 
sort ; 3 and a considerable number of seafaring people dwelt in the streets 
about the seashore. When the republic of Athens was flourishing, the 
sailors were a turbulent and worthless part of its population. And the 
Piraeus under the Romans was not without some remains of the same 
disorderly class, as it doubtless retained many of the outward features of 
its earlier appearance : — the landing-places and covered porticoes ; 4 the 
warehouses where the corn from the Black Sea used to be laid up ; the 
stores of fish brought in daily from the Saronic Gulf and the JEgean ; 
the gardens in the watery ground at the edge of the plain; the theatres 5 
into which the sailors used to flock to hear the comedies of Menander ; 
and the temples 6 where they were spectators of a worship which had no 
beneficial effect on their characters. 

Had St. Paul come to this spot four hundred years before, he would 
have been in Athens from the moment of his landing at the Piraeus. At 
that time the two cities were united together by the double line of fortifi- 
cation, which is famous under the name of the " Long Walls" The 
space included between these two arms 7 of stone might be considered 
(as, indeed, it was sometimes called) a third city ; for the street of five 
miles in length thus formed across the plain was crowded with people, 

1 See the preceding note. 5 In one of the theatres near the harbor we 

2 The height of Munychia. have the mention of a great meeting during 

3 Strabo speaks of the population living in the Peloponnesian war. Leake, p. 394. 

" villages about the port." One of them was 6 See Pausanias. It is here that Pausanias 

probably near the theatre of Munychia, on the mentions the altars to the unknoivn gods. 

low ground on the east of the main harbor. 7 " Thesere brachia longa via?," as they are 

Leake, p. 396. Even in the time of Alexander called by Propertius (iii. 20, 24). But the 

the Pirseus had so much declined that a comic name by which they were usually known at 

writer compared it to a great empty walnut. Athens was " the Long legs." 
Leake, p. 402. 

4 We read especially of the " long portico/' 
which was also used as a market. 



304 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.x. 

whose habitations were shut out from all view of the country by the vast 
wall on either side. Some of the most pathetic passages of Athenian 
history are associated with this "longomural" enclosure: as when, in 
the beginning of the Peloponnesian war, the plague broke out in the 
autumn weather among the miserable inhabitants, who were crowded 
here to suffocation ; l or, at the end of the same war, when the news 
came of the defeat on the Asiatic shore, and one long wail went up from 
the Piraeus, " and no one slept in Athens that night." 2 The result of 
that victory was, that these long walls were rendered useless by being 
partially destroyed ; and though another Athenian admiral and states- 
man 3 restored what Pericles had first completed, this intermediate fortifi- 
cation remained effective only for a time. In the incessant changes 
which fell on Athens in the Macedonian period, they were injured and 
became unimportant. 4 In the Roman siege under Sulla, the stones were 
used as materials for other military works. So that when Augustus was 
on the throne, and Athens had reached its ultimate position as &free city 
of the province of Achaia, Strabo, in his description of the place, speaks 
of the Long Walls as matters of past history ; and Pausanias, a century 
later, says simply that " you see the ruins of the walls as you go up from 
the Piraeus." Thus we can easily imagine the aspect of these defences 
in the time of St. Paul, which is intermediate to these two writers. On 
each side of the road were the broken fragments of the rectangular 
masonry put together in the proudest days of Athens ; more conspicuous 
than they are at present (for now 5 only the foundations can be traced 
here and there acro:s the plain), but still very different from what they 
were when two walls of sixty feet high, with a long succession of towers, 6 
stood to bid defiance to every invader of Attica. 

The consideration of the Long Walls leads us to that of the city walls 
themselves. Here many questions might be raised concerning the ex- 
tent of the enclosure, 7 and the positions of the gates, 8 when Athens was 

1 Thucyd. ii. 17. relating to the Long Walls leaves no question 

2 Xen. Hell. ii. 2, 3. 8 Conon. as to their having existed." — Leake. 

4 Livy speaks of their ruins being objects 7 Our plan of Athens is taken from that of 

of admiration in the time of JSm. Paulus. Kiepert, which is based on Forchammer's argu- 

6 See Leake, Wordsworth, and other mod- ments. It differs materially from that of 

em travellers. It seems from what Spon and Leake, especially in giving a larger area to the 

Wheler say, that, in 1676, the remains were city on the east and south, and thus bringing 

larger and more continuous than at present. the Acropolis into the centre. Forchammer 

6 " There is no direct evidence of the height thinks that the traces of ancient walls which 

of the Long Walls ; but, as Appian informs us are found on the Pnyx, &c, do not belong to 

that the walls of the Peiraic city were forty the fortification of Themistocles, but to some 

cubits high, we may presume those of the Long later defences erected by Valerian. 
Walls were not less. Towers were absolutely 8 For various discussions on the gates, see 

necossary to such a work ; and the inscription Leake, Wordsworth, and Forchammer. 



chap.x. OBJECTS SEEN BY ST. PAUL. 305 

under the Roman dominion. But all such inquiries must be entirely 
dismissed. We* will assume that St. Paul entered the city by the gate 
which led from the Piraeus, that this gate was identical with that by 
which Pausanias entered, and that its position was in the hollow between 
the outer slopes of the Pnyx and Museum. 1 It is no ordinary advantage 
that we possess a description of Athens under the Romans, by the trav- 
eller and antiquarian whose name has just been mentioned. The work 
of Pausanias 2 will be our best guide to the discovery of what St. Paul 
saw. By following his route through the city, we shall be treading in 
the steps of the Apostle himself, and shall behold those very objects which 
excited his indignation and compassion. 

Taking, then, the position of the Peiraic gate as determined, or at least 
resigning the task of topographical inquiries, we enter the city, and, with 
Pausanias as our guide, look round on the objects which were seen by the 
Apostle. At the very gateway we are met with proofs of the peculiar 
tendency of the Athenians to multiply their objects both of art and de- 
votion. 3 Close by the building where the vestments were laid up which 
were used in the annual procession of their tutelary divinity Minerva, is 
an image of her rival Neptune, seated on horseback, and hurling his tri- 
dent. 4 We pass by a temple of Ceres, on the walls of which an archaic 
inscription informs us that the statues it contains were the work of 
Praxiteles. We go through the gate : and immediately the eye is at- 
tracted by the sculptured forms of Minerva, Jupiter, and Apollo, of Mer- 
cury and the Muses, standing near a sanctuary of Bacchus. We are 
already in the midst of an animated scene, where temples, statues, and 
altars are on every side, and where the Athenians, fond of publicity and 
the open air, fond of hearing and telling what is curious and strange, 5 
are enjoying their climate and inquiring for news. A long street is 
before us, with a colonnade or cloister on either hand, like the covered 
arcades of Bologna or Turin. 6 At the end of the street, by turning to 

1 Pausanias does not mention the Peiraic exception of the new buildings erected by 
gate by that name. See Leake, Wordsworth, Hadrian. 

and Forchammer. The first of these authori- 8 Acts xvii. 23. 

ties places it where the modern road from the 4 We have used the terms " Minerva, Nep- 

Pirseus enters Athens, beyond all the high tune," &c, instead of the more accurate terms. 

ground to the north of the Pnyx; the second "Athene, Poseidon," &c.,in accommodation to 

places it in the hollow between the Pnyx and the popular language. So before (Ch. VI.), in 

Museum ; the third in the same direction, but the case of Jupiter and Mercury. Sec note p.. 

more remote from the Acropolis, in conformity 168, n. 3. 

with his view concerning the larger circum- 6 Acts xvii. 21. 

ference of the walls. 6 Forchammer makes this comparison. It 

2 Pausanias visited Athens about fifty years is probable, however, that these covered walks 
after St. Paul. It is probable that very few were not formed with arches, but with pillars. 
changes had taken place in the city, with the bearing horizontal entablatures. The posi- 

20 



8U6 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.x. 

the left, we might go through the whole Ceramicus, 1 which leads by the 
tombs of eminent Athenians to the open inland country and the groves 
of the Academy. But we turn to the right into the Agora, which was the 
centre of a glorious public life, when the orators and statesmen, the poets 
and the artists of Greece, found there all the incentives of their noblest 
enthusiasm ; and still continued to be the meeting-place of philosophy, 
of idleness, of conversation, and of business, when Athens could only be 
proud of her recollections of the past. On the south side is the Pnyx, 2 
a sloping hill partially levelled into an open area for political assemblies ; 
on the north side is the more craggy eminence of the Areopagus ; 3 before 
us, towards the east, is the Acropolis, 4 towering high above the scene of 
which it is the glory and the crown. In the valley enclosed by these' 
heights is the Agora, 5 which must not be conceived of as a great " market " 
(Acts xvii. 17), like the bare spaces in many modern towns, where little 
attention has been paid to artistic decoration, — but is rather to be com- 
pared to the beautiful squares of such Italian cities as Yerona and Flor- 
ence, where historical buildings have closed in the space within narrow 
limits, and sculpture has peopled it with impressive figures. Among the 
buildings of greatest interest are the porticoes or cloisters, which were dec- 
orated with paintings and statuary, like the Campo Santo at Pisa. We 
.think we may be excused for multiplying these comparisons : for though 
'they are avowedly imperfect, they are really more useful than any at- 
tempt at description could be, in enabling us to realize the aspect of 
ancient Athens. Two of the most important of these were the Portico 
of the King, and the Portico of the Jupiter of Freedom. 6 On the 
•roof of the former were statues of Theseus and the Day : in front of 
the latter was the divinity to whom it was dedicated, and within were 
allegorical paintings illustrating the rise of the Athenian democracy. 
•One characteristic of the Agora was, that it was full of memorials of 
actual history. Among the plane-trees planted by the hand of Cimon 

'tion we have assigned to this street is in because it was simply a level space, without 

.accordance with the plan of Forchammer, who any work of art to attract the notice of an 

places the wall and gate more remotely from antiquarian. 

the Agora than our English topographers. 3 See this more fully described below. 

1 This term, in its full extent, included not 4 See above, p. 300. 

•only the road between the city wall and the 5 We adopt the view of Forchammer, 

Academy, but the Agora itself. See plan of which is now generally received, that the posi- 

. Athens. tion of the Agora was always the same. The 

2 It is remarkable that the Pnyx, the hypothesis of a new Agora to the north of tho 
-famous meeting-place of the political assem- Areopagus was first advanced by Meursius, and 
'blies of Athens, is not mentioned by Pausanias. has been adopted by Leake. 

This may be because there were no longer any 6 In the plan, these two porticoes are placed 

such assemblies, and therefore his attention side by side, after Kiepert. 
«was not called to it ; or, perhaps, it is omitted 



chap.x. THE AGOEA. S07 

were the statues of the great men of Athens — - such as Solon the law- 
giver, Conon the Admiral, Demosthenes the orator. But among her his- 
torical men were her deified heroes, the representatives of her mythology 
— Hercules and Theseus — and all the series of the Eponymi on their 
elevated platform, from whom the tribes were named, and whom an 
ancient custom connected with the passing of every successive law. And 
among the deified heroes were memorials of the older divinities, — Mer- 
curies, which gave their name to the street in which they were placed, — 
statues dedicated to Apollo, as patron of the city, 1 and her deliverer from 
plague, 2 — and, in the centre of all, the Altar of the Twelve Gods, which 
was to Athens what the Golden Milestone was to Rome. If we look up 
to the Areopagus, we see the temple 3 of that deity from whom the 
eminence had received the name of " Mars' Hill" (Acts xvii. 22) ; and 
we are aware that the sanctuary of the Furies 4 is only hidden by the 
projecting ridge beyond the stone steps and the seats of the judges. If 
we look forward to the Acropolis, we behold there, closing the long per- 
spective, a series of little sanctuaries on the very ledges of the rock, — 
shrines of Bacchus and iEsculapius, Venus, Earth, and Ceres, ending 
with the lovely form of that Temple of Unwinged Victory 5 which glittered 
by the entrance of the Propylasa above the statues of Harmodius and 
Aristogeiton. 6 Thus, every god in Olympus found a place in the Agora. 
But the religiousness of the Athenians (Acts xvii. 22) went even further. 
For every public place and building was likewise a sanctuary. The 
Record-House was a temple of the Mother of the Gods. The Council- 
House held statues of Apollo and Jupiter, with an altar of Vesta. 7 The 
Theatre at the base of the Acropolis, into which the Athenians crowded to 
hear the words of their great tragedians, was consecrated to Bacchus. 8 
The Pnyx, near which we entered, on whose elevated platform they 

1 Apollo Patrous. His temple was called Wheler. Subsequent travellers found that it 
Pythium. In this building the naval car, used had disappeared. In 1835 the various portions 
in the Panathenaic procession, was laid up were discovered in an excavation, with the 
after its festal voyages, to be exhibited to exception of two, which are in the British 
travellers ; " as the Ducal barge of Venice, the Museum. It is now entirely restored. The 
Bucentoro, in which the Doge solemnized the original structure belongs to the period of the 
annual marriage with the sea, is now preserved close of the Persian wars. 

for the same purpose in the Venetian arsenal." 6 For their position, see Pausanias. These 

Wordsworth, p. 1 89. statues were removed by Xerxes ; and Alexan- 

2 Apollo Alexicacus, who was believed to der, when at Babylon, gave an order for their 
have made the plague to cease in the Pelopon- restoration. Images of Brutus and Cassius 
nesian war. 3 See the plan. were at one time erected near them, but proba- 

4 The sanctuary was in a deep cleft in the bly they were removed by Augustus. 

front of the Areopagus, facing the Acropolis. 7 For these two buildings, the Metroum and 

See below. Bouleuterium, see the plan. 

5 The history of this temple is very curious. 8 Its position may be seen on the plan, on 
In 1676 it was found entire by Spon and the south side of the Acropolis. 



308 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. X. 



listened in breathless attention to their orators, was dedicated to Jupiter 
on High, 1 with whose name those of the Nymphs of the Dermis were grace- 
fully associated. And, as if the imagination of the Attic mind knew no 
bounds in this direction, abstractions were deified and publicly honored. 
Altars were erected to Fame, to Modesty, to Energy, to Persuasion, and 
to Pity. 2 This last altar is mentioned by Pausanias among " those objects 
in the Agora which are not understood by all men : for," he adds, " the 
Athenians alone of all the Greeks give divine honor to Pity." 3 It is 
needless to show how the enumeration which we have made (and which is 
no more than a selection from what is described by Pausanias) throws 
light on the words of St. Luke and St. Paul ; and especially how the 
groping after the abstract and invisible, implied in the altars alluded to 
last, illustrates the inscription " To the Unknown God" which was used 
by Apostolic wisdom (Acts xvii. 23) to point the way to the highest truth. 
What is true of the Agora is still more emphatically true of the 
Acropolis, for the spirit which rested over Athens was concentrated here. 
The feeling of the Athenians with regard to the Acropolis was well, 
though fancifully, expressed by the rhetorician who said that it was the 
middle space of five concentric circles of a shield, whereof the outer 
four were Athens, Attica, Greece, and the world. The platform of the 
Acropolis was a museum of art, of history, and of religion. The whole 
was " one vast composition of architecture and sculpture, dedicated to 
the national glory and to the worship of the gods." By one approach 
only — through the Propylaea built by Pericles — could this sanctuary 
be entered. If St. Paul went up that steep ascent on the western front 
of the rock, past the Temple of Victory, and through that magnificent 
portal, we know nearly all the features of the idolatrous spectacle he saw 
before him. At the entrance, in conformity with his attributes, was the 
statue of Mercurius Propylaeus. Farther on, within the vestibule of the 
beautiful enclosure, were statues of Venus and the Graces. The re- 
covery of one of those who had labored among the edifices of the 
Acropolis was commemorated by a dedication to Minerva as the goddess 
of Health. There was a shrine of Diana, whose image had been wrought 
by Praxiteles. Intermixed with what had reference to divinities were the 

1 This is attributed to the elevated position Cicero speaks of a temple or altar to Contu- 
of the Pnyx as seen from' the Agora. Words- mely. In the temple of Minerva Polias, in 
worth's Athens and Attica, p. 72. the Acropolis, Plutarch mentions an altar of 

2 It is doubtful in what part of Athens Oblivion. 

the altars of Fame, Modesty, and Energy were 3 He adds, that this altar was not so much 

placed. iEsehines alludes to the altar of due to their human sympathy as to their peculiar 

Fame. The altar of Persuasion was on the piety towards the gods; and he confirms this 

ascent of the Acropolis. There were many opinion by proceeding to mention the altars 

other memorials of the same kind in Athens. of Fame, Modesty, and Energy. 



chap. x. THE PARTHENON. 309 

memorials of eminent men and of great victories. The statue of Peri- 
cles, to whom the glory of the Acropolis was due, remained there for 
centuries. Among the sculptures on the south wall was one which 
recorded a victory we have alluded to, — that of Attalus over the Gala- 
tians. 1 Nor was the Roman power without its representatives on this 
proud pedestal of Athenian glory. Before the entrance were statues of 
4grippa and Augustus ; 2 and at the eastern extremity of the esplanade 
a temple was erected in honor of Rome and the Emperor. 3 But the 
main characteristics of the place were mythological and religious, and 
truly Athenian. On the wide levelled area were such groups as the fol- 
lowing : — Theseus contending with the Minotaur ; Hercules strangling 
the serpents ; the Earth imploring showers from Jupiter ; Minerva 
causing the olive to sprout while Neptune raises the waves. The 
mention of this last group raises our thoughts to the Parthenon, — 
the Virgin's House, — the glorious temple which rose in the proudest 
period of Athenian history to the honor of Minerva, and which ages of 
war and decay have only partially defaced. The sculptures on one of its 
pediments represented the birth of the goddess: those on the other 
depicted her contest with Neptune. 4 Under the outer cornice were 
groups exhibiting the victories achieved by her champions. Round the 
inner frieze was the long series of the Panathenaic procession. 5 Within 
was the colossal statue of ivory and gold, the work of Phidias, unrivalled 
in the world, save only by the Jupiter Olympius of the same famous 
artist. This was not the only statue of the Virgin Goddess within the 
sacred precincts ; the Acropolis boasted of three Minervas. 6 The oldest 
and most venerated was in the small irregular temple called the Erec- 
theium, which contained the mystic olive-tree of Minerva and the mark 
of Neptune's trident. This statue, like that of Diana at Ephesus (Acts 
xix. 35), was believed to have fallen from heaven. 7 The third, though 



1 See p. 206. Several of the statues seen icate any temple to him except in conjunction 
by Pausanias in Athens were those of the with Rome. There was a temple of this kind 
Greek kings who reigned over the fragments at Caesarsea. See p. 107. 

of Alexander's empire. 4 For descriptive papers on these pediments, 

2 One pedestal is still standing in this posi- see the Classical Museum, Nos. VI., XVIII., 
tion, with the name of Agrippa inscribed on and XXII. With the remains themselves, in 
it. There is some reason to believe that some the Elgin Room at the British Museum, the 
earlier Greek statues had been converted in restoration of Mr. Lucas should be studied, 
this instance, as in so many others, into mon- 5 For these sculptures, it is only necessary 
nments of Augustus and Agrippa. Cicero, in to refer to the Elgin Room in the British 
one of his letters from Athens, speaks indig- Museum. 

nantly of this custom. 6 See here, especially, Dr Wcrdsworth's 

3 Some fragments remain, and among them chapter on the three Minervas. 

the inscription which records the dedication. 7 Its material was not marble nor metal, 

Augustus did not allow the provinces to ded- but olive-wood. 



310 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.x. 

less sacred than the Minerva Polias, was the most conspicuous of all. 1 
Formed from the brazen spoils of the battle of Marathon, it rose in 
gigantic proportions above all the buildings of the Acropolis, and stood 
with spear and shield as the tutelary divinity of Athens and Attica. It 
was the statue which may have caught the eye of St. Paul himself, from 
the deck of the vessel in which he sailed round Sunium to the Piraeus. 2 
Now he had landed in Attica, and beheld all the wonders of that city 
which divides with one other city all the glory of Heathen antiquity. 
Here, by the statue of Minerva JPromachus, he could reflect on the 
meaning of the objects he had seen in his progress. His path had been 
among the forms of great men and deified heroes, among the temples, 
the statues, the altars of the gods of Greece. He had seen the creations 
of mythology represented to the eye, in every form of beauty and 
grandeur, by the sculptor and the architect. And the one overpowering 
result was this: — u His spirit was stirred within him, when he saio the 
city crowded with idols" 

But we must associate St. Paul, not merely with the Keligion, but with 
the Philosophy, of Greece. And this, perhaps, is our best opportunity 
for doing so, if we wish to connect together, in this respect also, the ap- 
pearance and the spirit of Athens. If the Apostle looked out from the 
pedestal of the Acropolis over the city and the open country, he would 
see the places which are inseparably connected with the names of those 
who have always been recognized as the great teachers of the pagan 
world. In opposite directions he would see the two memorable suburbs 
where Aristotle and Plato, the two pupils of Socrates, held their illustri- 
ous schools. Their positions are defined by the courses of the two rivers 
to which we have already alluded. 3 The streamless bed of the Ilissus 
passes between the Acropolis and Hymettus in a south-westerly direction, 
till it vanishes in the low ground which separates the city from the 
Piraeus. Looking towards the upper part of this channel, we see (or 
we should have seen in the first century) gardens with plane-trees and 
thickets of agnus-castus, with " others of the torrent-loving shrubs of 
Greece." 4 At one spot, near the base of Lycabettus, was a sacred en- 
closure. Here was a statue of Apollo Lycius, represented in an attitude 
of repose, leaning against a column, with a bow in the left hand and the 

1 For the position of this statue, see coin * Leake, p. 275. See Plato's Phcedrus. 
at end of the chapter. The pedestal appears The Lyceum was remarkable for its plane- 
to have been twenty feet, and the statue fifty- trees. Socrates used to discourse under them, 
five feet, in height. Leake, p. 351. The and Aristotle and Theophrastus afterwards 
lower part of the pedestal has lately been dis- enjoyed their shade. We cannot tell how far 
covered. these groves were restored since the time if 

2 See above, pp. 300, 302. Sulla, who cut them down. 
8 Above, p. 303. 



chap.x. THE "PAINTED CLOISTER." 311 

right hand resting on his head. The god gave the name to the Lyceum. 
Here among the groves, the philosopher of Stagirus, 1 the instructor of 
Alexander, used to walk. Here he founded the school of the Peripatetics. 
To this point an ancient dialogue represents Socrates as coming, outside 
the northern city-wall, from the grove of the Academy. Following, 
therefore, this line in an opposite direction, we come to the scene of 
Plato's school. Those dark olive-groves have revived after all the disas- 
ters which have swept across the plain. The Cephisus has been more 
highly favored than the Ilissus. Its waters still irrigate the suburban 
gardens of the Athenians. 2 Its nightingales are still vocal among the 
twinkling olive-branches. 3 The gnarled trunks of the ancient trees of 
our own day could not be distinguished from those which were familiar 
with the presence of Plato, and are more venerable than those which 
had grown up after Sulla's destruction of the woods, before Cicero 4 
visited the Academy in the spirit of a pilgrim. But the Academicians and 
Pei ipate tics are not the schools to which our attention is called in consid- 
ering the biography of St. Paul. We must turn our eye from the open coun- 
try to the city itself, if we wish to see the places which witnessed the rise 
of the Stoics and Epicureans. Lucian, in a playful passage, speaks of Phi- 
losophy as coming up from the Academy, by the Ceramicus, to the Agora : 
" and there," he says, " we shall meet her by the Stoa Poecile." Let us 
follow this line in imagination, and, having followed it, let us look down 
from the Acropolis into the Agora. There we distinguish a cloister or 
colonnade, which was not mentioned before, because it is more justly 
described in connection with the Stoics. The Stoa Poecile? or the 
" Painted Cloister," gave its name to one of those sects who encountered 
the Apostle in the Agora. It was decorated with pictures of the legen- 
dary wars of the Athenians, of their victories over their fellow-Greeks, 
and of the more glorious struggle at Marathon. Originally the meeting- 
place of the poets, it became the school where Zeno met his pupils, and 
founded the system of stern philosophy which found adherents both 
among Greeks and Romans for many generations. The system ol Epicurus 
was matured nearly at the same time and in the same neighborhood. 
The site of the philosopher's Garden* is now unknown, but it ^as well, 
known in the time of Cicero ; 7 and in the time of St. Paul it could not. 

1 See an allusion to his birthplace above, * Cicero, at one time, contemplated the- 
p. 277. erection of a monument to show his attach- 

2 The stream is now divided and distrib- ment to the Academy. Att. vi. 1. 
uted, in order to water the gardens and olive- 5 Stoa iroui'ikri, — hence " Stoic." 

trees. Plutarch calls the Academy the best 6 This garden was proverbially known: 

wooded of the suburbs of Athens. among the ancients. See Juvenal, xiii. 172,. 

3 See the well-known chorus in Sophocles. xiv. 319. 

(Ed. Col 668. 7 On his first visit to Athens, at the ago • 



312 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

have been forgotten, for a peculiarly affectionate feeling subsisted among 
the Epicureans towards their founder. He left this garden as a legacy 
to the school, on condition that philosophy should always be taught there, 
and that he himself should be annually commemorated. The sect had 
dwindled into smaller numbers than their rivals, in the middle of the first 
century. But it is highly probable that, even then, those who looked 
down from the Acropolis over the roofs of the city could distinguish the 
quiet garden where Epicurus lived a life of philosophic contentment, and 
taught his disciples that the enjoyment of tranquil pleasure was the 
highest end of human existence. 

The spirit in which Pausanias traversed these memorable places and 
scrutinized every thing he saw, was that of a curious and rather supersti- 
tious antiquarian. The expressions used by Cicero, when describing the 
same objects, show that his taste was gratified, and that he looked with 
satisfaction on the haunts of those whom he regarded as his teachers. 
The thoughts and feelings in the mind of the Christian Apostle, who 
came to Athens about the middle of that interval of time which separates 
the visit of Pausanias from that of Cicero, were very different from those 
of criticism or admiration. He burned with zeal for that God whom, 
" as he went through the city," he saw dishonored on every side. He 
was melted with pity for those who, notwithstanding their intellectual 
greatness, were " wholly given to idolatry." His eye was not blinded to 
the reality of things, by the appearances either of art or philosophy. 
Forms of earthly beauty and words of human wisdom were valueless in 
his judgment, and far worse than valueless, if they deified vice and made 
falsehood attractive. He saw and heard with an earnestness of convic- 
tion which no Epicurean could have understood, as his tenderness of 
affection was morally far above the highest point of the Stoic's impassive 
dignity. 

It is this tenderness of affection which first strikes us, when we turn 

• of twenty-eight, Cicero lodged with an Epi- master in danger of being destroyed. They 

eurean. On the occasion of his second visit, had written to Cicero at Kome, to beg him to 

the attachment of the Epicureans to the gar- intercede with Memmius to consent to a resto- 

-dcn of their founder was brought before him ration of it ; and now at Athens they renewed 

in a singular manner. " There lived at this their instances, and prevailed on him to write 

time in exile at Athens C. Memmius. ... about it. . . . Cicero's letter is drawn with 

The figure which he had borne in Rome gave much art and accuracy ; he laughs at the tri- 

him great authority in Athens; and the coun- fling zeal of these philosophers for the old rub- 

cil of Areopagus had granted him a piece of bish and paltry ruins of their founder, yet 

ground to build upon, where Epicurus for- earnestly presses Memmius to indulge them in 

merly lived, and where there still remained a prejudice contracted through weakness, not 

the old ruins of his walls. But this grant wickedness." — Middleton's Life of Cicero. 

7 had given great offence to the whole body of Sect. VII. 
the Epicureans, to see the remains of their 



chap.x. ST. PAUL ALONE IN ATHENS. 313 

from the manifold wonders of Athens to look upon the Apostle himself. 
The existence of this feeling is revealed to us in a few words in the 
Epistle to the Thessalonians. 1 He was filled with anxious thoughts con- 
cerning those whom he had left in Macedonia, and the sense of solitude 
weighed upon his spirit. Silas and Timotheus were not arrived, and it 
was a burden and a grief to him to be " left in Athens alone" Modern 
travellers have often felt, when wandering alone through the streets of a 
foreign city, what it is to be out of sympathy with the place and the peo- 
ple. The heart is with friends who are far off; and nothing that is 
merely beautiful or curious can effectually disperse the cloud of sadness. 
If, in addition to this instinctive melancholy, the thought of an irreligious 
world, of evil abounding in all parts of society, and of misery following 
everywhere in its train, — if this thought also presses heavily on the 
spirit, — a state of mind is realized which may be some feeble approxi- 
mation to what was experienced by the Apostle Paul in his hour of 
dejection. But with us such feelings are often morbid and nearly allied 
to discontent. We travel for pleasure, for curiosity, for excitement. It 
is well if we can take such depressions thankfully, as the discipline of a 
worldly spirit. Paul travelled that he might give to others the knowledge 
of salvation. His sorrow was only the cloud that kindled up into the 
bright pillar of the divine presence. He ever forgot himself in his Mas- 
ter's cause. He gloried that God's strength was made perfect in his 
weakness. It is useful, however, to us, to be aware of the human weak- 
ness of that heart which God made strong. Paul was indeed one of us. 
He loved his friends, and knew the trials both of anxiety and loneliness. 
As we advance with the subject, this and similar traits of the man ad- 
vance more into view, — and with them, and personified as it were in 
him, touching traits of the religion which he preached, come before us, — 
and we see, as we contemplate the Apostle, that the Gospel has not only 
deliverance from the coarseness of vice, and comfort for ruder sorrows, 
but sympathy and strength for the most sensitive and delicate minds. 

No mere pensive melancholy, no vain regrets and desires, held sway 
over St. Paul, so as to hinder him in proceeding with the work appointed 
to him. He was " in Athens alone," but he was there as the Apostle of 
God. No time was lost ; and, according to his custom, he sought out his 
brethren of the scattered race of Israel. Though moved with grief and 
indignation when he saw the idolatry all around him, he deemed that his 

1 1 Thess. iii. 1. It may bo thought that chapter), and the depression and sense of 

too much is built here on this one expression. isolation evidently experienced by St. Paul 

But we think the remarks in the text will be when he was without companions. See, es- 

justified by those who consider the tone of pecially, Acts xxviii. 15; and 2 Cor. ii. 13, 

the Epistles to the Thessalonians (see next vii. 6. Compare the Introduction. 



314 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.x. 

first thought should be given to his own people. They had a synagogue 
at Athens, as at Thessalonica ; and in this synagogue he first proclaimed 
his Master. Jewish topics, however, are not brought before us promi- 
nently here. They are casually alluded to ; and we are not informed 
whether the Apostle was welcomed or repulsed in the Athenian syna- 
gogue. The silence of Scripture is expressive : and we are taught that 
the subjects to which our attention is to be turned are connected, Dot 
with Judaism, but with Paganism. Before we can be prepared to con- 
sider the great speech, which was the crisis and consummation of this 
meeting of Christianity and Paganism, our thoughts must be given for a 
few moments to. the characteristics of Athenian Religion and Athenian 
Philosophy. 

The mere enumeration of the visible objects with which the city of the 
Athenians was crowded, bears witness (to use St. Paul's own words) to 
their " carefulness in Religion" l The judgment of the Christian Apostle 
agreed with that of his Jewish contemporary Josephus, — with the proud 
boast of the Athenians themselves, exemplified in Isocrates and Plato, ^- 
and with the verdict of a multitude of foreigners, from Livy to Julian, — 
all of whom unite in declaring that Athens was peculiarly devoted to 
religion. Replete as the whole of Greece was with objects of devotion, 
the antiquarian traveller informs us that there were more gods in Athens 
than in all the rest of the country ; and the Roman satirist hardly exag- 
gerates, when he says that it was easier to find a god there than a man. 
But the same enumeration which proves the existence of the religious 
sentiment in this people, shows also the valueless character of the religion 
which they cherished. It was a religion which ministered to art and 
amusement, and was entirely destitute of moral power. Taste was 
gratified by the bright spectacle to which the Athenian awoke every 
morning of his life. Excitement was agreeably kept up by festal sea- 
sons, gay processions, and varied ceremonies. But all this religious 
dissipation had no tendency to make him holy. It gave him no victory 
over himself : it brought him no nearer to God. A religion which ad- 
dresses itself only to the taste is as weak as one that appeals only to the 
intellect. The Greek religion was a mere deification of human attributes 
and the powers of nature. It was doubtless better than other forms of 
idolatry which have deified the brutes ; but it had no real power to raise 
him to a higher position than that which he Occupied by nature. It could 
not even keep him from falling continually to a lower degradation. To 
the Greek this world was every thing: he hardly even sought to rise 
above it. And thus all his life long, in the midst of every thing to gratify 
his taste and exercise his intellect, he remained in ignorance of God 

1 See below, on the Speech, p. 327. 



chap.x. GREEK BELIGIOK. 315 

This fact was tacitly recognized by the monuments in his own religions 
city. The want of something deeper and truer was expressed on the 
very stones. As we are told by a Latin writer that the ancient Romans, 
when alarmed by an earthquake, were accustomed to pray, not to any 
specified divinity, but to a god expressed in vague language, as avowedly 
Unknown; so the Athenians acknowledged their ignorance of the True 
Deity by the altars " with this inscription, to the unknown god," which 
are mentioned by Heathen writers, 1 as well as by the inspired historian. 
Whatever the origin of these altars may have been, 2 the true significance 
of the inscription is that which is pointed out by the Apostle himself. 3 
The Athenians were ignorant of the right object of worship. But if we 
are to give a true account of Athenian religion, we must go beyond the 
darkness of mere ignorance into the deeper darkness of corruption and 
sin. The most shameless profligacy was encouraged by the public works 
of art, by the popular belief concerning the character of the gods, and 
by the ceremonies of the established worship. Authorities might be 
crowded in proof of this statement, both from Heathen and Christian 
writings. 4 It is enough to say with Seneca, that " no other effect could pos- 
sibly be produced, but that all shame on account of sin must be taken 
away from men, if they believe in such gods ; " and with Augustine, that 
" Plato himself, who saw well the depravity of the Grecian gods, and has 
seriously censured them, better deserves to be called a god, than those 
ministers of sin." It would be the worst delusion to infer any good of 
the Grecian religion from the virtue and wisdom of a few great Athe- 
nians whose memory we revere. The true type of the character formed 
by the influences which surrounded the Athenian, was such a man as 
Alcibiades, — with a beauty of bodily form equal to that of one of the 
consecrated statues, — with an intelligence quick as that of Apollo or 
Mercury, — enthusiastic and fickle, — versatile and profligate, — able to 
admire the good, but hopelessly following the bad. And if we turn to the 
one great exception in Athenian history, — if we turn from Alcibiades to 

1 The two Heathen writers who mention scription was not as St. Paul quoted it. but in 
these altars are Pausanias and Philostratus. the form of a general dedication to all un- 
See above, pp. 298 and 308. known gods. But unless St. PmiI quoted the 

2 It is very probable that they originated actual words, his application of the inscrip- 
from a desire to dedicate the altar to the god tion would lose nearly all its point. Some 
under whose censure the dedicator had fallen, have fancifully found in the inscription an al- 
whom he had unwittingly offended, or whom, lusion to the God of the Jews. For some of 
in the particular case, he ought to pi-opitiate. the notions of the older antiquarians coneern- 
Eichhorn thinks that these altars belonged to a ing the " temple " of the Unknown God. see 
period when writing was unknown, and that Leake. 3 Acts xvii. 23. 
the. inscription was added afterwards by those i A great number of passages are collected 
who were ignorant of the deity to which they together by Tholuck, in his Essay on the 
were consecrated. Jerome says that the in- Nature and Moral Influence of Heathenism. 



316 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

the friend who nobly and affectionately warned him, — who, conscious 
of his own ignorance, was yet aware that God was best known by listen- 
ing to the voice within, — yet even of Socrates we cannot say more than 
has been said in the following words : " His soul was certainly in some 
alliance with the Holy God ; he certainly felt, in his demon or guardian 
spirit, the inexplicable nearness of his Father in heaven ; but he was des- 
titute of a view of the divine nature in the humble form of a servant, 
the Redeemer with the crown of thorns ; he had no ideal conception of 
that true holiness, which manifests itself in the most humble love and 
the most affectionate humility. Hence, also, he was unable to become 
fully acquainted with his own heart, though he so greatly desired it. 
Hence, too, he was destitute of any deep humiliation and grief on ac- 
count of his sinful - wretchedness, of that true humility which no longer 
allows itself a biting, sarcastic tone of instruction ; and destitute, like- 
wise, of any filial, devoted love. These perfections can be shared only 
by the Christian, who beholds the Redeemer as a wanderer upon earth in 
the form of a servant ; and who receives in his own soul the sanctifying 
power of that Redeemer by intercourse with Him." l 

When we turn from the Religion of Athens to take a view of its 
Philosophy, the first name on which our eye rests is again that 0*f Socra- 
tes. 2 This is necessarily the case, not only because of his own singular 
and unapproached greatness ; but because he was, as it were, the point 
to which all the earlier schools converged, and from which the later 
rays of Greek philosophy diverged again. The earlier philosophical 
systems, such as that of Thales in Asia Minor, and Pythagoras in Italy, 
were limited to physical inquiries : Socrates was the first to call man to 
the contemplation of himself, and became the founder of ethical science. 3 
A new direction was thus given to all the philosophical schools which 
succeeded ; and Socrates may be said to have prepared the way for the 
gospel, by leading the Greek mind to the investigation of moral truth. 
He gave the impulse to the two schools, which were founded in the 
Lyceum and by the banks of the Cephisus, 4 and which have produced 
such vast results on human thought in every generation. We are not 
called here to discuss the doctrines of the Peripatetics and Academicians. 
Not that they are unconnected with the history of Christianity : Plato 
and Aristotle have had a great work appointed to them, not only as the 

1 Tholuck's Essay on Heathenism y as above, maturite, elle change de caractere et de dircc- 
p. 163. tion, et elle devient une philosophic morale, 

2 For Socrates, see especially the eighth sociale, humaine. C'est Socrate qui ouvre 
volume of Grote's History, and the Quarterly cette nouvelle ere, et qui en represente le ca- 
Review for December, 1850. ractere en sa personne." — Victor Cousin. 

3 " La philosophie grecque avait ete d'abord 4 See above, pp. 310, 311. 
une philosophie de la nature ; arrivee & sa 



chap.x. GREEK PHILOSOPHY. 317 

Heathen pioneers of the Truth before it was revealed, but as the educa- 
tors of Christian minds in every age : the former enriched human 
thought with appropriate ideas for the reception of the highest truth in 
the highest form ; the latter mapped out all the provinces of human 
knowledge, that Christianity might visit them and bless them : and the 
historian of the Church would have to speak of direct influence exerted 
on the Gospel by the Platonic and Aristotelian systems, in recounting 
the conflicts of the parties of Alexandria, and tracing the formation of 
the theology of the Schoolmen. But the biographer of St. Paul has 
only to speak of the Stoics and Epicureans. They only, among the 
various philosophers of the day, are mentioned as having argued with 
the Apostle ; and their systems had really more influence in the period 
in which the Gospel was established, though, in the Patristic and Mediae- 
val periods, the older systems, in modified forms, regained their sway. 
The Stoic and Epicurean, moreover, were more exclusively limited than 
other philosophers to moral investigations, 1 — a fact which is tacitly im- 
plied by the proverbial application of the two words to moral principles 
and tendencies which we recognize as hostile to true Christianity. 

Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school, was a native of the same part 
of the Levant with St. Paul himself. 2 He came from Cyprus to Athens 
at a time when patriotism was decayed and political liberty lost, and 
when a system, which promised the power of brave and self-sustaining 
endurance amid the general degradation, found a willing acceptance 
among the nobler minds. Thus in the Painted Porch, which, as we have 
said, had once been the meeting-place of the poets, those who, instead of 
yielding to the prevailing evil of the times, thought they were able to 
resist it, formed themselves into a school of philosophers. In the high 
tone of this school, and in some part of its ethical language, Stoicism 
was an apparent approximation to Christianity ; but on the whole, it was 
a hostile system, in its physics, its morals, and its theology. The Stoics 
condemned the worship of images and the use of temples, regarding 
them as nothing better than the ornaments of art. But they justified 
the popular polytheism, and, in fact, considered the gods of mythology as 
minor developments of the Great World-God, which summed up their 

1 "Le caractere commun du Sto'icisme et shipwrecked near the Piranis, and settled in 
de l'Epicureisme est de reduire presqne en- Athens. The exact dates of his birth and 
tierement la philosophic a la morale." — V. death are not known, but he lived through the 
Cousin. greater part of the century between b c. 350 

2 He was born at Citium in Cyprus. See and b.c. 250. A portrait-bust at Naples is as- 
p. 139. His attention was turned to philoso- signed to him, but there is some doubt whether 
phy by the books brought from Athens by it is to be referred to him or to Zeno the 
his father, who was a merchant. Somewhere Eleatic. 

between the ages of twenty and thirty he was 



318 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

belief concerning the origin and existence of the world. The Stoics 
were Pantheists ; and much of their language is a curious anticipation 
of the phraseology of modern Pantheism. In their view, God was merely 
the Spirit or Reason of the Universe. The world was itself a rational 
soul, producing all things out of itself, and resuming them all to itself 
again. Matter was inseparable from the Deity. He did not create : He 
only organized. 1 He merely impressed law and order on the substance, 
which was, in fact, himself. The manifestation of the Universe was only 
a period in the development of God. In conformity with these notions 
of the world, which substitute a sublime destiny for the belief in a per- 
sonal Creator and Preserver, were the notions which were held concern- 
ing the soul and its relations to the body. The soul was, in fact, cor- 
poreal. The Stoics said that at death it would be burnt, or return to be 
absorbed in God. Thus, a resurrection from the dead, in the sense in 
which the Gospel has revealed it, must have appeared to the Stoics 
irrational. Nor was their moral system less hostile to " the truth as it 
is in Jesus." The proud ideal which was set before the disciple of 
Zeno was, a magnanimous self-denial, an austere apathy, untouched 
by human passion, unmoved by change of circumstance. To the Wise 
man all outward things were alike. Pleasure was no good. . Pain was 
no evil. All actions conformable to Reason were equally good ; all 
actions contrary to Reason were equally evil. The Wise man lives 
according to Reason ; and living thus, he is perfect and self-sufficing. 
He reigns supreme as a king: 2 he is justified in boasting as a god. 
Nothing can well be imagined more contrary to the spirit of Christianity. 
Nothing could be more repugnant to the Stoic than the news of a 
" Saviour," who has atoned for our sin, and is ready to aid our weakness. 
Christianity is the School of Humility : Stoicism was the Education of 
Pride. Christianity is a discipline of life : Stoicism was nothing better 
than an apprenticeship for death. 3 And fearfully were the fruits of its 
principle illustrated both in its earlier and later disciples. Its first two 
leaders 4 died by their own hands ; like the two Romans 5 whose names 

1 " Le Dieu dcs Sto'iciens n'a pas cree la philosophic n'est plus qu'un apprentissage de la 
nature, il l'a formee et organisee." — V. mort et non de la vie ; elle tend a la mort par son 
Cousin: who, however, will not allow the image, l'apathie et l'ataraxie, et se resout defini- 
Stoical system to be Pantheistic. tivement en un e'goisme sublime." — V. Cousin. 

2 Hor. Sat. i. iii., Ep. i. i. 4 Zeno and Cleanthes. And yet Cleanthes- 

3 " Le Sto'icisme est essentiellement soli- was the author of that hymn which is, per- 
taire ; c'est le soin exclusif de son ame, sans haps, the noblest approximation to a Christian 
regard a celle dcs autres ; et, comme la seule hymn that heathenism has produced. In the 
chose importante est la purete de l'ame, quand speech below (Acts xvii. 28) there is some doubt 
cette purete est trop en pe'ril, quand on deses- whether the Apostle quotes from Cleanthes or 
perc d'etre victorieux dans la lutte, on peut la Aratus. See the note there. 

terminer comme l'a terminee Caton. Ainsi la 6 Cato and Seneca. 



chap. x. STOICS AND EPICUEEAXS. 319 

first rise to the memory when the school of the Stoics is mentioned. 
But Christianity turns the desperate resolution, that seeks to escape 
disgrace by death, into the anxious question, " What must I do to be 
saved ? " : It softens the pride of stern indifference into the consolation 
of mutual sympathy. How great is the contrast between the Stoic ideal 
and the character of Jesus Christ ! How different is the acquiescence 
in an iron destiny from the trust in a merc.ful and watchful Providence ! 
How infinitely inferior is that sublime egotism, which looks down with 
contempt on human weakness, to the religion which tells us that ; - they 
who mourn are blessed,*' and which commands us to ;i rejoice with them 
that rejoice, and to weep with them that weep " ! 

If Stoicism, in its full development, was utterly opposed to Christianity, 
the same may be said of the very primary principle of the Epkurtcni 2 
school. If the Stoics were Pantheists, the Epicureans were virtually 
Atheists. Their philosophy was a system of materialism, in the strictest 
sense of the word. In their view, the world was formed by an accidental 
concourse of atoms, and was not in any sense created, or even modified, 
by the Divinity. They did indeed profess a certain belief in what were 
called gods ; but these equivocal divinities were merely phantoms, — im- 
pressions on the popular mind, — dreams, which had no objective reality, 
or at least exercised no active iiifLuence on the physical world or the 
business of life. The Epicurean deity, if self-existent at all, dwelt apart, 
in serene indifference to all the affairs of the universe. The universe was 
a great accident, and sufficiently explained itself without any reference to 
a higher power. The popular mythology was derided, but the Epicureans 
had no positive faith in any thing better. As there was no creator, so 
there was no moral governor. All notions of retribution and of judg- 
ment to come were of course forbidden by such a creed. The principles 
of the atomic theory, when applied to the constitution of man, must have 
caused the resurrection to appear an absurdity. The soul was nothing 
without the body ; or rather, the soul was itself a body, composed of finer 
atoms, or at best an unmeaning compromise between the material and 
immaterial. Both body and soul were dissolved together and dissipated 
into the elements ; and when this occurred, all the life of man was ended. 
The moral result of such a creed was necessarily that which the Apostle 
Paul described: 3 — "If the dead rise not. let us eat and drink: for to- 
morrow we die."' The essential principle of the Epicurean philosopher 

1 See p. 266. He died B.C. 270. An authentic bnst has 

2 Epicurus, who founded, and indeed ma- been preserved of him, which is engraved in 
tured, this school (for its doctrines were never Milman's Horace, p. 391. 

further developed), was born in Samos, B.C. 3 1 Cor. xv. 32. 

342, though his parents were natives of Attica. 



320 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

was that there was nothing to alarm him, nothing to disturb him. His 
furthest reach was to do deliberately what the animals do instinctively. 
His highest aim was to gratify himself. With the coarser and more 
energetic minds, this principle inevitably led to the grossest sensuality 
and crime ; in the case of others, whose temperament was more common- 
place, or whose taste was more pure, the system took the form of a 
selfishness more refined. As the Stoic sought to resist the evil which 
surrounded him, the Epicurean endeavored to console himself by a tran- 
quil and indifferent life. He avoided the more violent excitements of 
political and social engagements, to enjoy tbe seclusion of a calm con- 
tentment. But pleasure was still the end at which he aimed ; and if we 
remove this end to its remotest distance, and understand it to mean an 
enjoyment which involves the most manifold self-denial, — if we give Epi- 
curus credit for taking the largest view of consequences, — and if we be- 
lieve that the life of his first disciples was purer than there is reason to 
suppose, 1 — the end remains the same. Pleasure, not duty, is the motive 
of moral exertion ; expediency is the test to which actions are referred ; 
and the self-denial itself, which an enlarged view of expediency requires, 
will probably be found impracticable without the. grace of God. Thus, 
the Gospel met in the Garden an opposition not less determined, and 
more insidious, than the antagonism of the Porch. The two enemies it 
has ever had to contend with are the two ruling principles of the Epicu- 
reans and Stoics, — Pleasure and Pride. 

Such, in their original and essential character, were the two schools of 
philosophy with which St. Paul was brought directly into contact. We 
ought, however, to consider how far these schools had been modified by 
the lapse of time, by the changes which succeeded Alexander and accom- 
panied the formation of the Roman Empire, and by the natural tenden- 
cies of the Roman character. When Stoicism and Epicureanism were 
brought to Rome, they were such as we have described them. In as far as 
they were speculative systems, they found little favor : Greek philosophy 
was always regarded with some degree of distrust among the Romans. 
Their mind was alien from science and pure speculation. Philosophy, 
like art and literature, was of foreign introduction. The cultivation of 
such pursuits was followed by private persons of wealth and taste, but 
was little extended among the community at large. There were no pub- 
lic schools of philosophy at Rome. Where it was studied at all, it was 
studied, not for its own sake, but for the service of the state. 2 Thus, the 
peculiarly practical character of the Stoic and Epicurean systems recom- 

1 Titter speaks strongly of scenes of sen- 2 Tennemann. 

suality witnessed in the Garden of Epicurus. 



chap.x. GREEK PHILOSOPHY. 321 

mended them to the notice of many. What was wanted in the prevail- 
ing misery of the Roman world was a philosophy of life. There were 
some who weakly yielded, and some who offered a courageous resistance, 
to the evil of the times. The former, under the name of Epicureans, 
either spent their time in a serene tranquillity, away from the distractions 
and disorders of political life, or indulged in the grossest sensualism, and 
justified it on principle. The Roman adherents of the school of Epicurus 
were never numerous, and few great names can be mentioned among 
them ; though one monument remains, and will ever remain, of this phase 
of philosophy, in the poem of Lucretius. The Stoical school was more 
congenial to the endurance of the Roman character; and it educated the 
minds of some of the noblest men of the time, who scorned to be carried 
away by the stream of vice. Three great names can be mentioned, which 
divided the period between the preaching of St. Paul and the final estab- 
lishment of Christianity, — Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. 1 
But such men were few in a time of general depravity and unbelief. And 
this was really the character of the time. It was a period in the history 
of the world, when conquest and discovery, facilities of travelling, and 
the mixture of races, had produced a general fusion of opinions, result- 
ing in an indifference to moral distinctions, and at the same time encour- 
aging the most abject credulity. The Romans had been carrying on the 
work which Alexander and his successors begun. A certain degree of 
culture was very generally diffused. The opening of new countries ex- 
cited curiosity. New religions were eagerly welcomed. Immoral rites 
found willing votaries. Vice and superstition went hand in hand through 
all parts of society, and, as the natural consequence, a scornful scepti- 
cism held possession of all the higher intellects. 

But though the period of which we are speaking was one of general 
scepticism, for the space of three centuries the old dogmatic schools still 
lingered on, more especially in Greece. 2 Athens was indeed no longer what 
she had once been, the centre from which scientific and poetic light radiated 
to the neighboring shores of Asia and Europe, Philosophy had found new 
homes in other cities, more especially in Tarsus and Alexandria. 3 But 
Alexandria, though she was commercially great and possessed the trade 
of three continents, had not yet seen the rise of her greatest schools ; and 
Tarsus could never be what Athens was, even in her decay, to those who 
travelled with cultivated tastes and for the purposes of education. Thus 
Philosophy still maintained her seat in the city of Socrates. The four 

1 The approximation of the latter Stoics, virtue." — See Paradise Regained, book iv. line 

especially Epictetus, to Christianity, is remark- 300. 
able. Hence the emphasis laid by Milton on 2 Tennemann. 

the Stoic's "philosophic pride, by him called 8 Eorthe schools of Tarsus, see pp. 21, 98 

21 



822 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

great schools, the Lyceum and the Academy, the Garden and the Porch, 
were never destitute of exponents of their doctrines. When Cicero came, 
not long after Sulla's siege, he found the philosophers in residence. 1 Aj 
the Empire grew, Athens assumed more and more the character of a 
university town. After Christianity was first preached there, this char- 
acter was confirmed to the place by the embellishments and the benefac- 
tions of Hadrian. 2 And before the schools were closed by the orders of 
Justinian, 3 the city which had received Cicero and Atticus 4 as students 
together became the scene of the college-friendship of St. Basil and St. 
Gregory, 5 one of the most beautiful episodes of primitive Christianity. 

Thus, St. Paul found philosophers at Athens, among those whom he 
addressed in the Agora. This, as we have seen, was the common meet- 
ing-place of a population always eager for fresh subjects of intellectual 
curiosity. Demosthenes had rebuked the Athenians for this idle tendency 
four centuries before, telling them that they were always craving after news 
and excitement, at the very moment when destruction was impending 
over their liberties. And they are described in the same manner, on the 
occasion of St. Paul's visit, as giving their whole leisure to telling and 
hearing something newer than the latest news (Acts xvii. 21). Among 
those who sauntered among the plane-trees 6 of the Agora, and gathered in 
knots under the porticoes, eagerly discussing the questions of the day, 
were philosophers, in the garb of their several sects, ready for any new 
question, on which they might exercise their subtlety or display their rheto- 
ric. Among the other philosophers, the Stoics and Epicureans would more 
especially be encountered ; for the " Painted Porch " 7 of Zeno was in the 
Agora itself, and the " Garden " 8 of the rival sect was not far distant. To 
both these classes of hearers and talkers — both the mere idlers and the 
professors of philosophy — any question connected with a new religion was 
peculiarly welcome ; for Athens gave a ready acceptance to all supersti- 
tions and ceremonies, and was glad to find food for credulity or scepticism, 
ridicule or debate. To this motley group of the Agora, St. Paul made 
known the two great subjects he had proclaimed from city to city. He 
spoke aloud of "Jesus and the Resurrection," 9 — of that Name which is 

1 See above, p. 311, and the note. 6 See above, p. 306. It is, of course, im- 

2 Between the visits of St. Paul and Pau- possible to prove that Cimon's plane-trees were 
sanias, Hadrian made vast additions to the succeeded by others ; but a boulevard is com- 
buildings of Athens, and gave large endow- monly renewed, when a city recovers from its 
raents for the purposes of education. disasters. 

3 See Gibbon, xl. 7 For the " Stoa Pozcile" see above, p. 311. 

4 See Middleton's Life of Cicero. 8 See again above, p. 311. 

5 Basil and Gregory Nazianzene were stu- 9 Acts xvi5. IS. 
dents together at Athens from 351 to 355. 

Julian was there at the same time. 



chap.x. ST. PAUL IN THE AGORA, 323 

above every name, — -that consummation which awaits all the generations 
of men who have successively passed into the sleep of death. He was in 
the habit of conversing " daily " on these subjects with those whom he met. 
His varied experience of men, and his familiarity with many modes of 
thought, enabled him to present these subjects in such a way as to arrest 
attention. As regards the philosophers, he was providentially prepared 
for his collision with them. It was not the first time he had encountered 
them. 1 His own native city was a city of philosophers, and was especially 
famous (as we have remarked before) for a long line of eminent Stoics, 
and he was doubtless familiar with their language and opinions. 

Two different impressions were produced by St. Paul's words according 
to the disposition of those who heard him. Some said that he was a 
mere " babbler," 2 and received him with contemptuous derision. Others 
took a more serious view, and, supposing that he was endeavoring to 
introduce new objects of worship, 3 had their curiosity excited, and were 
desirous to hear more. If we suppose a distinct allusion, in these two 
classes, to the two philosophical sects which have just been mentioned, 
we have no difficulty in seeing that the Epicureans were those who, 
according to their habit, received the new doctrine with ridicule, — 
while the Stoics, ever tolerant of the popular mythology, were naturally 
willing to hear of the new " demons " which this foreign teacher was 
proposing to introduce among the multitude of Athenian gods and heroes. 
Or we may imagine that the two classes denote the philosophers on the 
one hand, who heard with scorn the teaching of a Jewish stranger 
untrained in the language of the schools, — and the vulgar crowd on the 
other, who would easily entertain suspicion (as in the case of Socrates) 
against any one seeking to cast dishonor on the national divinities, or 
would at least be curious to hear more of this foreign and new religion. 
It is not, however, necessary to make any such definite distinction 
between those who derided and those who listened. Two such classes 
are usually found among those to whom truth is presented. When Paul 
came among the Athenians, he came " not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom," and to some of the " Greeks " who heard him the Gospel was 

1 See Ch. III. p. 98. Two of the most temptible and worthless person." Or, from 
influential of the second generation of Stoics the perpetual chattering or chirping of such 
were Antipater of Tarsus and Zeno of Tar- birds, the word may denote an idle " babbler." 
sus. Chrysippus also is said by Strabo to 3 Acts xvii. 18. These are the very words 
have been a native of the same place. used in the accusation against Socrates. The 

2 The Greek word here means properly a term " demon " is probably here used quite 
bird that picks up seeds from the ground, and generally. This is the only place where it 
it is so used in the Birds of Aristophanes. occurs in the Acts of the Apostles. See the 
Hence, secondarily, it may mean a pauper remarks which have been made before en this 
who prowls about the market-place, or a para- subject, pp. 257-260. 

site who lives by his wits, and hence " a con- 



324 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PATJL. chap.*. 

" foolishness ; " l while in others there was at least that curiosity which is 
sometimes made the path whereby the highest truth enters the mind ; and 
they sought to have a fuller and more deliberate exposition of the myste- 
rious subjects, which now for the first time had been brought before their 
attention. 

The place to which they took him was the summit of the hill of 
Areopagus, where the most awful court of judicature had sat from time 
immemorial, to pass sentence on the greatest criminals, and to decide the 
most solemn questions connected with religion. The judges sat in the 
open air, upon seats hewn out in the rock, on a platform which was 
ascended by a flight of stone steps immediately from the Agora. 2 On 
this spot a long series of awful causes, connected with crime and religion, 
had been determined, beginning with the legendary trial of Mars, which 
gave to the place its name of " Mars' Hill." A temple of the god, 3 as we 
have seen, was on the brow of the eminence ; and an additional solemnity 
was given to the place by the sanctuary of the Furies, 4 in a broken cleft 
of the rock, immediately below the judges' seats. Even in the political 
decay of Athens, this spot and this court were regarded by the people 
with superstitious reverence. 5 It was a scene with which the dread recol- 
lections of centuries were associated. It was a place of silent awe in the 
midst of the gay and frivolous city. Those who withdrew to the Areopa- 
gus from the Agora, came, as it were, into the presence of a higher power. 
No place in Athens was so suitable for a discourse upon the mysteries of 
religion. We are not, however, to regard St. Paul's discourse on the 
Areopagus as a formal defence, in a trial before the court. 6 The whole 

1 Seel Cor. i. 18— ii. 5. and the Sanctuary of the Eumenides men- 

2 The number of steps is sixteen. See tioned below. 

Wordsworth's Athens and Attica, p. 73. " Six- 3 This temple was on the southern slope 

teen stone steps cut in the rock, at its south- of the Areopagus, immediately above the 

east angle, lead up to the hill of the Areopa- Agora, near the Eponymi and the statue of 

gus from the valley of the Agora, which lies Demosthenes. 

between it and the Pnyx. This angle seems 4 In harmony with the euphemistic titles 

to be the point of the hill on which the coun- given by the Athenians to these dread god- 

cil of the Areopagus sat. Immediately above desses, Pausanias says that their statues in 

the steps, on the level of the hill, is a bench this place had nothing ferocious in their as- 

of stone excavated in the limestone rock, pect. The proximity of this sanctuary to the 

forming three sides of a quadrangle, like a Areopagite court must have tended to give 

triclinium : it faces the south : on its east and additional solemnity to the place, 

west side is a raised block : the former may, 5 In some respects it seems that the influ- 

perhaps, have been the tribunal, the two lat- ence of the court was increased under the 

ter the rude stones which Pausanias saw Romans. 

here, and which are described by Euripides as 6 Some are of opinion that he was 

assigned, the one to the accuser, the other to forcibly apprehended and put on a formal 

the criminal, in the causes which were tried in trial. It may be argued that, if a public ad- 

this court." The stone seats are intermediate dress was all that was required, the Pnyx 

£ position to the sites of the Temple of Mars would have been more suitable than the Areop- 



T — 



o 
o 







; '\ 






' 583 






chap.x. ST. PAUL'S DISCOURSE ON THE AREOPAGUS. 325 

aspect of the narrative in the Acts, and the whole tenor of the discourse 
itself, militate against this supposition. The words, half derisive, half 
courteous, addressed to the Apostle before he spoke to his audience, 
" May we know what this new doctrine is ? " are not like the words which 
would have been addressed to a prisoner at the bar ; and still more unlike 
a judge's sentence are the words with which he was dismissed at the 
conclusion, " We will hear thee again of this matter." 1 Nor is there 
any thing in the speech itself of a really apologetic character, as any one 
may perceive, on comparing it with the defence of Socrates. Moreover, 
the verse 2 which speaks so strongly of the Athenian love of novelty and ex- 
citement is so introduced, as to imply that curiosity was the motive of the 
whole proceeding. We may, indeed, admit that there was something of a 
mock solemnity in this adjournment from the Agora to the Areopagus. 
The Athenians took the Apostle from the tumult of public discussion, to 
the place which was at once most convenient and most appropriate. 
There was every thing in the place to incline the auditors, so far as they 
were seriously disposed at all, to a reverent and thoughtful attention. It 
is probable that Dionysius, 3 with other Areopagites, were on the judicial 
seat? And a vague recollection of the dread thoughts associated by 
poeky and tradition with the Hill of Mars may have solemnized the 
minds of some of those who crowded up the stone steps with the Apostle, 
and clustered round the summit of the hill, to hear his announcement of 
the new divinities. 

There is no point in the annals of the first planting of Christianity 
which seizes so powerfully on the imagination of those who are familiar 
with the history of the ancient world. Whether we contrast the intense 
earnestness of the man who spoke, with the frivolous character of those 
who surrounded him, — or compare the certain truth and awful meaning 
of the Gospel he revealed, with the worthless polytheism which had 
made Athens a proverb in the earth, — or even think of the mere words 
uttered that day in the clear atmosphere, on the summit of Mars' Hill, 
in connection with the objects of art, temples, statues, and altars, which 

Agus. But we need not suppose the crowd * There is indeed an apparent resemblance 

about St. Paul to have been very great ; and between Acts xvii. 32 and Acts xxiv. 25, buf 

though the Pnyx might be equally accessible even in the latter passage Felix is rather set 

from the Agora, and more convenient for a ting aside an irksome subject than giving a 

general address, the Areopagus was more ap- judicial decision. 
propriate for a discourse upon religion. We 2 Acts xvii. 21. 

are disposed, too, to lay great stress on the s Tradition says that he was the first bishop 

verse (21) which speaks of the curiosity of the of Athens. The writings attributed to him, 

Athenians. Unless it were meant to be em- which were once so famous, are now acknowl- 

phatic, it would almost have the appearance edged to be spurious, 
of an interpolation. The phrase in v. 19 is a 
word of general import. See Acts ix. 27. 



326 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.s 

stood round on every side, — we feel that the moment was, and was 
intended to be, full of the most impressive teaching for every age of the 
world. Close to the spot where he stood was the Temple of Mars. The 
sanctuary " of the Eumenides was immediately below him ; the Parthenon 
of Minerva facing him above. Their presence seemed to challenge the 
assertion in which he declared here, that in temples made with hands the 
Deity does not dwell. In front of him, towering from its pedestal on the 
rock of the Acropolis, — as the Borromean Colossus, which at this day, 
with outstretched hand, gives its benediction to the low village of Arona ; 
or as the brazen statue of the armed angel, which from the summit of 
the Castle S. Angelo spreads its wings over the city of Rome, — was the 
bronze Colossus of Minerva, armed with spear, shield, and helmet, as the 
champion of Athens. Standing almost beneath its shade, he pronounced 
that the Deity was not to he likened either to that, the work of Phidias, or 
to other forms in gold, silver, or stone, graven by art, and man's device, 
which peopled the scene before him." l Wherever his eye was turned, it 
saw a succession of such statues and buildings in every variety of form 
and situation. On the rocky ledges on the south side of the Acropolis, 
and in the midst of the hum of the Agora, were the " objects of devo- 
tion " already described. And in the northern parts of the city, which 
are equally visible from the Areopagus, on the level spaces, and on every 
eminence, were similar objects, to which we have made no allusion, — 
and especially that Temple of Theseus, the national hero, which remains 
in unimpaired beauty, to enable us to imagine what Athens was when 
this temple was only one among the many ornaments of that city, which 
was " crowded with idols." 

In this scene St. Paul spoke, probably in his wonted attitude, 2 " stretch- 
ing out his hand ; " his bodily aspect still showing what he had suffered 
from weakness, toil, and pain ; 3 and the traces of sadness and anxiety 
mingled on his countenance with the expression of unshaken faith. 
Whatever his personal appearance may have been, we know the words 
which he spoke. And we are struck with the more admiration, the more 
narrowly we scrutinize the characteristics of his address. To defer for 
the present all consideration of its manifold adaptations to the various 
characters of his auditors, we may notice how truly it was the outpour- 
ing of the emotions which, at the time, had possession of his soul. The 
mouth spoke out of the fulness of the heart. With an ardent and 
enthusiastic eloquence he gave vent to the feelings which had been 

1 Wordsworth's Athens and Attica, p. 77. 2 See p. 155 and the note. 

The word "graven" (Acts xvii. 29) should he 3 See the account of what took place aft 

noticed. The Apostle was surrounded by Philippi, and compare p. 281. 
sculpture as well as by temples. 



-h^.x. SPEECH OF ST. PAUL. 327 

excited by all .that he had seen around him in Athens. We observe, 
also, how the whole course of the oration was regulated by his own 
peculiar prudence. He was placed in a position, when he might easily 
have been insnared into the use of words which would have brought 
down upon him the indignation of all the city. Had he begun by 
attacking the national gods in the midst of their sanctuaries and with 
the Areopagites on the seats near him, he would have been in almost as 
great danger as Socrates before him. Yet he not only avoids the 
snare, but uses the very difficulty of his position to make a road to 
the convictions of those who heard him. He becomes a Heathen to the 
Heathen. He does not say that he is introducing new divinities. He 
rather implies the contrary, and gently draws his hearers away from 
polytheism by telling them that he was making known the God whom 
they themselves were ignorantly endeavoring to worship. And if the 
speech is characterized by St. Paul's prudence, it is marked by that 
wisdom of his Divine Master, which is the pattern of all Christian teach- 
ing. As our Blessed Lord used the tribute-money for the instruction 
of His disciples, and drew living lessons from the water in the well of 
Samaria, so the Apostle of the Gentiles employed the familiar objects of 
Athenian life to tell them of what was close to them, and yet they knew 
not. He had carefully observed the outward appearance of the city. 
He had seen an altar with an expressive, though humiliating, inscrip- 
tion. And, using this inscription as a text, 1 he spoke to them, as follows, 
the Words of Eternal Wisdom. 

Their altars to ^ e men °f Athens, all things which I behold bear wit- acts 

U N K \ O AV N « XV H. 

gods prove ness to your carefulness in religion. 2 For as I passed oo 

both tbeir desire # 

theh-°Kno?an n ce through your city, and beheld the objects of your wor- 23 

shipping, g^jp^ j found amongst them an altar with this inscription, 
TO THE 3 UNKNOWN GOD. Whom, therefore, ye worship, though ye 
know Him not, Him declare I unto you. 

1 The altar erected to Pity, above alluded 8 Although there is no article before the 
to, was once used in a similar manner. The adjective, yet we need not scruple to retain 
Athenians were about to introduce gladiatorial the definite article of the Authorized Version ; 
shows, and Demonax the Cynic said : " Do for although, if we take the expression by it- 
not do this till you have first thrown down self, " AN Unknown God " would be a more 
the altar of Pity." correct translation, yet if we consider the 

2 The mistranslation of this verse in the probable origin (see above) of these altars 
Authorized Version is much to be regretted, erected to unknown gods it will be evident 
because it entirely destroys the graceful cour- that " To THE Unknown God " would be 
tesy of St. Paul's opening address, and repre- quite as near the sense of the inscription upon 
sents him as beginning his speech by offending any particular one of such altars. Each par- 
his audience. ticular altar was devoted to the unknown god 



328 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

24 God, who made the world and all things therein, seeing God dwells not 

° ° in the temples 

that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in tern- ^-mtSSS ' 

25 pies made with hands. 1 Neither is He served by the hands ml c% A ature°s, 
of men, as though He needed any thing; for it is He that giveth unto 

26 all life, and breath, and all things. And He made of one blood 2 all the 
nations of mankind, to dwell upon the face of the whole earth; and 
ordained to each the appointed seasons of their existence, and the 

27 bounds of their habitation. That they should seek God, 3 Manwascreat- 

"* ? ed capable of 

if haply they might feel after Him and find Him, SjfSSXS 
though He be not far from every one of us, for in Him into the foiiies 

° "'of idolatry, 

28 we live and move and have our being ; as certain also of ^adorn^ 

, * t • j by the art of 

your own poets 4 have said, Phidias. 

" For we are also His offspring." 

29 Forasmuch, then, as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to 
think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by 
the art and device of man. 

30 Howbeit, those past times of ignorance God hath over- SokJ^th^ast, 
looked ; 5 but now He commandeth all men everywhere to the world to 

prepare for 

31 repent, because He hath appointed a day wherein He will J^ 8 *' 8 judg " 
judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom He hath ordained ; 

to whom it properly belonged, though which 4 The quotation is from Aratus, a Greek 

of the gods it might be the dedicator knew poet, who was a native of Cilicia ; a circum- 

not. stance which would, perhaps, account for St. 

1 Here again (as at Antioch in Pisidia) Paul's familiarity with his writings. His 
we find St. Paul employing the very words of astronomical poems were so celebrated, that 
St. Stephen. Acts vii. 48. Ovid declares his fame will live as long as the 

2 " Of one blood;" excluding the boastful sun and moon endure. How little did the 
assumption of a different origin claimed by the Athenian audience imagine that the poet's im- 
Greeks for themselves over the barbarians. It mortality would really be owing to the quota- 
is not necessary to take the words together so tion made by the despised provincial who ad- 
as to mean "He caused to dwell," as some in- dressed them! Nearly the same words occur 
terpreters maintain. also in the hymn of Cleanthes. [See p. 5, n. 

3 The reading of MSS. A. B. G. H. &c. 2, and p. 318, n. 4. The opening lines of 
(" God," not " Lord ") is the best. this hymn have been thus translated : — 

" Thou, who amid the Immortals art throned the highest in glory, 
Giver and Lord of life, who hy law disposest of all things, 
Known hy many a name, yet One Almighty forever, 
Hail, O Zeus I for to Thee should each mortal voice he uplifted : 
Offspring are we too of thine, we and all that is mortal around us." H.] 

6 See notes upon St. Paul's speech at Lys- phor as "winked at" is to be found in the 
tra. It should be observed that no such meta- .original. 



eHAP.x. DEPAETUEE FEOM ATHENS. 329 

Christ's mission whereof He hath given assurance unto all, 1 in that He hath 
resurrection, raised Hini froni the dead. 

St. Paul was here suddenly interrupted, as was no doubt frequently 
the case with his speeches both to Jews and Gentiles. Some of those 
who listened broke out into laughter and derision. The doctrine of the 
" resurrection " was to them ridiculous, as the notion of equal religious 
rights with the " Gentiles " was offensive and intolerable to the Hebrew 
audience at Jerusalem. 2 Others of those who were present on the Are- 
opagus said, with courteous indifference, that they would " hear him again 
on the subject " The words were spoken in the spirit of Felix, who had 
no due sense of the importance of the matter, and who waited for " a 
convenient season." Thus, amidst the derision of some, and the 
indifference of others, 3 St. Paul was dismissed, and the assembly dis- 
persed. 

But though the Apostle " departed " thus " from among them," and 
though most of his hearers appeared to be unimpressed, yet many of 
them may have carried away in their hearts the seeds of truth, destined 
to grow up into the maturity of Christian faith and practice.' We can- 
not fail to notice how the sentences of this interrupted speech are con- 
structed to meet the cases in succession of every class of which the 
audience was composed. Each word in the address is adapted at once to 
win and to rebuke. The Athenians were proud of every thing that 
related to the origin of their race and the home where they dwelt. St. 
Paul tells them that he was struck by the aspect of their city ; but he 
shows them that the place and the time appointed for each nation's 
existence are parts of one great scheme of Providence, and that one 
God is the common Father of all nations of the earth. For the general 
and more ignorant population, some of whom were doubtless listening, a 
word of approbation is bestowed on the care they gave to the highest of 
all concerns ; but they are admonished that idolatry degrades all wor- 
ship, and leads men away from true notions of the Deity. That more 
educated and more imaginative class of hearers, who delighted in the 
diversified mythology which personified the operations of nature and 
localized the divine presence 4 in sanctuaries adorned by poetry and art, 
are led from the thought of their favorite shrines and customary sacri- 



1 Observe the coincidence between this 4 The sacred grottoes in the rocks within 
sentiment and that in Eora. i. 4. view from the Areopagus should be remem- 

2 Acts xxii. 22. bered, as well as the temples, &c. See Words- 

3 Some commentators find again in these worth, 
two classes the Stoics and Epicureans. It is 

not necessary to make so precise a division. 



S30 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. x. 

fices, to views of that awful Being who is the Lord of heaven and earth, 
and the one Author of universal life. " Up to a certain point in this 
high view of the Supreme Being, the philosopher of the Garden, as well 
as of the Porch, might listen with wonder and admiration. It soared, 
indeed, high above the vulgar religion ; but in the lofty and serene Deity, 
who disdained to dwell in the earthly temple, and needed nothing from 
the hand of man, the Epicurean might almost suppose that he heard the 
language of his own teacher. But the next sentence, which asserted the 
providence of God as the active, creative energy, — as the conservative, 
the ruling, the ordaining principle, — annihilated at once the atomic 
theory, and the government of blind chance, to which Epicurus ascribed 
the origin and preservation of the universe." * And when the Stoic 
heard the Apostle say that we ought to rise to the contemplation of the 
Deity without the intervention of earthly objects, and that we live and 
move and have our being in Him — it might have seemed like an echo 
of his own thought 2 — until the proud philosopher learnt that it was 
no pantheistic diffusion of power and order of which the Apostle spoke, 
but a living centre of government and love — that the world was ruled, 
not by the iron necessity of Fate, but by the providence of a personal 
God — and that from the proudest philosopher repentance and meek 
submission were sternly exacted. Above all, we are called upon to 
notice how the attention of the whole audience is concentred at the 
last upon Jesus Christ, though His name is not mentioned in the whole 
speech. Before St. Paul was taken to the Areopagus, he had been 
preaching " Jesus and the resurrection ; " 3 and though his discourse was 
interrupted, this was the last impression he left on the minds of those 
who heard him. And the impression was such as not merely to excite 
or gratify an intellectual curiosity, but to startle and search the con- 
science. Not only had a revival from the dead been granted to that man 
whom God had ordained — but a day had been appointed on which by 
Him the world must be judged in righteousness. 

Of the immediate results of this speech we have no further knowledge, 
than that Dionysius, 4 a member of the Court of Areopagus, and a woman 
whose name was Damaris, 5 with some others, were induced to join 
themselves to the Apostle, and became converts to Christianity. How 

1 Milman's History of Christianity, vol. ii. 8 Acts xvii. 18. 

p. 18. See his observations on the whole * See above, p. 325, n. 3. 

speech. He remarks, in a note, the coinci- 5 Nothing is known of Damaris. But, 

dence of St. Paul's " needing nothing " with considering the seclusion of the Greek women, 

the " nihil indiga nostri " of the Epicurean the mention of her name, and apparently in 

Lucretius. connection with the crowd on the Areopagus, 

2 This strikes us the more forcibly if the quo- is remarkable, 
tation is from the Stoic Cleanthes. See above 



chap.x. FRUITS OF PAUL'S SOJOURN AT ATHENS. 331 

long St. Paul staid in Athens, and with what success, cannot possibly 
be determined. He does not appear to have been driven away by any 
tumult or persecution. We are distinctly told that he waited for some 
time at Athens, till Silas and Timotheus should join him ; and there is 
some reason for believing that the latter of these companions did rejoin 
him in Athens, and was despatched again forthwith to Macedonia. 1 The 
Apostle himself remained in the province of Achaia, and took up his 
abode at its capital on the Isthmus. He inferred, or it was revealed to 
him, that the Gospel would meet with a more cordial reception there 
than at Athens. And it is a serious and instructive fact that the mer- 
cantile populations of Thessalonica and Corinth received the message of 
God with greater readiness than the highly educated and polished Athe- 
nians. Two letters to the Thessalonians, and two to the Corinthians, 
remain to attest the nourishing state of those Churches. But we possess 
no letter written by St. Paul to the Athenians ; and we do not read that 
he was ever in Athens again. 2 

Whatever may have been the immediate results of St. Paul's sojourn 
at Athens, its real fruits are those which remain to us still. That speech 
on the Areopagus is an imperishable monument of the first victory of 
Christianity over Paganism. To make a sacred application of the words 
used by the Athenian historian, 3 it was " no mere effort for the moment," 
but it is a " perpetual possession," wherein the Church finds ever-fresh 
supplies of wisdom and guidance. It is in Athens we learn what is the 
highest point to which unassisted human nature can attain ; and here we 
learn also the language which the Gospel addresses to a man on his 
proudest eminence of unaided strength. God, in His providence, has 
preserved to us, in fullest profusion, the literature which unfolds to us all 
the life of the Athenian people, in its glory and its shame ; and He has 
ordained that one conspicuous passage in the Holy Volume should be the 
speech, in which His servant addressed that people as ignorant idolaters, 
called them to repentance, and warned them of judgment. And it can 
hardly be deemed profane, if we trace to the same Divine Providence the 
preservation of the very imagery which surrounded the speaker — not 
only the sea, and the mountains, and the sky, which change not with the 
decay of nations — but even the very temples, which remain, after wars 
and revolutions, on their ancient pedestals in astonishing perfection. We 

1 See 1 Thess. iii. 1. For the movements flourishing there as ever. The Christian com- 
of Silas and Timotheus about this time, see munity seems at one time to have been entirely 
the note at p. 338. dispersed, and to have been collected again 

2 The church of Athens appears to have about a.d. 165. See Leake, p. 60. 
been long in a very weak state. In the time 3 Thuc. i. 22. 

of the Antonines, Paganism -was almost as 



332 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. X. 



are thus provided with a poetic and yet a truthful commentary on the 
words that were spoken once for all at Athens ; and Art and Nature have 
been commissioned from above to enframe the portrait of that Apostle, 
who stands forever on the Areopagus as the teacher of the Gentiles. 





Coin of Athens .1 



1 From the British Museum. This coin shows the position of the colossal statue of 
Minerva Promachus, facing the west. 



I 



CHAPTER XI. 

Letters to Thessalonica written from Corinth. — Expulsion of the Jews from Rome. ■— Aquila 
and Priscilla. — St. Paul's Labors. — Arrival of Timothy and Silas. — First Epistle to the 
Thessalonians. — St. Paul is opposed by the Jews, and turns to the Gentiles. — His Vision. — 
JSecond Epistle to the Thessalonians. — Continued residence in Corinth. 

WHEN St. Paul went from Athens to Corinth, he entered on a scene 
very different from that which he had left. It is not merely that 
his residence was transferred from a free Greek city to a Roman colony ; 
as would have heen the case had he been moving from Thessalonica to 
Philiptu. 1 His present journey took him from a quiet provincial town 
to the busy metropolis of a province, and from the seclusion of an ancient 
university to the seat of government and trade. 2 Once there had been a 
time, in the flourishing age of the Greek republics, when Athens had 
been politically greater than Corinth : but now that the little territories 
of the Levantine cities were fused into the larger political divisions of 
the empire, Athens had only the memory of its pre-eminence, while 
Corinth held the keys of commerce and swarmed with a crowded popu- 
lation. Both cities had recently experienced severe vicissitudes, but a 
spell was on the fortunes of the former, and its character remained more 
entirely Greek than that of any other place : 3 while the latter rose from 
its ruins, a new and splendid city, on the Isthmus between its two seas, 
where a multitude of Greeks and Jews gradually united themselves with 
the military colonists sent by Julius Caesar from Italy, 4 and were kept in 
order by the presence of a Roman proconsul. 5 

The connection of Corinth with the life of St. Paul and the early prog- 
ress of Christianity is so close and eventful, that no student of Holy 

1 See above, p. 288. Julius Casar established the city on the Isth- 

2 A journey in the first century from Ath- mus, in the form of a colony ; and the mer- 
ens to Corinth might almost be compared to a cantile population flocked back to their old 
journey, in the eighteenth, from Oxford to place ; so that Corinth rose with great rapidity, 
London. For the probabilities of St. Paul's till it was a city of the second rank in tno 
actual route, see notes on p. 356. Empire. The historical details will be given 

3 See the preceding chapter on Athens. in the next chapter. 

4 At the close of the Republic, Corinth was fi Acts xviii. 12 shows that the province of 
entirely destroyed. Thus we find Cicero trav- Achaia was proconsular. See, under Cyprus, 
elling, not by Corinth, but by Athens. But pp. 129-131. 

833 



334 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xi. 

Writ ought to be satisfied without obtaining as correct and clear an idea 
as possible of its social condition, and its relation to other parts of the 
Empire. This subject will be considered in the succeeding chapter. At 
present another topic demands our chief attention. We are now arrived 
at that point in the life of St. Paul when his first Epistles were written. 
This fact is ascertained, not by any direct statements either in the Acts 
or the Epistles themselves, but by circumstantial evidence derived from a 
comparison of these documents with one another. 1 Such a comparison 
enables us to perceive that the Apostle's mind, on his arrival at Corinth, 
was still turning with affection and anxiety towards his converts at Thes- 
salonicai In the midst of all his labors at the Isthmus, his thoughts 
were continually with those whom he had left in Macedonia ; and though 
the narrative 2 tells us only of his tent-making and preaching in the 
metropolis of Achaia, we discover, on a closer inquiry, that the Letters to 
the Thessalonians were written at this particular crisis. It would be 
interesting, in the case of any man whose biography has been thought 
worth preserving, to find that letters full of love and wisdom had been 
written at a time when no traces would have been discoverable, except 
in the letters themselves, of the thoughts which had been occupying the 
writer's mind. Such unexpected association of the actions done in one 
place with affection retained towards another, always seems to add to 
our personal knowledge of the man whose history we may be studying, 
and to our interest in the pursuits which were the occupation of his life. 
This is peculiarly true in the case of the first Christian correspondence, 
which has been preserved to the Church. Such has ever been the influ- 
ence of letter-writing, — its power in bringing those who are distant 
near to one another, and reconciling those who are in danger of being 
estranged ; — such especially has been the influence of Christian letters 
in developing the growth of faith and love, and binding together the dis- 
located members of the body of our Lord, and in making each generation 
in succession the teacher of the next, — that we have good reason to take 
these Epistles to the Thessalonians as the one chief subject of the present 
chapter. The earliest occurrences which took place at Corinth must 
first be mentioned : but for this a few pages will suffice. 

The reasons which determined St. Paul to come to Corinth (over and 
above the discouragement he seems to have met with in Athens) were, 
probably, twofold. In the first place, it was a large mercantile city, in 
immediate connection with Rome and the West of the Mediterranean, 
with Thessalonica and Ephesus in the ^Egean, and with Antioch and 
Alexandria in the East. 3 The Gospel once established in Corinth, would 

1 See the arguments below, p. 340, n. 6. 3 For full details, see the next chapter. 

2 Acts xviii. 1-4. 



chap. xi. EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM ROME. 335 

rapidly spread everywhere. And, again, from the very nature of the 
city, the Jews, established there were numerous. Communities of scat- 
tered Israelites were found in various parts of the province of Achaia, — 
in Athens, as we have recently seen, 1 — in Argos, as we learn from Philo, 
— in Boeotia and Euboea. But their chief settlement must necessarily 
have been in that city, which not only gave opportunities of trade by 
land along the Isthmus between the Morea and the Continent, but reeeived 
in its two harbors the ships of the Eastern and Western Seas. A religion 
which was first to be planted in the Synagogue, and was thence intended 
to scatter its seeds over all parts of the earth, could nowhere find a more 
favorable soil than among the Hebrew families at Corinth. 2 

At this particular time there was a greater number of Jews in the city 
than usual ; for they had lately been banished from Rome by command 
of the Emperor Claudius. 3 The history of this edict is involved in some 
obscurity. But there are abundant passages in the contemporary Hea- 
then writers which show the suspicion and dislike with which the Jews 
were regarded. 4 Notwithstanding the general toleration, they were 
violently persecuted by three successive Emperors ; 5 and there is good 
reason for identifying the edict mentioned by St. Luke with that alluded 
to by Suetonius, who says that Claudius drove the Jews from Rome be- 
cause they were incessantly raising tumults at the instigation of a certain 
Chrestus. 8 Much has been written concerning this sentence of the 
biographer of the Cassars. Some have held that there was really a Jew 
called Chrestus, who had excited political disturbances, others that the 
name is used by mistake for Christus, and that the disturbances had 
arisen from the Jewish expectations concerning the Messiah, or Christ. 
It seems to us that the last opinion is partially true ; but that we must 
trace this movement not merely to the vague Messianic idea entertained 
by the Jews, but to the events which followed the actual appearance of 
the Christ. We have seen how the first progress of Christianity had been 
the occasion of tumult among the Jewish communities in the provinces ; 7 
and there is no reason why the same might not have happened in the 
capital itself. 8 Nor need we be surprised at the inaccurate form in 
which the name occurs, when we remember how loosely more careful 

1 See the preceding chapter, p. 313. secution of Caligula has been mentioned previ- 

2 See what has been said above on Thessa- ously, Ch. IV. pp. 102, 103. 

lonica. 6 The words are quoted p. 262, n. 2. Com- 

3 Acts xviii. 2. pare p. 287. 

4 Tacitus, for instance, and Juvenal. See 7 In Asia Minor (Ch. VI.), and more espe- 
the quotation from Cicero, p. 262, n. 1. cially in Thessalonica and Beroea (Ch. IX.). 

5 Four thousand Jews or Jewish proselytes 8 Christianity must have been more or less 
were sent as convicts by Tiberius to the island known in Rome since the return of the Italian 
of Sardinia. The more directly religious per- Jews from Pentecost (Acts ii.). 



336 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

writers than Suetonius express themselves concerning the affairs of the 
Jews. 1 Chrestus was a common name ; 2 Christus was not : and we have 
a distinct statement by Tertullian and Lactantius 3 that in their day the 
former was often used for the latter. 4 

Among the Jews who had been banished from Rome by Claudius, and 
had settled for a time at Corinth, were two natives of Pontus, whose 
names were Aquila and Priscilla. 5 We have seen before (Ch.VIII.) 
that Pontus denoted a province of Asia Minor on the shores of the 
Euxine, and we have noticed some political facts which tended to bring 
this province into relations with Judaea. 6 Though, indeed, it is hardly 
necessary to allude to this : for there were Jewish colonies over every 
part of Asia Minor, and we are expressly told that Jews from Pontus 
heard St. Peter's first sermon 7 and read his first Epistle. 8 Aquila and 
Priscilla were, perhaps, of that number. Their names have a Roman 
form ; 9 and we may conjecture that they were brought into some con- 
nection with a Roman family, similar to that which we have supposed 
to have existed in the case of St. Paul himself. 10 We find they were on 
the present occasion forced to leave Rome ; and we notice that they are 
afterwards addressed n as residing there again ; so that it is reasonable 
to suppose that the metropolis was their stated residence. Yet we 
observe that they frequently travelled ; and we trace them on the Asiatic 
coast on two distinct occasions, separated by a wide interval of time. 
First, before their return to Italy (Acts xviii. 18, 26 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 19), 
and again, shortly before the martyrdom of St. Paul (2 Tim. iv. 19), w^e 
find them at Ephesus. From the manner in which they are referred to 
as having Christian meetings in their houses, both at Ephesus and Rome, 12 



1 Even Tacitus. of good education. Her name appears in 

2 Moreover, Christus and Chrestus are pro- 2 Tim. iv. 19 (also, according 4o the best 
nounced alike in Romaic. MSS., in Rom. xvi. 3), under the form 

3 See the passages quoted by Dean Milman " Prisca." So, in Latin authors, ' Livia " and 
(Hist, of Christianity, i. p. 430), who remarks " Livilla," " Drusa " and " Drusilla," are used 
that these tumults at Rome, excited by the of the same person. Prisca is well known as 
mutual hostility of Jews and Christians, imply a Roman name. 

that Christianity must already have made con- It is well worthy of notice that in both 

siderable progress there. cases St. Paul mentions the name of Priscilla 

4 See pp. Ill, 112, aixlTac. Ann. xv. 44. before that of Aquila. This conveys the 

5 Acts xviii. 2. impression that she was the more energetic 

6 Especially the mauiage of Polemo with character of the two. See the notice of these 
Berenice, p. 23 and p. 213. two Christians by the Archdeacon Evans 

7 Acts ii. 9. (Script. Biog.), and his remarks on the proba- 

8 1 Pet. i. 1. ble usefulness of Priscilla with reference to 

9 See p. 136, also p. 44, From the men- female converts, the training of Deaconesses, 
tion of Priscilla as St. Paul's " fellow-labor- &c. Compare the note on Rom. xvi. 3. 

er," and as one of the instructors cf Apollos, 10 P. 43. n Rom. xvi. 3. 

we might naturally infer that she was a woman l2 Rom. xvi. 3; 1 Cor. xvi. 19. 



chap. xi. AQUILA AND PBISCILLA. 337 

we should be inclined to conclude that they were possessed of some 
considerable wealth. The trade at which they labored, or which at least 
they superintended, was the manufacture of tents, 1 the demand for 
which must have been continual in that age of travelling, — while the 
cilicium? or hair-cloth, of which they were made, could easily be pro- 
cured at every large town in the Levant. 

A question has been raised as to whether Aquila and Priscilla were 
already Christians when they met with St. Paul. 3 Though it is cer- 
tainly possible that they may have been converted at Rome, we think, on 
the whole, that this was probably not the case. They are simply classed 
with the other Jews who were expelled by Claudius ; and we are told 
that the reason why St. Paul " came and attached himself to them" 4 
was not because they had a common religion, but because they had a 
common trade. There is no doubt, however, that the connection soon 
resulted in their conversion to Christianity. 5 The trade which St. Paul's 
father had taught him in his youth 6 was thus made the means of procur- 
ing him invaluable associates in the noblest work in which man was ever 
engaged. No higher example can be found of the possibility of combin- 
ing diligent lafcor in the common things of life with the utmost spiritual- 
ity of mind. Those who might have visited Aquila at Corinth in the 
working-hours would have found St. Paul quietly occupied with the 
same task as his fellow-laborers. Though he knew the Gospel to be a 
matter of life and death to the soul, he gave himself to an ordinary 
trade with as much zeal as though he had no other occupation. It is the 
duty of every man to maintain an honorable independence ; and this, he 
felt, was peculiarly incumbent on him, for the sake of the Gospel he 
came to proclaim. 7 He knew the obloquy to which he was likely to be 
exposed, and he prudently prepared for it. The highest motives instigat-. 
ed his diligence in the commonest manual toil. And this toil was no 
hinderance to that communion with God, which was his greatest joy, and. 
the source of all his peace. While he "labored, working with his own 
hands," among the Corinthians, as he afterwards reminded them, 8 — in. 



1 Many meanings have been given by the 4 Acts xviii. 2. 

commentators to the word, — weavers of tap- 5 They were Christians, and able to instruct 

estry, saddlers, mathematical instrument- others, when St. Paul left them at Ephesus, 

makers, ropemakers. But nothing is so prob- on his voyage from Corinth to Syria. See- 

able as that they were simply makers of those Acts xviii. 18, 26. 

hair-cloth tents, which are still in constant use 6 See p. 44. 

in the Levant. That they were manufacturers 7 See what is said above in reference to his • 

of the cloth itself is less likely. labors at Thessalonica, pp. 2S4, 285. "We- 

2 An account of this cloth is given in Ch. shall meet with the same subject again in the.' 
II. p. 44. See p. 150 and p. 284. Epistles to the Corinthians. 

8 See the various commentators. 8 1 Cor. iv. 12. 

22 



338 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



bis heart he was praying continually, with thanksgiving, on behalf of the 
Thessalonians, as he says to them himself 1 in the letters which he dictat- 
ed in the intervals of his labor. 

This was the first scene of St. Paul's life at Corinth. For the second 
scene we must turn to the synagogue. The Sabbath 2 was a day of rest. 
On that day the Jews laid aside their tent-making and their other trades, 
and, amid the derision of their Gentile neighbors, assembled in the house 
of prayer to worship the God of their ancestors. There St. Paul spoke 
to them of the " mercy promised to their forefathers," and of the " oath 
sworn to Abraham," being " performed." There his countrymen listened 
with incredulity or conviction ; and the tent-maker of Tarsus " reasoned " 
with them, and " endeavored to persuade " 3 both the Jews and the Gen- 
tiles who were present to believe in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah 
and the Saviour of the World. 

While these two employments were proceeding, — the daily labor in 
the workshop, and the weekly discussions in the synagogue, — Timotheus 
and Silas returned from Macedonia. 4 The effect produced by their 
arrival 5 seems to have been an instantaneous increase of the zeal and 



1 1 Thess. i. 2, ii. 13 ; 2 Thess. i. 11. 

2 See Acts xviii. 4. 

3 This is the sense of the imperfect. 

4 Acts xviii. 5. We may remark here that 
Silas and Timotheus were probably the 
" brethren " who brought the collection men- 
tioned 2 Cor. xi. 9. Compare Phil. iv. 15. 

6 There are some difficulties and differences 
of opinion, with regard to the movements of 
Silas and Timotheus, between the time when 
St. Paul left them in Macedonia and their 
rejoining him in Achaia. 

The facts which are distinctly stated are as 
follows. (1.) Silas and Timotheus were left 
at Bercea (Acts xvii. 14) when St. Paul went 
to Athens. We are not told why they were 
left there, or what commissions they received ; 
but the Apostle sent a message from Athens 
(Acts xvii. 15) that they should follow him 
with all speed, and (Acts xvii. 16) he waited 
for them there. (2.) The Apostle was rejoined 
i'by them when at Corinth (Acts xviii. 5). 
We are not informed how they had been era- 
i ployed in the interval, but they came " from 
Macedonia." It is not distinctly said that they 
> came together, but the impression at first sight is 
that they did. (3.) St. Paul informs us (1 Thess. 
iii. 1 ) that he was " left in Athens alone," and 
that this solitude was in consequence of Timothy 
having been sent to Thessalonica (1 Thess. iii. 



2). Though it is not expressly stated that 
Timothy was sent from Athens, the first 
impression is that he was. 

Thus there is a seeming discrepancy be- 
tween the Acts and Epistles; a journey of 
Timotheus to Athens, previous to his arrival 
with Silas at Corinth, appearing to be men- 
tioned by St. Paul, and to be quite unnoticed 
by St. Luke. 

Paley, in the Horce Paulince, says that the 
Epistle " virtually asserts that Timothy came 
to the Apostle at Athens," and assumes that 
it is " necessary " to suppose this, in order to 
reconcile the history with the Epistle. And 
he points out three intimations in the history, 
which make the arrival, though not expressly 
mentioned, extremely probable: — first, the 
message that they should come with all speed ; 
secondly, the fact of his waiting for them ; 
thirdly, the absence of any appearance of 
haste in his departure from Athens to Corinth. 
" Paul had ordered Timothy to follow him with- 
out delay : he waited at Athens on purpose 
that Timothy might come up with him, and 
he staid there as long as his own choice led 
him to continue." 

This explanation is satisfactory. But two 
others might be suggested, which would 
equally remove the difficulty. 

It is not expressly said that Timotheus was 



ARRIVAL OF SILAS AXD TIMOTHEUS. 



339 



energy with which St. Paul resisted the opposition, which was even now 
beginning to hem in the progress of the truth. The remarkable word l 
which. is used to describe the "pressure " which he experienced at this 
moment in the course of his teaching at Corinth, is the same which is 
employed of our Lord Himself in a solemn passage of the Gospels, 2 when 
He says, " I have a baptism to be baptized with ; and how am I straitened 
till it be accomplished ! " He who felt our human difficulties has given 
us human help to aid us in what He requires us to do. When St. Paul's 
companions rejoined him, he was re-enforced with new earnestness and 



sent from Athens to Thessalonica. St. Paul 
was anxious, as we have seen, to revisit the 
Thessalonians ; but since he was hindered 
from doing so, it is highly probable (as Hem- 
sen and Wieseler suppose) that he may hare 
sent Timotheus to them from Beroza. Silas 
might be sent on some similar commission, and 
this would explain why the two companions 
were left behind in Macedonia. This would 
necessarily cause St. Paul to be " left alone in 
Athens." Such solitude was doubtless pain- 
ful to him ; but the spiritual good of the new 
converts was at stake. The two companions, 
after finishing the work intrusted to them, 
finally rejoined the Apostle at Corinth. [We 
should observe that the phrase is "from 
Macedonia," not "from Bercea."] That he 
" waited for them " at Athens need cause us 
no difficulty : for in those days the arrival of 
travellers could not confidently be known be- 
forehand. "When he left Athens and pro- 
ceeded to Corinth, he knew that Silas and 
Timotheus could easily ascertain his move- 
ments, and follow his steps, by help of infor- 
mation obtained at the synagogue. 

But, again, we may reasonably suppose, 
that, in the course of St. Paul's stay at 
Corinth, he may have paid a second visit to 
Athens, after the first arrival of Timotheus 
and Silas from Macedonia; and that during 
some such visit he may have sent Timotheus 
to Thessalonica. This view may be taken 
without our supposing, with Bottger, that the 
First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written 
at Athens. Schrader and others imagine a 
visit to that city at a later period of his life ; 
but this view cannot be admitted without de- 
ranging the arguments for the date of 1 Thess., 
which was evidently written soon after leav- 
ing Macedonia. 

Two further remarks maybe added. (1.) 
If Timothy did rejoin St. Paul at Athens, we 



need not infer that Silas was not with him, 
from the fact that the name of Silas is not 
mentioned. It is usually taken for granted 
that the second arrival of Timothy (1 Thess. 
iii. 6) is identical with the coming of Silas 
and Timotheus to Corinth (Acts xviii. 5) ; 
but here we see that only Timothy is men- 
tioned, doubtless because he was most recently 
and familiarly known at Thessalonica, and per- 
haps, also, because the mission of Silas was to 
some other place. (2.) On the other hand, it 
is not neccessary to assume, because Silas and 
Timotheus are mentioned together (Acts 
xviii. 5), that they came together. All condi- 
tions are satisfied if they came about the same 
time. If they were sent on missions to two 
different places, the times of their return 
would not necessarily coincide. [Something 
may be implied in the form of the Greek 
phrase, " Silas as well as Timotheus."] In 
considering all these journeys, it is very need- 
ful to take into account that they would be 
modified by the settled or unsettled state of 
the country with regard to banditti, and by 
the various opportunities of travelling, which 
depend on the season and the weather, and the 
sailing of vessels. Hinderances connected 
with some such considerations may be referred 
to in Phil. iv. 10. 

1 The state of mind, whatever it was, is 
clearly connected with the coming of Timo- 
thy and Silas, and seems to imply increasing 
zeal with increasing opposition. " Instabat 
verbo." Compare avdynr}, 1 Thess. iii. 7. 
The A. V. rests on an incorrect reading, 
though the general result is the same. Hack- 
ett's note is very much to the purpose. " He 
was engrossed with the word. The arrival of 
his associates relieved him from anxiety which 
had pressed heavily upon him ; and he could 
now devote himself with unabated energy to 
his work." * Luke xii. 50. 



340 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xi. 

vigor in combating the difficulties which met him. He acknowledges 
himself that he was at Corinth " in weakness, and in fear and much 
trembling ; " * but " God, who comforteth those that are cast down, com- 
forted him by the arrival " 2 of his friends. It was only one among many 
instances we shall be called to notice, in which, at a time of weakness, 
" he saw the brethren and took courage." 3 

But this was not the only result of the arrival of St. Paul's com- 
panions. Timotheus 4 had been sent, while St. Paul was still at Athens, 
to revisit and establish the Church of Thessalonica. The news he 
brought on his return to St. Paul caused the latter to write to these be- 
loved converts ; and, as we have already observed, the letter which he 
sent them is the first of his Epistles which has been preserved to us. It 
seems to have been occasioned partly by his wish to express his earnest 
affection for the Thessalonian Christians, and to encourage them under 
their persecutions ; but it was also called for by some errors into which 
they had fallen. Many of the new converts were uneasy about the state 
of their relatives or friends, who had died since their conversion. They 
feared that these departed Christians would lose the happiness of witness- 
ing their Lord's second coming, which they expected soon to behold. In 
this expectation others had given themselves up to a religious excitement, 
under the influence of which they persuaded themselves that they need 
not continue to work at the business of their callings, but might claim 
support from the richer members of the Church. Others, again, had 
yielded to the same temptations which afterwards influenced the Corin- 
thian Church, and despised the gift of prophesying 5 in comparison with 
those other gifts which afforded more opportunity for display. These 
reasons, and others which will appear in the letter itself, led St. Paul to 
write to the Thessalonians as follows : — 

FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 6 

i. l PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, TO THE CHURCH salutation. 
OF THE THESSALONIANS, in God our Father, and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

1 1 Cor. ii. 3. sion of the Thessalonians (1 Thess. i. 8, 9), 

2 2 Cor. vii. 6. while the tidings of it were still spreading (the 

3 Acts xxviii. 15. See above on his soli- verb is in the present tense) through Macedo- 
tude in Athens, p. 313. nia and Achaia, and while St. Paul could 

4 See above, p. 331. speak of himself as only taken from them for 

5 1 Thess. v. 20. a short season (1 Thess. ii. 17). (2.) St. 

6 The correctness of the date here assigned Paul had been recently at Athens (iii. 1), and 
to this Epistle may be proved as follows : — had already preached in Achaia (i. 7, 8). (3.) 
(1.) It was written not long after the conver- Timotheus and Silas were just returned (iii. 



CHAP. XI. 



FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIAFS. 



341 



Grace 1 be to you and peace. 5 



Thanksgiving I (rive 3 continual thanks to God for you all, and make i. 2 

for their con- ° 

version. mention of you in my prayers without ceasing ; remembering, 3 

in the presence of our God and Father, the working of your faith, and 
the labors of your love, and the steadfastness of your hope of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 4 Brethren, beloved by God, I know how God has chosen 4 
you ; for my Glad-tidings came to you, not only in word, but also in 5 
power ; with the might of the Holy Spirit, and with the full assurance 
of belief. 5 As you, likewise, know the manner in which I behaved, my- 
self among you, for your sakes. Moreover, you followed in my steps, and 6 



6) from Macedonia, which happened (Acts 
xviii. 5) soon after St. Paul's first arrival at 
Corinth. 

We have already observed (Ch. IX. p. 
285), that the character of these Epistles to 
the Thessalonians proves how predominant 
was the Gentile element in that church, and 
that they are among the very few letters of 
St. Paul in which not a single quotation from 
the Old Testament is to be found. The use, 
however, of the word " Satan " ( 1 Thess. ii. 
18, and 2 Thess. ii. 9) might be adduced as 
implving some previous knowledge of Juda- 
ism in those to whom the letter was addressed. 
See also the note on 2 Thess. ii. 8. 

1 This salutation occurs in all St. Paul's 
Epistles, except the three Pastoral Epistles, 
where it is changed into " Grace, mercy, and 
peace." 

2 The remainder of this verse has been 
introduced into the Textus Receptus by mis- 
take in this place, where it is not found in the 
best MSS. It properly belongs to 2 Thess. 
i. 2. 

3 It is important to observe in this place, 
once for all, that St. Paul uses " we" accord- 
ing to the idiom of many ancient writers, 
where a modern writer would use " I." Great 
confusion is caused in many passages by not 
translating, according to his true meaning, in 
the first person singula)- ; for thus it often hap- 
pens, that what he spoke of himself individ- 
ually appears to us as if it were meant for a 
general truth : instances will occur repeatedly 
of this in the Epistles to the Corinthians, 
especially the Second. It might have been 
supposed, that when St. Paul associated 



others with himself in the salutation at the 
beginning of an epistle, he meant to indicate 
that the epistle proceeded from them as well as 
from himself; but an examination of the body 
of the Epistle will always convince us that 
such was not the case, but that he was the sole 
author. For example, in the present Epistle, 
Silvanus and Timotheus are joined with him 
in the salutation; but yet we find (ch. iii. 
1, 2) — "we thought it good to be left in 
Athens alone, and sent Timothy our brother." 
Now, who was it who thought fit to be left 
at Athens alone ? Plainly St. Paul himself, 
and he only ; neither Timotheus (who is here 
expressly excluded) nor Silvanus (who proba- 
bly did not rejoin St. Paul till afterwards 
at Corinth, Acts xviii. 5, and see the note, 
p. 338) being included. Ch. iii. 6 is not less 
decisive — "but now that Timotheus is just 
come to us from you " — when we remember 
that Silvanus came with Timotheus. Several 
other passages in the Epistle prove the same 
thing, but these may suffice. 

It is true, that sometimes the ancient idiom 
in which a writer spoke of himself in the plu- 
ral is more graceful, and seems less egotistical, 
than the modern usage ; but yet (the modern 
usage being what it is) a literal translation of 
the Tjfieig very often conveys a confused idea of 
the meaning ; and it appears better, therefore, 
to translate according to the modern idiom. 

4 St. Paul is here referring to the time when 
he first visited and converted the Thessalo- 
nians ; the " hope " spoken of was the hope of 
our Lord's coming. 

5 In illustration of the word here we may 
refer to Rom. xiv. 5, and Heb. x. 22. 



342 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xi. 

in the steps of the Lord ; and you received the word in great tribula- 
i 7 tion, 1 with joy which came from the Holy Spirit. And thus you have 

8 become patterns to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For 
from you the word of the Lord has been sounded forth, 2 and not only 
has its sound been heard in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every 
place the tidings of your faith towards God have been spread abroad, so 

9 that I have no need to speak of it at all. For others are telling of their 
own accord, 3 concerning me, what welcome you gave me, and how you 
forsook your idols, and turned to serve God, the living and the true ; 

10 and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the 

dead, even Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath, 
i. 1 For, you' know yourselves, brethren, that my coming He reminds 

' J J ' ' J a them of his 

2 amongst you was not fruitless ; but after I had borne suffer- own example. 
ing and outrage (as you know) at Philippi, I trusted in my God, and 
boldly declared to you God's Glad-tidings, in the midst of great conten- 

3 tion. For my exhortations are not prompted by imposture, nor by 

4 lasciviousness, nor do I speak in jguile. 4 But as God has proved my 
fitness for the charge of the Glad-tidings, so I speak, not seeking to 

5 please men, but God, who proves our hearts. For never did I use flatter- 
ing words, as you know ; nor hide covetousness under fair pretences, 

6 (God is witness) ; nor did I seek honor from men, either from you or 
others ; although I might have been burdensome, as Christ's apostle. 5 

7 But I behaved myself among you with gentleness ; and as a nurse 

8 cherishes her own children, 6 so in my fond affection it was my joy to give 
you not only the Glad-tidings of God, but my own life also, because you 

9 were dear to me. For you remember, brethren, my toilsome labors ; 

1 This tribulation they brought on them- Judaizing opponents denied his apostolic au- 
selves by receiving the Gospel. thority was the fact that he (in general) refused 

2 See p. 279, n. 8. to be maintained by his converts, whereas our 

3 " Themselves," emphatic. Lord had given to His apostles the right of 

4 In this and the following verses, we have being so maintained. St. Paul fully explains 
allusions to the accusations brought against his reasons for not availing himself of that 
St. Paul by his Jewish opponents. He would right in several passages, especially 1 Cor. ix. : 
of course have been accused of imposture, as and he here takes care to allude to his posses- 
the preacher of a miraculous revelation ; the sion of the right, while mentioning his renun- 
charge of impurity might also have been sug- ciation of it. Cf. 2 Thess. iii. 9. 

gested to impure minds, as connected with the 6 "Her own children." See p. 281, n. 4. 

conversion of female proselytes ; the charge of It will be observed, also, that we adopt a 

seeking to please men was repeated by the Juda- different punctuation from that which has led 

izers in Galatia. See Gal. i. 10. to the received version. 
6 One of the grounds upon which St. Paul's 



chap. xi. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 343 

how I worked both night and day, that I might not be burdensome to 
any of you, while I proclaimed to you the message l which I bore, the 
Glad-tidings of God. Ye are yourselves witnesses, and God also is ii. 10 
witness, how holy, and just, and unblamable were my dealings towards 
you that believe. You know how earnestly, as a father his own children, 11 
I exhorted, and entreated, and adjured each one among you to walk 12 
worthy of God, by whom you are called into His own kingdom and glory. 

Wherefore I also give continual thanks to God, because, when you 13 
heard from me the spoken word 2 of God, you received it not as the word 
of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God ; who Himself works 
effectually in you that believe. For you, brethren, followed in the steps 14 
of the churches of God in Judaea, which are in Christ Jesus, inasmuch 
as you suffered the like persecution from your own countrymen, which 
they endured from the Jews ; who killed both the Lord Jesus, and the 15 
prophets, and who have driven me forth [from city to city 3 ] ; a people 
displeasing to God, and enemies to all mankind, who would hinder me 16 
from speaking to the Gentiles for their salvation ; continuing always to 
fill up the measure of their sins ; but the wrath [of God] has overtaken 
them to destroy them. 4 
Expresses his But I, brethren, having been torn from you for a short 17 

desire to see 

them. season (in presence, not in heart), sought very earnestly to 

behold you [again] face to face. 5 Wherefore I, Paul (for my own part), 18 
desired to visit you once and again ; but Satan hindered me. For what 19 
is my hope or joy ? what is the crown wherein I glory ? what but your 
own selves, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His appearing ? 6 
Yea, you are my glory and my joy. 20 

And his joy Therefore, when I was no longer able to forbear, I deter- in, .1 
their wen- mined willingly to be left at Athens alone ; and I sent Timo- % 

doing from ° J ' 

Timotheus. theus, my brother, and God's fellow-worker 7 in the Glad-tidings. 
of Christ, that he might strengthen your constancy, and exhort you con- 

1 The original word involves the idea of a 6 The anticipative blending of the future 
herald proclaiming a message. with the present here is parallel with and 

2 Literally word received by hearing, i. e. explains Rom. ii. 15, 16. 

spoken word. Cf. Rom. x. 16. 7 There is some doubt about the reading f 

3 Referring to his recent expulsion from here. That which we adopt is analogous to 
Thessalonica and Bercea. 1 Cor. iii. 9. The boldness of the expression 

4 More literally, " to make an end of them." probably led to the variation in the MSS. On 

5 See what is said in the preceding chapter the fact mentioned in these two verses, see the 
in connection with Bercea. note at p. 338 above. 



b44 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xi. 

iii. 3 cerning your faith, that none of you should waver in these afflictions ; since 

4 you know yourselves that such is our appointed lot, for when I was with 
you, I forewarned you that affliction awaited us, as you know that it befell. 

5 For this cause, I also, when I could no longer forbear, sent to learn 
tidings of your faith ; fearing lest perchance the tempter had tempted you, 

6 and lest my labor should be in vain. But now that Timotheus has 
returned from you to me, and has brought me the glad tidings of your 
faith and love, and that you still keep an affectionate remembrance of me, 

7 longing to see me, as I to see you — I have been comforted, brethren, on 
your behalf, and all my own tribulation and distress l has been lightened 

8 by your faith. For now I live, 2 if you be steadfast in the Lord. What 

9 thanksgiving can I render to God for you, for all the joy which you 

10 cause me in the presence of my God ? Night and day, I pray exceeding 
earnestly to see you face to face, and to complete what is yet wanting in 

11 your faith. Now, may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, 3 

12 direct my path towards you. Meantime, may the Lord cause you to 
increase and abound in love to one another and to all men ; even as I 

13 to you. And so may He keep your hearts steadfast and unblamable in 

holiness, in the presence of our God and Father, at the appearing of our 

Lord Jesus, with all his saints. 

iv 1 Furthermore, brethren, I beseech and exhort vou in the 

7 J Agamst sen- 

name of the Lord Jesus, that, as I taught you how to walk that suahty - 

2 you might please God, you would do so more and more. For you know 
what commands I delivered to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 

3 This, then, is the will of God, even your sanctification ; that you should 

4 keep yourselves from fornication, that each of you should learn to master 

5 his body, 4 in sanctification and honor ; not in lustful passions, like the 
■6 Heathen who know not God; that no man wrong his brother in this 

matter by transgression. 5 All such the Lord will punish, as I forewarned 
1 1J you by my testimony. For God called us not to uncleanness, but His 

1 See p. 339, and note. may be said to gain possession of his own body 

2 Compare Eom. vii. 9. when he subdues those lusts which tend t© 
8 The word for " Christ " is omitted by the destroy his mastery over it. Hence the inter- 
best MSS. both here and in verse 13. pretation which we have adopted. 

4 The original cannot mean to possess; it 6 The reading adopted in the Received 

i means, to gain possession of, to acquire for one's Text is allowed by all modern critics to be 

• own use. The use of "vessel" for body is wrong. The obvious translation is, "in the 

. common, and found 2 Cor. iv. 7. Now a man matter in question." 



chap. xi. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THE S SALOPIANS. 345 

calling is a holy calling. 1 Wherefore, he that despises these my words iv. 8 
despises not man, but God, who also has given unto me 2 His Holy Spirit. 
to X iov?*eu?e Concerning brotherly love it is needless that I should write 9 
order? to you ; for ye yourselves are taught by God to love one another ; 

as you show by deeds towards all the brethren through the whole of 10 
Macedonia. But I exhort you, brethren, to abound still more ; and be it 11 
your ambition to live quietly, and to mind your own concerns ; 3 and to 
work with your own hands (as I commanded you) ; that the seemly 12 
order of your lives may be manifest to those without, and that you may 
need help from no man. 4 

Happiness of But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning 13 
dead. those who are asleep, that you sorrow not like other men, who 

have no hope. 5 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so 14 
also will God, through Jesus, 6 bring back those who sleep, together with 
Him. This I declare to you, in the word of the Lord, that we who are 15 
living, who survive to the appearing of the Lord, shall not come before 
those who sleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 16 
the shout of war, 7 the Archangel's voice, and the trumpet of God ; and 
first the dead in Christ 8 shall rise ; then we the living, who remain, shall 17 
be caught up with them among the clouds 9 to meet the Lord in the air ; 
and so we shall be forever with the Lord. Wherefore comfort 10 one 18 
another with these words. 

The sudden- But of the times and seasons, brethren, you need not that I v. 1 
coming a mo- should write to you. For yourselves know perfectly that the 2 

tive to watch- * * r J 

fulness. d a y f th e Lord will come as a robber in the night ; and while 3 



1 Literally " in holiness," not " unto boli- 6 This connection is more natural than that 
ness," as in A. V. of the Authorized Version. 

2 We have retained " us " with the Re- i The word denotes the shout used in battle, 
ceived Text, on the ground of context; al- 8 Equivalent to "they that sleep in Christ" 
though the weight of MS. authority is in (1 Cor. xv. 18). 

favor of "you." 9 « [Borne aloft from earth by upbearing 

8 The original expression is almost equiva- clouds," as it is rendered by Professor Ellicott 

lent to " be ambitious to be unambitious." in his Historical Lectures on the Life of our 

4 It seems better to take this as masculine Lord, p. 234. See his note there, and in his 

than as neuter. We may compare with these Coram, on 1 Thess. ii. — h.] 

verses the similar directions in the speech at 10 This verb, originally to call to one's side, 

Miletus, Acts xx. thence sometimes to comfort, more usually to 

6 This hopelessness in death is illustrated exhort, must be translated according to the 

by the funeral-inscriptions found at Thessa- context. (See on Barnabas, pp. 109, 155, and 

ionica, referred to p. 286. notes. — H.) 



£<16 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, ax 

men say Peace and Safety, destruction shall come upon them in a 

v. 4 moment, as the pangs of travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall 

find no escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that The Day 

5 should come upon you as the robber on sleeping men ; l for you are all 
the children of the light and of the day. We are not of the night, nor 

6 of darkness ; therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and 

7 be sober ; for they who slumber, slumber in the night ; and they who are 

8 drunken, are drunken in the night ; but let us, who are of the day, be 
sober ; putting on faith and love for a breastplate ; and for a helmet, the 

9 hope of salvation. For not to abide His wrath, but to obtain salvation, 
hath God ordained us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, 

10 that whether we wake or sleep we should live together with Him. 

11 Wherefore exhort one another, and build one another up, 2 even as you 
already do. 

12 I beseech you, brethren, to acknowledge those who are labor- The Presbyter 

to be duly re- 

ing among you ; who preside over you in the Lord's name, garded. 

13 and give you admonition. I beseech you to esteem them very highly in 
love, for their work's sake. And maintain peace among yourselves. 

Postscript [addressed to the Presbyters (?) ]. 3 

14 But you, brethren, I exhort ; admonish the disorderly, en- Dutie8 f th 

15 courage the timid, support the weak, be patient with all. Take Presb y ters - 
heed that none of you return evil for evil, but strive to do good always, 

16 both to one another and to all men. Rejoice evermore; pray without 

1 There is some authority for the accusative plained 1 Cor. iii. 10-17. It is very difficult 
plural, — " as the daylight surprises robbers ; " to express the meaning by any single word in 
and this sort of transition, where a word sug- English, and yet it would weaken the expres- 
gests a rapid change from one metaphor to sion too much if it were diluted into a pe- 
another, is not unlike the style of St. Paul. riphrasis fully expressing its meaning. 

"We may add that the A. V. in translating the 3 It appears probable, as Chrysostom 

word " thief," both here and elsewhere, gives thought, that those who are here directed " to 

an inadequate conception of the word. It is admonish " are the same who are described 

in fact the modern Greek "klepht," and de- immediately before (v. 12) as "giving admo- 

notes a bandit, who comes to murder as well nition." Also they are very solemnly directed 

as to steal. For the meaning of " the Day " (v. 27) to see that the letter be read to all the 

(the great day, the day of Judgment), compare Christians in Thessalonica ; which seems to 

1 Cor. iii. 13. imply that they presided over the Christian 

2 The full meaning is, " build one another assemblies. At the same time it must be ad- 
up, that you may all together grow into a mitted that many of the duties here enjoined 
temple of God." The word is frequently used are duties of all Christians. 

by St. Paul in this sense, which is fully ex- 



chap. xi. THE MALEVOLENCE OF THE JEWS. 347 

ceasing; continue to give thanks, whatever be your lot; for this is the v. 17 
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not [the manifes-18,19 

tation of] the Spirit ; think not meanly of 1 prophesy^ngs ; try all [which 20 

the prophets utter]; reject 2 the false, but keep the good; hold your- 21 

selves aloof from every form of evil. 8 22 

Concluding Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly ; 23 

salutations, and may your spirit and soul and body all together be preserved 

blameless at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who 24 
calls you ; He will fulfil my prayer. 

Brethren, pray for me. Greet all the brethren with the kiss of holi- 25 

ness. 4 I adjure you, 5 in the name of. the Lord, to see that this letter be 26 

read to all the 6 brethren. 27 

ben<Efon 7 ^ ne g race °f our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 8 28 

The strong expressions used in this letter concerning the malevolence 
of the Jews, lead us to suppose that the Apostle was thinking not only 
of their past opposition at Thessalonica, 9 but of the difficulties with which 
they were beginning to surround him at Corinth. At the very time of 
his writing, that same people who had " killed the Lord Jesus and their 



1 "We know, from the First Epistle to added, " let the men salute one another, and 
Corinth, that this warning was no^t unneeded the women one another, with the kiss of the 
in the early church. (See 1 Cor. xiv.) The Lord." It should be remembered by English 
gift of prophesying (i. e. inspired preaching) readers, that a kiss was in ancient times (as, 
had less the appearance of a supernatural gift indeed, it is now in many foreign countries) 
than several of the other Charisms; and the ordinary mode of salutation between 
hence it was thought little of by those who friends when they met. 

sought more for display than edification. 5 Whom does he adjure here 1 Plainly 

2 This word includes the notion of reject- those to whom, in the first instance, the letter 
ing that which does not abide the test. was addressed, or rather delivered. Now these 

3 Not "appearance" (A. V.), but species must probably have been the Presbyters, 
under a genus. 6 The word for "holy" is omitted in the 

4 This alludes to the same custom which is best MSS. 

referred to in Rom. xvi. 16; 1 Cor. xvi. 20; 7 It should be remarked, that this conclud- 

2 Cor. xiii. 12. We find a full account of it, ing benediction is used by St. Paul at the end 

as it was practised in the early church, in the of the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians 

Apostolic Constitutions (book ii. ch. 57). The (under a longer form in 2 Cor.), Galatians, 

men and women were placed in separate parts Ephesians, Philippians, and Thessalonians. 

of the building where they met for worship ; And, in a shorter form, it is used also at the 

and then, before receiving the Holy Com- end of all his other Epistles. It seems (from 

munion, the men kissed the men, and the what he says in 2 Thess. iii. 17, 18) to have 

women the women : before the ceremony, been always written with his own hand. 
a proclamation was made by the principal 8 The " Amen " of the Received Text is a 

deacon : — " Let none bear malice against any ; later addition, not found in the best MSS. 
let none do it in hypocrisy." " Then," it is 9 See above, Chap. IX. 



348 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xi. 

own prophets," and had already driven Paul " from city to city," were 
showing themselves " a people displeasing to God, and enemies to all 
mankind," by endeavoring to hinder him from speaking to the Gentiles 
for their salvation (1 Thess. ii. 15, 16). Such expressions would natu- 
rally be used in a letter written under the circumstances described in the 
Acts (xviii. 6), when the Jews were assuming the attitude of an organ- 
ized and systematic resistance, 1 and assailing the Apostle in the language 
of blasphemy, 2 like those who had accused our Saviour of casting out 
devils by Beelzebub. 

Now, therefore, the Apostle left the Jews, and turned to the Gentiles. 
He withdrew from his own people with one of those symbolical actions, 
which, in the East, have all the expressiveness of language, 3 and which, 
having received the sanction of our Lord Himself, 4 are equivalent to the 
denunciation of woe. He shook the dust off his garments, 5 and pro- 
claimed himself innocent of the blood 6 of those who refused to listen to 
the voice which offered them salvation. A proselyte, whose name was 
Justus, 7 opened his door to the rejected Apostle ; and that house became 
thenceforward the place of public teaching. While he continued doubt- 
less to lodge with Aquila and Priscilla (for the Lord had said 8 that His 
Apostle should abide in the house where the " Son of peace " was), he 
met his flock in the house of Justus. Some place convenient for general 
meeting was evidently necessary for the continuance of St. Paul's work 
in the cities where he resided. So long as possible, it was the Synagogue. 
When he was exiled from the Jewish place of worship, or unable from 
other causes to attend it, it was such a place as providential circumstances 
might suggest. At Rome it was his own hired lodging (Acts xxviii. 30) : 
at Ephesus it was the School of Tyrannus (Acts xix. 9). Here at 
Corinth it was a house " contiguous to the Synagogue," offered on the 
emergency for the Apostle's use by one who had listened and believed. ^lt 
may readily be supposed that no convenient place could be found in the 
manufactory of Aquila and Priscilla. There, too, in the society of Jews 
lately exiled from Rome, he could hardly have looked for a congregation 
of Gentiles ; whereas Justus, being a proselyte, was exactly in a position 
to receive under his roof, indiscriminately, both Hebrews and Greeks. 

Special mention is made of the fact, that the house of Justus was 
" contiguous to the Synagogue." We are not necessarily to infer from 



1 St. Luke here uses a military terra. ? Nothing more is known of him. The 

2 Compare Matt. xii. 24-31. name is Latin. 

3 See Acts xiii. 51 [p. 162]. 8 Luke x. 6, 7. St. Paul " abode " (imp.) 

4 Mark vi. 11. 5 Acts xviii. 6. in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (v. 3), 
6 See Acts v. 28, xx. 26. Also Ezek. xxxiii. while it is merely said that he " went to" 

8, 9 ; and Matt, xxvii, 24. (aor.) that of Justus (v. 7). 



chap. xi. CORINTHIANS REFERRED TO BY ST. PAUL. 349 

this that St. Paul had any deliberate motive for choosing that locality. 
Though it might be that he would show the Jews, as in a visible symbol, 
that " by their sin salvation had come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to 
jealousy," 1 — while at the same time he remained as near to them as 
possible, to assure them of his readiness to return at the moment of their 
repentance. Whatever we may surmise concerning the motive of this 
choice, certain consequences must have followed from the contiguity of 
the house and the Synagogue, and some incident resulting from it may 
have suggested the mention of the fact. The Jewish and Christian con- 
gregations would often meet face to face in the street ; and all the success 
of the Gospel would become more palpable and conspicuous. And even 
if we leave out of view such considerations as these, there is a certain 
interest attaching to any phrase which tends to localize the scene of Apos- 
tolical labors. When we think of events that we have witnessed, we always 
reproduce in the mind, however dimly, some image of the place where the 
events have occurred. This condition of human thought is common to 
us and to the Apostles. The house of John's mother at Jerusalem (Acts 
xii.), the proseucha by the water-side at Philippi (Acts xvi.), were asso- 
ciated with many recollections in the minds of the earliest Christians. 
And when St. Paul thought, even many years afterwards, of what 
occurred on his first visit to Corinth, the images before the "inward eye" 
would be not merely the general aspect of the houses and temples of 
Corinth, with the great citadel overtowering them, but the Synagogue 
and the house of Justus, the incidents which happened in their neighbor- 
hood, and the gestures and faces of those who encountered each other in 
the street. 

If an interest is attached to the places, a still deeper interest is attached 
to the persons, referred to in the history of the planting of the Church. 
In the case of Corinth, the names both of individuals and families are 
mentioned in abundance. The family of Stephanas is the first that 
occurs to us ; for they seem to have been the earliest Corinthian converts. 
St. Paul himself speaks of that household, in the first Epistle to the 
Corinthians (xvi. 15), as " the first-fruits of Achaia." 2 Another Chris- 
tian of Corinth, well worthy of the recollection of the church of after- 
ages, was Caius (1 Cor. i. 14), with whom St. Paul found a home on his 
next visit (Rom. xvi. 23), as he found one now with Aquila and Priscilla. 
We may conjecture, with reason, that his present host and hostess had 
now given their formal adherence to St. Paul, and that they left the 

1 Rom. xi. 11. ia" were retained, we should be at liberty to 

2 In Rom. xvi. 5 we hold " Asia " to be suppose that Epametus was a member of the 
undoubtedly the right reading. See note on household of Stephanas, and thus avc might 
the passage. If, however, the reading " Acha- reconcile 1 Cor. xvi. 15 with Rom. xvi. 5. 



850 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xi. 

Synagogue with him. After the open schism had taken place, we find 
the Church rapidly increasing. " Many of the Corinthians began to be- 
lieve when they heard, and came to receive baptism." (Acts xviii. 8.) 
We derive some information from St. Paul's own writings concerning the 
character of those who became believers. Not many of the philosophers, 
— not many of the noble and powerful (1 Cor. i. 26), — but many of 
those who had been profligate and degraded (1 Cor. vi. 11), were called. 
The ignorant of this world were chosen to confound the wise, and the 
weak to confound the strong. From St. Paul's language we infer that 
the Gentile converts were more numerous than the Jewish. Yet one 
signal victory of the Gospel over Judaism must be mentioned here, — 
the conversion of Crispus (Acts xviii. 8), — who, from his position as 
" ruler of the Synagogue," may be presumed to have been a man of 
learning and high character, and who now, with all his family, joined 
himself to the new community. His conversion was felt to be so impor- 
tant, that the Apostle deviated from his usual practice (1 Cor. i. 14-16), 
and baptized him, as well as Caius and the household of Stephanas, with 
his own hand. 

Such an event as the baptism of Crispus must have had a great effect 
in exasperating the Jews against St. Paul. Their opposition grew with 
his success. As we approach the time when the second letter to the 
Thessalonians was written, we find the difficulties of his position increas- 
ing. In the first Epistle the writer's mind is almost entirely occupied 
with the thought of what might be happening at Thessalonica : in the 
second, the remembrance of his own pressing trial seems to mingle 
more conspicuously with the exhortations and warnings addressed to 
those who are absent. He particularly asks for the prayers of the 
Thessalonians, that he may be delivered from the perverse and wicked 
men around him, who were destitute of faith. 1 It is evident that he 
was in a condition of fear and anxiety. This is further manifest from 
the words which were heard by him in a vision vouchsafed at this criti- 
cal period. 2 We have already had occasion to observe, that such timely 
visitations were granted to the Apostle, when he was most in need of 
supernatural aid. 3 In the present instance, the Lord, who spoke to him 
in the night, gave him an assurance of His presence, 4 and a promise of 
safety, along with a prophecy of good success at Corinth, and a command 
to speak boldly without fear, and not to keep silence. From this we may 
infer that his faith in Christ's presence was failing, — that fear was 
beginning to produce hesitation, — and that the work of extending the 



1 See below, 2 Thess. iii. 2. 8 See p. 243. 

1 Acts xviii. 9, 10 * Compare Matt, xxriii. 20. 



chap. xi. THE SECOND ADVENT OF THE LORD. 351 

Gospel was in danger of being arrested. 1 The servant of God received 
conscious strength in the moment of trial and conflict ; and the divine 
words were fulfilled in the formation of a large and flourishing church at 
Corinth, and in a safe and continued residence in that city, through the 
space of a year and six months. 

Not many months of this period had elapsed when St. Paul found it 
necessary to write again to the Thessalonians. The excitement which 
he had endeavored to allay by his first Epistle was not arrested, and the 
fanatical portion of the church had availed themselves of the impres- 
sion produced by St. Paul's personal teaching to increase it. It will be 
remembered that a subject on which he had especially dwelt while he was 
at Thessalonica, 2 and to which he had also alluded in his first Epistle, 3 
was the second advent of our Lord. We know that our Saviour Him- 
self had warned His disciples that " of that day and that hour knoweth 
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father only ; " and we 
find these words remarkably fulfilled by the fact that the early Church, 
and even the Apostles themselves, expected 4 their Lord to come 
again in that very generation. St. Paul himself shared in that expecta- 
tion, but, being under the guidance of the Spirit of Truth, he did not 
deduce therefrom any erroneous practical conclusions. Some of his 
disciples, on the other hand, inferred that if indeed the present world 
were so soon to come to an end, it was useless to pursue their common 
earthly employments any longer. They forsook their work, and gave 
themselves up to dreamy expectations of the future ; so that the whole 
framework of society in the Thessalonian Church was in danger of dis- 
solution. Those who encouraged this delusion, supported it by imagina- 
ry revelations of the Spirit : 5 and they even had recourse to forgery, and 
circulated a letter purporting to be written by St. Paul, 6 in confirmation 
of their views. To check this evil, St. Paul wrote his second Epistle. 
In this he endeavors to remove their present erroneous expectations of 
Christ's immediate coming, by reminding them of certain signs which 
must precede the second advent. He had already told them of these 
signs when he was with them ; and this explains the extreme obscurity 
of his description of them in the present Epistle ; for he was not giving 
new information, but alluding to facts which he had already explained to 

1 Observe the strong expressions which St. iv. 15, deprecates the inference that the Apos- 
Paul himself uses (1 Cor. ii. 3) of his own tie definitely expected the second Advent to 
state of mind during this stay at Corinth. occur in his own lifetime. — h.] 

2 As he himself reminds his readers (2 5 2 Thess. ii. 2. 

Thess. ii. 5), and as we find in the Acts (xvii. 6 2 Thess. ii. 2. Compare iii. 17. Per- 

7). See p. 282. haps, however, these expressions may admit 

3 1 Thess. v. 1-11. of being explained as referring to the rumor 
* ^Professor Ellicott, in his note on 1 Thess. of a letter. 



352 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xi. 

them at an earlier period. It would have been well if this had been 
remembered by all those who have extracted such numerous and dis- 
cordant prophecies and anathemas from certain passages in the following 
Epistle. 

SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1 

i. 1 PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, TO THE CHURCH salutation. 
OF THE THESSALONIANS, in God our Father, and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

3 1 2 am bound to give thanks to God continually on your be- Encouragement 

under their per* 

half, brethren, as is fitting, because of the abundant increase ^Jjj^JJ 0111 
of your faith, and the overflowing love wherewith you are bnst s coming ' 

4 filled, every one of you, towards each other. So that I myself boast of 
you among the churches of God, for your steadfastness and faith, in all 

5 the persecutions and afflictions which you are bearing. And these 
things are a token that the righteous judgment of God will count you 

6 worthy of His kingdom, for which you are even now suffering. For 
doubtless God's righteousness cannot but render back trouble to those 

7 who trouble you, and give to you, who now are troubled, rest "with 
me, 3 when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with the 

8 angels of His might, in flames of fire, taking vengeance on those who 
know not God, and will not hearken to the Glad- tidings of our Lord 

9 Jesus Christ. And from 4 the presence of the Lord, and from the 
brightness of His glorious majesty, they shall receive their righteous 

10 doom, even an everlasting destruction, in that day when He shall come 

1 It is evident that this Epistle was written (2) Silas and Timothens were still with St. 

at the time here assigned to it, soon after the Paul. 2 Thess. i. 1. It should be observed 

first, from the following considerations : — that Timotheus was next with St. Paul at 

(1) The state of the Thessalonian Church Ephesus; and that, before then, Silas disap- 

described in both Epistles is almost exactly pears from the history, 
the same. (A.) The same excitement pre- 2 See note on 1 Thess. i. 3. 

vails concerning the expected advent of our 3 On the use of the plural pronoun, see 

Lord, only in a greater degree. (B.) The note on 1 Thess. i. 3. 

same party continued fanatically to neglect 4 The preposition here has the sense of 

their ordinary employments. Compare 2 " proceeding from.' 
Thess. iii. 6-14 with 1 Thess. iv. 10-12, and 
1 Thess. ii. 9. 



chap. xi. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 353 

to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all believers ; [and you 
are of that number], for you believed my testimony. To this end I prayi. 11 
continually on your behalf, that our God may count you worthy of the 
calling wherewith He has called you, and mightily perfect within you all 
the content of goodness l and the work of faith. That the name of our 12 
Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and that you may be glorified 2 in 
Him, according to the grace of our God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
warning But concerning 3 the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ii. 1 

against an im- 

JSsSionof an( ^ our gathering together to meet Him, I beseech you, 2 
ing ns m " brethren, not rashly to be shaken from your soberness of mind, 
nor to be agitated either by spirit, 4 or by rumor, or by letter 5 attributed to 
me, 6 saying that the day of the Lord is come. 7 Let no one deceive you by 3 
any means ; for before that day, the falling-away must first have come, and 
the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; who opposes himself 4 
and exalts himself against all that is called God, and against all worship ; 
even to seat himself 8 in the temple of God, and openly declare himself a 
God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I often 9 told 5 
you this ? And now you know the hinderance why he is not yet revealed, 6 
in his own season. For the mystery of lawlessness 10 is already working, 7 
only he, who now hinders, will hinder till he be taken out of the way ; 
and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume 8 
with the breath of His mouth, 11 and shall destroy with the brightness of 

1 The same word is used in the sense of 6 Literally "as though originated by me:" 
good will, good -pleasure, satisfaction, in Luke ii. the words may include both " spirit," " ru- 
14 and Rom. x. i. The A. V. here would mor," and " letter." 

require a word to be supplied. 7 Literally " is present." So the verb is 

2 The glory of our Lord at His coming always used in the New Testament. See 
will be manifested in His people (see v. 10) ; Rom. viii. 38; 1 Cor. iii. 22; Gal. i. 4; 2 
that is, they, by virtue of their union with Tim. iii. 1 ; Heb. ix. 9. 

Him, will partake of His glorious likeness. 8 The received text interpolates here " as 
Cf. Rom. viii. 17, 18, 19. And, even in this God," but the MSS. do not confirm this read- 
world, this glorification takes place partially, ing. 

by their moral conformity to His image. See 9 The verb is in the imperfect. 

Rom. viii. 30, and 2 Cor. iii. 18. 10 The proper meaning of avofioc is one un- 

3 In respect of, or perhaps (as Prof. Jowett restrained by law: hence it is often used as a 
takes it) on behalf of, as though St. Paul were transgressor, or, generally, a wicked man, as 
pleading in honor of that day ; it is wrongly avo[iia is used often simply for iniquity ; but in 
translated in A. V. as an adjuration. this passage it seems best to keep to the origi- 

4 i. e. any pretended revelation of those nal meaning of the word. 

who claimed inspiration. n This appears to be an allusion to (al- 

6 See the preceding remarks upon the though not an exact quotation of ) Isaiah xi. 

occasion of this Epistle. 4 ; — " With the breath of His lips He shall 
23 



354 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xj, 

ii. 9 His appearing. But the appearing of that lawless one shall be in the 
strength of Satan's working, with all the might and signs and wonders of 

10 falsehood, and all the delusions of unrighteousness, for those who are in 
the way of perdition ; because they received not the love of the truth, 

11 whereby they might be saved. For this cause, God will send upon them 

12 an inward working of delusion, making them believe in lies, that all 
should be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have taken 
pleasure in unrighteousness. 

13 But for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, I am bound to 

J Exhortation 

thank God continually, because He chose you from the first n ° esg S and dfi4St " 
unto salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the ° 

14 truth. And to this He called you through my Glad-tidings, that you 

15 might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, be 
steadfast, and hold fast the teaching which has been delivered to you, 

16 whether by my words or by my letters. And may our Lord Jesus Christ 
Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us, and has given us in 
His grace a consolation that is eternal, and a hope that cannot fail, 

17 comfort your hearts, and establish you in all goodness both of word and 
deed. 

iii. 1 Finally, brethren, pray for me, that the word of the Lord 

He asks their 

Jesus may hold its onward course, and that its glory may be P ra ? ers - 

2 shown forth towards others as towards you ; and that I may be delivered 

3 from the perverse and wicked ; for not all men have faith. But the Lord 

4 is faithful, and He will keep you steadfast, and guard you from evil. And 
I rely upon you in the Lord, that you are following and will follow my 

5 precepts. And may the Lord guide your hearts to the love of God, and 
to the steadfastness of Christ. 

6 I charge you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Exhorts to an 

■ * • orderly and 

Christ, to withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks a P planng?o 
disorderly, and not according to the rules which I delivered, ample?™ 

7 For you know yourselves the way to follow my example ; you know that 
my life among you was not disorderly, nor was I fed by any man's 

8 bounty, but earned my bread by my own labor, toiling night and day, 

destroy the impious man." (LXX. version.) Paul's thoughts) to the Messiah's coming, and 
Some of the Rabbinical commentators applied interpreted " the impious " to mean an indi^d 
this prophecy (which was probably in St. ual opponent of the Messiah. 



chap. xi. CHRISTIAN CORRESPONDENCE. 355 

that I might not be burdensome to any of you. 1 And this I did, not iii. 9 
because I am without the right 2 [of being maintained by those to whom 

1 minister], but that I might make myself a pattern for you to imitate. 
For when I was with you I often 3 gave you this rule : " If any man will 10 
not work, neither let him eat." Whereas I hear that some among you it 
are walking disorderly, neglecting their own work, and meddling 4 with 
that of others. Such, therefore, I charge and exhort, by the authority of 12 
our Lord Jesus Christ, to work in quietness, and eat their own bread. 
X°wi°h those ^ ut y° u ' brethren, notwithstanding, 5 be not weary of doing 13 
ibediencef good. If any man be disobedient to my written word, 6 mark 14 
that man, and cease from intercourse with him, that he may be brought 

to shame. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a 15 

brother. And may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace in all ways 16 
and at all seasons. The Lord be with you all. 

An autograph The salutation of me Paul with my own hand, which is my 17 

postscript the 

sign of genu- token in every letter. Thus I write. 7 

ineness. •> 

fflctiin? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 8 18 

Such was the second of the two letters which St. Paul wrote to Thes- 
salonica during his residence at Corinth. Such was the Christian cor- 
respondence now established, in addition to the political and commercial 
correspondence existing before, between the two capitals of Achaia and 
Macedonia. Along with the official documents which passed between the 
governors of the contiguous provinces, 9 and the communications between 
the merchants of the Northern and Western ^Egean, letters were now 
sent, which related to the establishment of a " kingdom not of this 
world," 10 and to " riches " beyond the discovery of human enterprise. 11 

1 Compare the speech at Miletus, Acts xx. 7 " Thus." With this we may compare 

2 See note on 1 Thess. ii. 6. Gal. vi. 11. We have before remarked that 

3 Imperfect. St. Paul's letters were written by an amanuen- 

4 The characteristic paronomasia here is not sis, with the exception of an autograph post- 
exactly translatable into English. "Busy-bodies script. Compare Rom. xvi. 22. 

who do no business" would be an imitation. 8 "Amen "here (as in the end of 1 Thess.) 

6 i. e. although your kindness may have is a subsequent addition, 
been abused by such idle trespassers on your 9 Ckero's Cilician Correspondence fur- 
bounty, nishes many specimens of the letters which 

6 Literally, my word [sent] by the letter, passed between the governors of neighboring 

which probably refers to the directions sent in provinces, 
the former letter, 1 Thess. iv. 11, 12. So a i° John xviii. 36. 

previous letter is referred to, 1 Cor. v. 9, and H Eph. iii. 8. 

2 Cor. vii. 8. 



S56 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



The influence of great cities has always been important on the wider 
movements of human life. We see St. Paul diligently using this in- 
fluence, during a protracted residence at Corinth, for the spreading and 
strengthening of the Gospel in Achaia and beyond. As regards the 
province of Achaia, we have no reason to suppose that he confined his 
activity to its metropolis. The expression used by St. Luke * need only 
denote that it was his headquarters, or general place of residence. Com- 
munication was easy and frequent, by land or by water, 2 with other parts 
of the province. Two short days' journey to the south were the Jews of 
Argos, 3 who might be to those of Corinth what the Jews of Bercea had 
been to those of Thessalonica. 4 About the same distance to the east was 
the city of Athens, 5 which had been imperfectly evangelized, and could be 
visited without danger. Within a walk of a few hours, along a road 
busy with traffic, was the seaport of Cenchrea, known to us as the resi- 
dence of a Christian community. 6 These were the " Churches of God " 
(2 Thess. i. 4), among whom the Apostle boasted of the patience and the 
faith of the Thessalonians, 7 — the homes of " the saints in all Achaia" 
(2 Cor. i. 1), saluted at a later period, with the Church of Corinth, 8 in a 
letter written from Macedonia. These Churches had alternately the 
blessings of the presence and the letters — the oral and the written teach- 
ing — of St. Paul. The former of these blessings is now no longer 
granted to us ; but those long and wearisome journeys, which withdrew 
the teacher so often from his anxious converts, have resulted in our pos- 
session of inspired Epistles, in all their freshness and integrity, and with 
all their lessons of wisdom and love. 




Coin of Thessalonica.s 



1 Acts xviiL 11. 

2 Much of the intercourse in Greece has 
always gone on by small coasters. Pouque- 
ville mentions traces of a paved road between 
Corinth and Argos. 

3 See pp. 17 and 335. 

4 See above, p. 293. 

5 We have not entered into the question of 
St. Paul's journey from Athens to Corinth. 
He may have travelled by .'the coast road 



through Eleusis and Megara ; or a sail of a 
few hours, with a fair. wind, would take him 
from the Pirseus to Cenchrea. 

6 Rom. xvi. 1. 

7 Compare 1 Thess. i. 7, 8. 

8 It is possible that the phrase " in every 
place " (1 Cor i. 2) may have the same meaning. 

9 From the British Museum. For a long 
series of coins of this character, see Mionnet 
and the Supplement. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Isthmus and Acrocorinthus. — Early History of Corinth. — Its Trade and Wealth. — 
Corinth under the Romans. — Province of Achaia. — Gallio the Governor. — Tumult at 
Corinth. — Cenchrea. — Voyage by Ephesus to Caesarea. — Visit to Jerusalem. — Antioch. 

NOW that we have entered upon the first part of the long series of St. 
Paul's letters, we seem to be arrived at a new stage of the Apostle's 
biography. The materials for a more intimate knowledge are before us. 
More life is given to the picture. We have advanced from the field of 
geographical description and general history to the higher interest of per- 
sonal detail. Even such details as relate to the writing materials employed 
in the Epistles, and the mode in which these epistles wjere transmitted 
from city to city, — all stages in the history of an Apostolic letter, from 
the hand of the amanuensis who wrote from the author's inspired dicta- 
tion, to the opening and reading of the document in the public assembly 
of the Church to which it was addressed, — have a sacred claim on the 
Christian's attention. For the present we must defer the examination of 
such particulars. 1 We remain with the Apostle himself, instead of follow- 
ing the journeys of his letters to Thessalonica, and tracing the effects 
which the last of them produced. We have before us a protracted resi- 
dence in Corinth, 2 a voyage by sea to Syria, 3 and a journey by land from 
Antioch to Ephesus, 4 before we come to the next group of St. Paul's 
Epistles. 

We must linger first for a time in Corinth, the great city where he 
staid a longer time than at any point on his previous journeys, and 
from which, or to which, the most important of his letters were written. 5 
And, according to the plan we have hitherto observed, we proceed to 
elucidate its geographical position, and the principal stages of its history. 

The Isthmus 6 is the most remarkable feature in the Geography of 
Greece ; and the peculiar relation which it established between the land 
and the water — and between the Morea and the Continent — had the 



1 See a note on this subject in Ch. XXVI. 6 It is from this Greek " bridge of the 

2 Acts xviii. 11-18. 3 Acts xviii. 18-22. sea" that the name isthmus has been given to 

4 Acts xviii. 23. See xix. 1. every similar neck of land in the world. 

5 The Epistles to the Thessalonians, Corin- 
thians, and Romans. 

36T 



358 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xa 

utmost effect on the whole course of the History of Greece. When we 
were considering the topography and aspect of Athens, all the associa- 
tions which surrounded us were Athenian. Here at the Isthmus, we 
are, as it were, at the centre of the activity of the Greek race in general. 
It has the closest connection with all their most important movements, 
both military and commercial. 

In all the periods of Greek history, from the earliest to the latest, we 
see the military importance of the Isthmus. The phrase of Pindar is, 
that it was " the bridge of the sea : " it formed the only line of march 
for an invading or retreating army. Xenophon speaks of it as " the gate 
of the Peloponnesus," the closing of which would make all ingress and 
egress impossible. And we find that it was closed at various times, by 
being fortified and re-fortified by a wall, some traces of which remain to the 
present day. In the Persian war, when consternation was spread amongst 
the Greeks by the death of Leonidas, the wall was first built. In the 
Peloponnesian war, when the Greeks turned fratricidal arms against each 
other, the Isthmus was often the point of the conflict between the Athe- 
nians and their enemies. In the time of the Theban supremacy, the wall 
again appears as a fortified line from sea to sea. When Greece became 
Roman, the provincial arrangements neutralized, for a time, the military 
importance of the Isthmus. But when the barbarians poured in from 
the North, like the Persians of old, its wall was repaired by Valerian. 
Again it was rebuilt by Justinian, who fortified it with a hundred and 
fifty towers. And we trace its history through the later period of the 
Venetian power in the Levant, from the vast works of 1463, to the peace 
of 1699, when it was made the boundary of the territories of the Re- 
public. 1 

Conspicuous, both in connection with the military defences of the 
Isthmus, and in the prominent features of its scenery, is the Acrocorinthus 
or citadel of Corinth, which rises in form and abruptness like the rock of 
Dumbarton. But this comparison is quite inadequate to express the 
magnitude of the Corinthian citadel. It is elevated two thousand feet 2 
above the level of the sea ; it throws a vast shadow across the plain at its 
base ; the ascent is a journey involving some fatigue ; and the space of 
ground on the summit is so extensive, that it contained a whole town, 3 

1 The wall was not built in a straight line, the shadow of the Acrocorinthus, of a conical 
but followed the sinuosities of the ground. shape, extended exactly half across its length, 
The remains of square towers are visible in the point of the cone being central between 
some places. The eastern portion abutted the two seas." — Dr. Clarke. 

on the Sanctuary of Neptune, where the Isth- 3 Dodwell and Clarke. The city, accord- 

mian games are held. ing to Xenophon, was forty stadia in circum- 

2 Dodwell. The ascent is by a zigzag ference without the Acropolis, and eighty-five 
road, which Strabo says was thirty stadia in with it. 

length. " Looking down upon the isthmus, 








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chap.xh. THE ACEOCOEIXTHUS. 359 

which, under the Turkish dominion, had several mosques. Yet notwith- 
standing its colossal dimensions, its sides are so precipitous, that a few 
soldiers are enough to guard it. 1 The possession of this fortress has been 
the object of repeated struggles in the latest wars between the Turks and 
the Greeks, and again between the Turks and the Venetians. It was said to 
Philip, when he wished to acquire possession of the Morea, that the Aero 
corinthus was one of the horns he must seize, in order to secure the heifer. 
Thus Corinth might well be called " the eye of Greece "in a military 
sense, as Athens has often been so called in another sense. If the rock 
of Minerva was the Acropolis of the Athenian people, the mountain of 
the Isthmus was truly named " the Acropolis of the Greeks." 
• It will readily be imagined that the view from the summit is magnifi- 
cent and extensive. 2 A sea is on either hand. Across that which lies on 
the east, a clear sight is obtained of the Acropolis of Athens, at a dis- 
tance of forty-five miles. 3 The mountains of Attica and Boeotia, and the 
islands of the Archipelago, close the prospect in this direction. Beyond 
the western sea, which flows in from the Adriatic, are the large masses 
of the mountains of north-eastern Greece, with Parnassus towering 
above Delphi. Immediately beneath us is the narrow plain which 
separates the seas. The city itself is on a small table-land 4 of no great 
elevation, connected with the northern base of the Acrocorinthus. At 
the edge of the lower level are the harbors which made Corinth the em- 
porium of the richest trade of the East and the West. 

We are thus brought to that which is really the characteristic both of 
Corinthian geography and Corinthian history, its close relation to the 
commerce of the Mediterranean. Plutarch says, that there was a want 

1 Plutarch says that it was guarded by 400 tered up and down it, is none of the least of 
soldiers, 50 dogs, and as many keepers. the ornaments of this prospect. The town 

2 Wheler's description is as follows : — also that lieth north of the castle, in little 
" TVe mounted to the top of the highest point, knots of houses, surrounded with orchards 
and had one of the most agreeable prospects and gardens of oranges, lemons, citrons, and 
in the world. On the right hand of us the cypress-trees, and mixed with cornfields between, 
Saronic Gulf, with all its little islands strewed is a sight not less delightful. So that it is hard 
up and down it, to Cape Colonne on the to judge whether this plain is more beautiful to 
Promontory Sunium. Beyond that the is- the beholders or profitable to the inhabitants." 
lands of the Archipelago seemed to close up This was in 1675, before the last conflicts of 
the mouth of the Gulf. On the left hand of us the Turks and Venetians. 

we had the Gulf of Lepanto or Corinth, as 3 " As from the Parthenon at Athens we 

far as beyond Sicyon, bounded northward with had seen the citadel of Corinth, so now we 

all these famous mountains of old times, with had a commanding view, across the Saronic 

the Isthmus, even to Athens, lying in a row, Gulf, of Salamis and the Athenian Acrop- 

and presenting themselves orderly to our view. olis." — Dr. Clarke, See above, under 

The plain of Corinth towards Sicyon or Athens. 

Basilico is well watered by two rivulets, well 4 Leake's description entirely correspond 

tilled, well planted with olive-yards and vine- with Strabo's. 
yards, and, having many little villages scat- 



360 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xn. 

of good harbors in Achaia ; and Strabo speaks of the circumnavigation 
of the Morea as dangerous. 1 Cape Malea was proverbially formidable, 
and held the same relation to the voyages of ancient days which the 
Cape of Good Hope does to our own. 2 Thus, a narrow and level isth- 
mus, 3 across which smaller vessels could be dragged from gulf to gulf, 4 
was of inestimable value to the early traders of the Levant. And the 
two harbors, which received the ships of a more maturely developed 
trade, — Cenchrea 5 on the Eastern Sea, and Lechaeum 6 on the Western, 
with a third and smaller port, called Schoenus, 7 where the isthmus was 
narrowest, — form an essential part of our idea of Corinth. Its common 
title in the poets is " the city of the two seas." 8 It is allegorically 
represented in art as a female figure on a rock, between two other- 
figures, each of whom bears a rudder, the symbol of navigation and 
trade. 9 It is the same image which appears under another form in the 
words of the rhetorician, who said that it was " the prow and the stern 
of Greece." 10 

As we noticed above a continuous fortress which was carried across 
the Isthmus, in connection with its military history, so here we have to 
mention another continuous work which was attempted, in connection 
with its mercantile history. This was the ship canal ; — which, after 
being often projected, was about to be begun again near the very time 
of St. Paul's visit. 11 Parallels often suggest themselves between the 
relation of the parts of the Mediterranean to each other, and those of 
the Atlantic and Pacific : for the basins of the " Midland Sea " were to 
the Greek and Roman trade what the Oceanic spaces are to ours. And 



1 He adds that the Sicilian sea was avoided of Neptune and the eastern portion of the 
by mariners as much as possible. Isthmian wall. The ship is described as sail- 

2 A proverb said of this south-eastern point ing to this port in the early times when Athens 
of the Morea : " "When you are round Cape had the presidency of the games. 

Malea, forget all you have at home." 8 One phrase which was used of it is that 

3 See above, note on the word " Isthmus." which we find in Acts xxvii. 41. 

4 Hence the narrowest part of the Isthmus 9 See this on the coin at the end of Chap, 
was called by a word which in meaning and in XIII. 

piratic associations corresponds with the Tar- 10 The phrase seems to have been pro- 

bcrt of Scotch geography. The distance verbial. 

across is about three miles ; nearer Corinth it n Demetrius Poliorcetes, Julius Caesar, and 
is six miles, whence the name of the modern Caligula had all entertained the notion of cut- 
village of Hexamili. ting through the Isthmus. Nero really began 

5 For Cenchrea, see below, pp. 366, 367. the undertaking in the year 52, but soon de- 
It was seventy stadia distant from the city. sisted. See Leake (pp. 297-302), who quotes 

G Lechaeum was united to Corinth by long all the authorities. The portion of the trench 

walls. It was about twelve stadia distant from which remains is at the narrowest part, near 

the city. the shore of the Corinthian Gulf. Dodwell 

7 Schcenus was at the point where the came upon it, after crossing Mount Geraneia 

Isthmus was narrowest, close to the Sanctuary from Attica. 



CHAP.xn. COMMEECE AND WEALTH OF COEINTH. 361 

it is difficult, in speaking of a visit to the Isthmus of Corinth in the year 
52, 1 — which only preceded by a short interval the work of Nero's engi- 
neers, — not to be reminded of the Isthmus of Panama in the year 1852, 
during which active progress was made in an undertaking often project- 
ed, but never yet carried into effect. 2 

There is this difference, however, between the Oceanic and the Medi- 
terranean Isthmus, that one of the great cities of the ancient world always 
existed at the latter. What some future Darien may be destined to be- 
come, we cannot prophesy : but, at a very, early date, we find Corinth 
celebrated by the poets for its wealth. This wealth must inevitably have 
grown up, from its mercantile relations, even without reference to its two 
seas, — if we attend to the fact on which Thucydides laid stress, that it 
was the place through which all ingress and egress took place between 
Northern and Southern Greece, before the development of commerce 
by water. But it was its conspicuous position on the narrow neck of land 
between the iEgean and Ionian Seas, which was the main cause of its 
commercial greatness. The construction of the ship Argo is assigned by 
mythology to Corinth. The Samians obtained their shipbuilders from 
her. The first Greek triremes, — the first Greek sea-fights, — are con- 
nected with her history. Neptune was her god. Her colonies were 
spread over distant coasts in the East and West ; and ships came from 
every sea to her harbors. Thus she became the common resort and the 
universal market of the Greeks. 3 Her population and wealth were fur- 
ther augmented by the manufactures in metallurgy, dyeing, and porce- 
lain, which grew up in connection with the import and export of goods. 
And at periodical intervals the crowding of her streets and the activity 
of her trade received a new impulse from the strangers who flocked to 
the Isthmian games ; — a subject to which our attention will often be called 
hereafter, but which must be passed over here with a simple allusion. 4 
If we add all these particulars together, we see ample reason why the 
wealth, luxury, and profligacy of Corinth were proverbial 5 in the ancient 
world. 

In passing from the fortunes of the earlier, or Greek Corinth, to its his- 
tory under the Romans, the first scene that meets us is one of disaster 

1 The arguments for this date may be seen Corinth to a ship loaded with merchandise, 
in Wieseler. We shall return to the subject and says that a perpetual fair was held yearly 
again. and daily at the Isthmus. 

2 Our first edition was published in 1852. 4 See the beginning of Chap. XX., and the 
At that time the various plans for an inter- plan of the Posidonium there given. 

oceanic canal were very much before the pub- 6 « ^ on cu ivis homini contingit adire Co- 
lic. Now at least the railway is open for rinthum." — Hor. Ep. i. 17, 36. The word 
traffic from ocean to ocean. " Corinthianize " was used proverbially for an 

3 One writer in another place compares immoral life. 



362 THE LIFE AND- EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xir. 

and ruin. The destruction of this city by Mummius, about the same 
time that Carthage * was destroyed by Scipio, was so complete, that, like 
its previous wealth, it passed into a proverb. Its works of skill and lux- 
ury were destroyed or carried away. Polybius, the historian, saw Roman 
soldiers playing at draughts on the pictures of famous artists ; and the 
exhibition of vases and statues that decorated the triumph of the Capitol 
introduced a new era in the habits of the Romans. Meanwhile, the very 
place of the city from which these works were taken remained desolate 
for many years. 2 The honor of presiding over the Isthmian games was 
given to Sicyon ; and Corinth ceased even to be a resting-place of travel- 
lers between the East and the West. 3 But a new Corinth rose from the 
ashes of the old. Julius Caesar, recognizing the importance of the Isth- 
mus as a military and mercantile position, sent thither a colony of Italians, 
who were chiefly freedmen. 4 This new establishment rapidly increased 
by the mere force of its position. Within a few years it grew, as Sinca- 
pore 5 has grown in our days, from nothing to an enormous city. The 
Greek merchants, who had fled on the Roman conquest to Delos and the 
neighboring coasts, returned to their former home. The Jews settled 
themselves in a place most convenient both for the business of commerce 
and for communication with Jerusalem. 6 Thus, when St. Paul arrived at 
Corinth after his sojourn at Athens, he found himself in the midst of a 
numerous population of Greeks and Jews. They were probably far more 
numerous than the Romans, though the city had the constitution of a 
colony? and was the metropolis of a province. 

It is commonly assumed that Greece was constituted as a province un- 
der the name of Achaia, when Corinth was destroyed by Mummius. But 
this appears to be a mistake. There seems to have been an intermediate 
period, during which the country had a nominal independence, as was 
the case with the contiguous province of Macedonia. The description 



1 See Chap. I. p. 13. 4 Professor Stanley notices the great nun* 

2 " Nevertheless," says Colonel Leake, ber of names of Corinthian Christians ( Caius, 
" the site, I conceive, cannot have been quite Quartus, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Crispus, Jus- 
uninhabited, as the Romans neither destroyed tus), which indicate "either a Roman or a 
the public buildings nor persecuted the religion ' servile origin." Pre/, to Corinthians. 

of the Corinthians. And as many of those 5 See the Life of Sir Stamford Raffles and 

buildings were still perfect in the time of later notices of the place in Rajah Brooke's 

Pausanias, there must have been some persons journals, &c. 

who had the care of them during the century 6 See the preceding chapter for the estab- 

of desolation." lishment of the Jews at Corinth. 

3 We have noticed above (p. 333, n. 4) that i g ee tne Latin letters on its coins. Ita 
on Cicero's journey between the East and full name was " Colonia Laus Julia Corin- 
West, we find him resting, not at Corinth, thus." See coin at the end of this chapter, 
but at Athens. In the time of Ovid, the city 

was rising again. 



CHAP.xn. KOMAN PEOVINCE OF ACHAIA. 363 

which has been given of the political limits of Macedonia (Ch. IX.) de- 
fines equally the' extent of Achaia. It was bounded on all other sides by 
the sea, and was nearly co-extensive with the kingdom of Modern Greece. 
The name of Achaia was given to it, in consequence of the part played 
by the Achasan league in the last independent struggles of ancient 
Greece ; and Corinth, the head of that league, became the metropolis. 1 
The province experienced changes of government, such as those which 
have been alluded to in the case of Cyprus. 2 At first it was proconsular. 
Afterwards it was placed by Tiberius under a procurator of his own. 
But in the reign of Claudius it was again reckoned among the " unarmed 
provinces," 3 and governed by a proconsul. 

One of the proconsuls who were sent out to govern the province of 
Achaia in the course of St. Paul's second missionary journey was Gallio. 4 
His original name was Annaeus Novatus, and he was the brother of 
Annseus Seneca the philospher. The name under which he was known 
to us in sacred and secular history was due to his adoption into the family 
of Junius Gallio the rhetorician. The time of his government at 
Corinth, as indicated by the sacred historian, must be placed between the 
years 52 and 54, if the dates we have assigned to St. Paul's movements 
be correct. We have no exact information on this subject from any 
secular source, nor is he mentioned by any Heathen writer as having 
been proconsul of Achaia. But there are some incidental notices of his 
life, which give rather a curious confirmation of what is advanced above. 
We are informed by Tacitus and Dio that he died in the year 65. Pliny 
says that after his consulship he had a serious illness, for the removal of 
which he tried a sea-voyage : and from his brother Seneca we learn that 
it was in Achaia that he went on shipboard for the benefit of his health. 
If we knew the year of Gallio's consulship, our chronological result 
would be brought within narrow limits. We do not possess this informa- 
tion ; but it has been reasonably conjectured that his promotion, if due 
to his brother's influence, would be subsequent to the year 49, in which 
the philospher returned from his exile in Corsica, and had the youthful 
Nero placed under his tuition. The interval of time thus marked out 
between the restoration of Seneca and the death of Gallio, includes the 
narrower period assigned by St. Luke to the proconsulate in Achaia. 

The coming of a new governor to a province was an event of great im- 
portance. The whole system of administration, the general prosperity, 
the state of political parties, the relative position of different sections of 

1 Bitter says that this is the meaning of which were proconsular and required the 
" Corinthus Achaise urbs" in Tac. Hist. ii. 1. presence of no army. See p. 214, n. 11. 

2 See Ch. V. 4 Acts xviii. 12. 
8 A phrase applied to those provinces 



364 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xii. 

the population, were necessarily affected by his personal character. The 
provincials were miserable or happy, according as a Yerres or a Cicero 
was sent from Rome. As regards the personal character of Gallio, the 
inference we should naturally draw from the words of St. Luke closely 
corresponds with what we are told by Seneca. His brother speaks of him 
with singular affection, not only as a man of integrity and honesty, but 
as one who won universal regard by his amiable temper and popular 
manners. 1 His conduct on the occasion of the tumult at Corinth is quite 
in harmony with a character so described. He did not allow himself, like 
Pilate, to be led into injustice by the clamor of the Jews ; 2 and yet he 
overlooked, with easy indifference, an outbreak of violence which a 
sterner and more imperious governor would at once have arrested. 3 

The details of this transaction were as follows : — The Jews, anxious to 
profit by a change of administration, and perhaps encouraged by the well- 
known compliance of Gallio's character, took an early opportunity of 
accusing St. Paul before him. They had already set themselves in battle 
array 4 against him, and the coming of the new governor was the signal 
for a general attack. 5 It is quite evident that the act was preconcerted 
and the occasion chosen. Making use of the privileges they enjoyed as a 
separate community, and well aware that the exercise of their worship 
was protected by the Roman State, 6 they accused St. Paul of violating 
their own religious Law. They seem to have thought, if this violation of 
Jewish law could be proved, that St. Paul would become amenable to the 
criminal law of the Empire ; or, perhaps, they hoped, as afterwards at 
Jerusalem, that he would be given up into their hands for punishment. 
Had Gallio been like Festus or Felix, this might easily have happened ; 
and then St. Paul's natural resource would have been to appeal to the 
Emperor, on the ground of his citizenship. But the appointed time of 
his visit to Rome was not yet come, and the continuance of his missionary 
labors was secured by the character of the governor, who was providen- 
tially sent at this time to manage the affairs of Achaia. 

The scene is set before us by St. Luke with some details which give us 
a vivid notion of what took place. Gallio is seated on that proconsular 
chair 7 from which judicial sentences were pronounced by the Roman 

1 The same character is given of him by Jews were citizens under their Ethnarch, like 
the poet Statius. the Romans under their Juridicus. We need 

2 Acts xviii. 14. not discuss here the later position of the Jews, 

3 Acts xviii. 17. after Caracalla had made all freemen citizens. 

4 See p. 348, n. 1. 7 This chair, or tribunal, " the indispensa- 

5 Acts xviii. 12. ble symbol of the Roman judgment-seat," as 

6 Compare Joseph. War, ii. 14, 4, on it has been called, is mentioned three times in 
Caesarea. In Alexandria, there were four dis- the course of this narrative. It was of two 
tinct classes of population, among which the kinds: (1) fixed in some open and public 



chap.xh. ST. PAUL ACCUSED BEFOBE GALLIC 365 

magistrates. To this we must doubtless add the other insignia of Roman 
power, which were suitable to a colony and the metropolis of a province. 
Before this Heathen authority the Jews are preferring their accusation 
with eager clamor. Their chief speaker is Sosthenes, the successor of 
Crispus, or (it may be) the ruler of another synagogue. 1 The Greeks 2 
are standing round, eager to hear the result, and to learn something 
of the new governor's character ; and, at the same time, hating the 
Jews, and ready to be the partisans of St. Paul. At the moment when 
the Apostle is " about to open his mouth," 3 Gallio will not even hear his 
defence, but pronounces a decided and peremptory judgment. 

His answer was that of a man who knew the limits of his office, and 
felt that he had no time to waste on the religious technicalities of the 
Jews. Had it been a case in which the Roman law had been violated by 
any breach of the peace or any act of dishonesty, then it would have 
been reasonable and right that the matter should have been fully investi- 
gated ; but since it was only a question of the Jewish law, relating to 
the disputes of Hebrew superstition, 4 and to names of no public interest, 
he utterly refused to attend to it. They might excommunicate the offend- 
er, or inflict on him • any of their ecclesiastical punishments ; but he 
would not meddle with trifling quarrels, which were beyond his juris- 
diction. And without further delay he drove the Jews away from before 
his judicial chair. 5 

The effect of this proceeding must have been to produce the utmost 
rage and disappointment among the Jews. With the Greeks and other 
bystanders 6 the result was very different. Their dislike of a supersti- 
tious and misanthropic nation was gratified. They held the forbearance 
of Gallio as a proof that their own religious liberties would be respected 
under the new administration ; and, with the disorderly impulse of a mob 
which has been kept for some time in suspense, they rushed upon the 
ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in the very presence of the procon- 
sular tribunal. Meanwhile, Gallio took no notice 7 of the injurious pun- 
place; (2) movable, and taken by the Eoman 2 See note 6, belofr. 
magistrates to be placed wherever they might 3 Acts xviii. 14. 

sit in a judicial character. Probably here 4 Acts xviii. 15. We recognize here that 

and in the case of Pilate (John xix. 13) the much had been made by the Jews of the name 
former kind of seat is intended. See Smith's of " Christ " being given to Jesus. 
Dictionary of Antiquities, under " Sella." 5 Acts xviii. 16. 

1 Whether Sosthenes had really been 6 The true reading here does not specify 

elected to fill the place of Crispus, or was only wtio the persons were who beat Sosthenes. It 
a co-ordinate officer in the same or some other cannot, however, be well doubted that they 
synagogue, must be left undetermined. On were Greeks. The reading " Jews," found in 
the organization of the synagogues, see Ch. some MSS., is evidently wrong. 
VI. p. 154. It should be added, that we can- 7 Acts xviii. 17. See above on Gallio's 

not confidently identify this Sosthenes with character, 
the " brother " whose name occurs 1 Cor. i. 1. 



866 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xh. 

ishment thus inflicted on the Jews, and with characteristic indifference 
left Sosthenes to his fate. 

Thus the accusers were themselves involved in disgrace ; Gallio 
obtained a high popularity among the Greeks, and St. Paul was enabled 
to pursue his labors in safety. Had he been driven away from Corinth, 
the whole Christian community of the place might have been put in 
jeopardy. But the result of the storm was to give shelter to the infant 
Church, with opportunity of safe and continued growth. As regards the 
Apostle himself, his credit rose with the disgrace of his opponents. So 
far as he might afterwards be noticed by the Roman governor or the 
Greek inhabitants of the city, he would be regarded as an injured man. 
As his own discretion had given advantage to the holy cause at Philippi, 
by involving his opponents in blame, 1 so here the most imminent peril 
was providentially turned into safety and honor. 

Thus the assurance communicated in the vision was abundantly 
fulfilled. Though bitter enemies had " set on " Paul (Acts xviii. 10), no 
one had " hurt " him. The Lord had been " with him," and " much 
people" had been gathered into His Church. At length the time came 
when the Apostle deemed it right to leave Acharia and revisit Judasa, 
induced (as it would appear) by a motive which often guided his 
journeys, the desire to be present at the great gathering of the Jews at 
one of their festivals, 2 and possibly also influenced by the movements of 
Aquila and Priscilla, who were about to proceed from Corinth to 
Ephesus. Before his departure, he took a solemn farewell of the assem- 
bled Church. 3 How touching St. Paul's farewells must .have been, espe- 
cially after a protracted residence among his brethren and disciples, we 
may infer from the affectionate language of his letters ; and one specimen 
is given to us of these parting addresses, in the Acts of the Apostles. 
From the words spoken at Miletus (Acts xx.), we may learn what was 
said and felt at Corinth. He could tell his disciples here, as he told 
them there, that he had taught them " publicly and from house to 
house ; " 4 that he was " pure from the blood of all men ; " 5 that by the 
space of a year and a half he had " not ceased to warn every one night 
and day with tears." 6 And doubtless he forewarned them of " grievous 
wolves entering in among them, of men speaking perverse things arising 7 
of themselves, to draw away disciples after them." And he could appeal 



1 See p. 269. s Acts xviii. 18. 

2 See Acts xviii. 21. There is little doubt 4 Acts xx. 20. 

that the festival was Pentecost. We should 6 v. 26. Compare xviii. 6, and see p. 348. 

not, however, leave unnoticed that it is doubt- 6 v. 31. Compare what is said of his tears 

ful whether this allusion to the festival ought at Philippi. Philip, iii. 18. 
to be in the text. 7 vv. °9L 30. 



chap. xn. CENCHKEA. 367 

to them, with the emphatic gesture of " those hands " which had labored 
at Corinth, in proof that he had " coveted no man's gold or silver," and in 
confirmation of the Lord's words, that " it is more blessed to give than to 
receive." l Thus he departed, with prayers and tears, from those who 
" accompanied him to the ship " with many misgivings that they might 
" see his face no more." 2 

The three points on the coast to which our attention is called in 
the brief notice of this voyage contained in the Acts, 3 are Cenchrea, 
the harbor of Corinth ; Ephesus, on the western shore of Asia 
Minor; and Caesarea Stratonis, in Palestine. More suitable occasions 
will be found hereafter for descriptions of Csesarea and Ephesus. 
The present seems to require a few words to be said concerning 
Cenchrea. 

After descending from the low table-land on which Corinth was situ- 
ated, the road which connected the city with its eastern harbor extended 
a distance of eight or nine miles across the Isthmian plain. Cenchrea 
has fallen with Corinth ; but the name 4 still remains to mark the place 
of the port, which once commanded a large trade with Alexandria and 
Antioch, with Ephesus and Thessalonica, and the other cities of the 
^Egean. That it was a town of some magnitude may be inferred from 
the attention which Pausanias devotes to it in the description of the en- 
virons of Corinth ; and both its mercantile character, and the pains 
which had been taken in its embellishment, are well symbolized in the 
coin 5 which represents the port with a temple on each enclosing promon- 
tory, and a statue of Neptune on a rock between them. 

From this port St. Paul began his voyage to Syria. But before the 
vessel sailed, one of his companions performed a religious ceremony 
which must not be unnoticed, since it is mentioned in Scripture. Aquila 6 
had bound himself by one of those vows, which the Jews often volunta- 
rily took, even when in foreign countries, in consequence of some mercy 
received, or some deliverance from danger, or other occurrence which 
had produced a deep religious impression on the mind. The obligations 
of these vows were similar to those in the case of Nazarites, — as regards 
abstinence from strong drinks and legal pollutions, and the wearing of 

1 Compare vv. 33-35 with xviii. 3, and ments from the structure of the original are 
' with 1 Cor. iv. 12. rather in favor of referring the vow, not to 

2 vv. 36-38. Aquila, but to St. Paul. The difficulty lies 
8 Acts xviii. 18-22. not so much in supposing that Paul took a 
4 The modern name is Kichries. Jewish vow (see Acts xxi. 26), as in suppos- 
6 An engraving of this coin will be given ing that he made himself conspicuous for Jew- 

at the end of Ch. XIX. ish peculiarities while he was forming a mixed 

c This is left as it stood in the earlier edi- church at Corinth. But we are ignorant of 
tions. It must be admitted that the argu- the circumstances of the case. 



368 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xn. 

the hair uncut till the close of a definite length of time. Aquila could 
not be literally a Nazarite ; for, in the case of that greater vow, the cut- 
ting of the hair, which denoted that the legal time was expired, could 
only take place at the Temple in Jerusalem, or at least in Judasa. In 
this case the ceremony was performed at Cenchrea. Here Aquila — 
who had been for some time conspicuous, even among the Jews 
and Christians at Corinth, for the long hair which denoted that he 
was under a peculiar religious restriction — came to the close of the 
period of obligation ; and, before accompanying the Apostle to Ephesus, 
laid aside the tokens of his vow. 

From Corinth to Ephesus, the voyage was among the islands of the 
Greek Archipelago. The Isles of Greece, and the waters which break on 
their shores, or rest among them in spaces of calm repose, always present 
themselves to the mind as the scenes of interesting voyages, — whether 
we think of the stories of early legend, or the stirring life of classical 
times, of the Crusades in the middle ages, or of the movements of modern 
travellers, some of whom seldom reflect that the land and water round 
them were hallowed by the presence and labors of St. Paul. One great 
purpose of this book will be gained, if it tends to associate the Apostle of 
the Gentiles with the coasts, which are already touched by so many other 
historical recollections. 

No voyage across the iEgean was more frequently made than that 
between Corinth and Ephesus. They were the capitals of the two 
flourishing and peaceful provinces of Achaia and Asia, 1 and the two great 
mercantile towns on opposite sides of the sea. If resemblances may again 
be suggested between the ocean and the Mediterranean, and between an- 
cient and modern times, we may say that the relation of these cities of the 
Eastern and Western Greeks to each other was like that between New 
York and Liverpool. Even the time taken up by the voyages constitutes a 
point of resemblance. Cicero says that, on his eastward passage, which 
was considered a long one, he spent fifteen days, and that his return was 
accomplished in thirteen. 2 

A fair wind, in much shorter time than either thirteen or fifteen days, 
would take the Apostle across, from Corinth, to the city on the other 
side of the sea. It seems that the vessel sras bound for Syria, and staid 
only a short time in harbor at Ephesus. Aquila and Priscilla remained 
there while he proceeded. 3 But even during the short interval of his 
stay, Paul made a visit to his Jewish fellow-countrymen, and (the Sab- 
bath being probably one of the days during which he remained) he held 

1 See how Achaia and Asia are mentioned 2 The voyage vras often accomplished ii 

by Tacitus, Hist. ii. 8. three or four days. See Thuc. iii. 3. 

8 Acts xviii. 19. 



chap.xh. VOYAGE TO SYRIA. 369 

a discussion with them in the synagogue concerning Christianity. 1 Their 
curiosity was excited by what they heard, as it had been at Antioch in 
Pisidia ; and perhaps their curiosity would speedily have been succeeded 
by opposition, if their visitor had staid longer among them. But he 
was not able to grant the request which they urgently made. He 
was anxious to attend the approaching festival at Jerusalem; 2 and, 
had he not proceeded with the ship, this might have been impossible. 
He was so far, however, encouraged by the opening which he saw, 
that he left the Ephesian Jews with a promise of his return. This 
promise was limited by an expression of that dependence on the divine 
will which is characteristic of a Christian's life, 3 whether his vocation be 
to the labors of an Apostle, or to the routine of ordinary toil. We shall 
see that St. Paul's promise was literally fulfilled, when we come to pur- 
sue his progress on his third missionary circuit. 

The voyage to Syria lay first by the coasts and islands of the iEgean 
to Cos and Cnidus, which are mentioned on subsequent voyages, 4 and 
then across the open sea by Rhodes and Cyprus to Cassarea. 5 This city 
has the closest connection with some of the most memorable events of 
early Christianity. We have already had occasion to mention it, in 
alluding to St. Peter and the baptism of the first Gentile convert. 6 We 
shall afterwards be required to make it the subject of a more elaborate 
notice, when we arrive at the imprisonment which was suffered by St. 
Paul under two successive Roman governors. 7 The country was now no 
longer under native kings. Ten years had elapsed since the death of 
Herod Agrippa, the last event alluded to (Ch. IV.) in connection with 
Caesarea. Felix had been for some years already procurator of Judaea. 8 
If the aspect of the country had become in any degree more national 
under the reign of the Herods, it had now resumed all the appearance of 
a Roman province. 9 Csesarea was its military capital, as well as the 
harbor by which it was approached by all travellers from the West. 
From this city, roads 10 had been made to the Egyptian frontier on the 
south, and northwards along the coast by Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon, to 
Antioch, as well as across the interior by Neapolis or Antipatris to Jeru- 
salem and the Jordan. 

The journey from Csesarea to Jerusalem is related by St. Luke in a 
single word. 11 No information is given concerning the incidents which 

1 The aorist (v. 19) should be contrasted 5 See Acts xxi. 1-3. 

with the imperfect used (v. 4) of the continued 6 See p. 113. Compare p. 49. 

discussions at Corinth. ? Acts xxi. &c. 

2 Acts xviii. 21. See above. 8 Tac. Ann. xiv. 54, and Josephus. 

3 " If God will." See James iv. 15. "If » See pp. 26 and 51. 

the Lord will, we shall live," &c. i° See the remarks, pp. 78, 79. 

4 Acts xxi. 1, xxvii. 7. u "When he had gone up," Acts xviii. 

24 



370 , THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xn. 

occurred there : — no meetings with other Apostles, — no controversies 
on disputed points of doctrine, — are recorded or inferred. We are not 
even sure that St. Paul arrived in time for the festival at which he de- 
sired to be present. 1 The contrary seems rather to be implied ; for he is 
said simply to have " saluted the Church," and then to have proceeded 
to Antioch. It is useless to attempt to draw aside the veil which con- 
ceals the particulars of this visit of Paul of Tarsus to the city of his 
forefathers. As if it were no longer intended that we should view the 
Church in connection with the centre of Judaism, our thoughts are 
turned immediately to that other city, 2 where the name " Christian " was 
first conferred on it. 

From Jerusalem to Antioch it is likely that the journey was accom- 
plished by land. It is the last time we shall have occasion to mention a 
road which was often traversed, at different seasons of the year, by St. 
Paul and his companions. Two of the journeys along this Phoenician 
coast have been long ago mentioned. Many years had intervened since 
the charitable mission which brought relief from Syria to the poor in 
Judosa (Ch. IV.)? an( ^ since the meeting of the council at Jerusalem, 
and the joyful return at a time of anxious controversy (Ch. VII.). 
When we allude to these previous visits to the Holy City, we feel how 
widely the Church of Christ had been extended in the space of very few 
years. The course of our narrative is rapidly carrying us from the East 
towards the West. We are now for the last time on this part of the 
Asiatic shore. For a moment the associations which surround us are all 
of the primeval past. The monuments which still remain along this 
coast remind us of the ancient Phoenician power, and of Baal and 
Ashtaroth, 3 — or of the Assyrian conquerors, who came from the Eu- 
phrates to the West, and have left forms like those in the palaces of 
Nineveh sculptured on the rocks of the Mediterranean, 4 — rather than of 
any thing connected with the history of Greece and Rome. The moun- 
tains which rise above our heads belong to the characteristic imagery of 
the Old Testament ; the cedars are those of the forests which were hewn 
by the workmen of Hiram and Solomon ; the torrents which cross the 
roads are the waters from " the sides of Lebanon." 5 But we are taking 

22. Some commentators think that St. Paul voyage (Acts xx., xxi.), that he could not 

did not go to Jerusalem at all, but that this have arrived in time for the festival, had not 

participle merely denotes his going up from the weather been peculiarly favorable. 

the ship into the town of Caesarea : but, inde- 2 Acts xviii. 22. 

pendently of his intention to visit Jerusalem, 3 The ruins of Tortosa and Aradus. 

it is hardly likely that such a circumstance 4 The sculptures of Assyrian figures on 

would have been specified in a narrative so the coast road near Beyrout are noticed in the 

briefly given. works of many travellers. 

1 We shall see, in the case of the later 5 These torrents are often flooded, so as to 



THE CENTEE OF THE CHTJECH. 



371 



our last view of this scenery ; and, as we leave it, we feel that we are 
passing from the Jewish infancy of the Christian Church to its wider 
expansion among the Heathen. 

Once before we had occasion to remark that the Church had no longer 
now its central point in Jerusalem, but in Antioch, a city of the Gen- 
tiles. 1 The progress of events now carries us still more remotely from 
the land which was first visited by the tidings of salvation. The world 
through which our narrative takes us begins to be European rather than 
Asiatic. So far as we know, the present visit which St. Paul paid to 
Antioch was his last. 2 "We have already seen how new centres of Chris- 
tian life had been established by him in the Greek cities of the JEgean. 
The course of the Gospel is farther and farther towards the West ; and 
the inspired part of the Apostle's biography, after a short period of deep 
interest in Judaea, finally centres in Rome. 




Coin of Corinth. 8 



be extremely dangerous ; so that St. Paul may 
have encountered "perils of rivers " in this 
district. Maundrell says that the traveller 
Spor lost his life in one of these torrents. 
1 Pp. 101, 102. 



2 Antioch is not mentioned in the Acts 
after xviii. 22. 

3 From the British Museum. The head is 
that of Julius Caesar himself. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Spiritual Gifts, Constitution, Ordinances, Divisions, and Heresies of the Primitive Church in 

the Lifetime of St. Paul. 

WE are now arrived at a point in St. Paul's history when it seems 
needful for the full understanding of the remainder of his career, 
and especially of his Epistles, to give some description of the internal 
condition of those churches which looked to him as their father in the 
faith. Nearly all of these had now been founded, and, regarding the 
early development of several of them, we have considerable information 
from his letters and from other sources. This information we shall now 
endeavor to bring into one general view ; and in so doing (since the 
Pauline Churches were only particular portions of the universal Church), 
we shall necessarily have to consider the distinctive peculiarities and 
internal condition of the primitive Church generally, as it existed in the 
time of the Apostles. 

The feature which most immediately forces itself upon our notice, as 
distinctive of the Church in the Apostolic age, is its possession of super- 
natural gifts. Concerning these, our whole information must be derived 
from Scripture, because they appear to have vanished with the disap- 
pearance of the Apostles themselves, and there is no authentic, account of 
their existence in the Church in any writings of a later date than the 
books of the New Testament. This fact gives a more remarkable and 
impressive character to the frequent mention of them in the writings of 
the Apostles, where the exercise of such gifts is spoken of as a matter of 
ordinary occurrence. Indeed, this is so much the case, that these miracu^- 
lous powers are not even mentioned by the Apostolic writers as a class 
apart (as we should now consider them), but are joined in the same 
classification with other gifts, which we are wont to term natural endow- 
ments or " talents." x Thus St. Paul tells us (1 Cor. xii. 11) that all 

1 The two great classifications of them in Class 3. ( (y 1 ) kinds of tongues. 
St. Paul's writings are as follows : — to another. \ (y 2 ) interpretation of tongues. 

II, (1 Cor. xii. 28.) 
I. (1 Cor. xii. 8.) I. apostles. 

Class 1. ( (a x ) the word of wisdom. 2. prophets. See (/3 4 ). 

-to one. | (o 2 ) the word of knowledge. 3. teachers; including (a x ) and (a 2 ) perhaps. 



Class 2. 
to another. 



((3^ faith. 4. miracles. See (0 2 ,. 
(j3 2 ) gifts of healing. f (1 ) gifts of healing. See (/3 8 ). 

(,#g) working of miracles. i (2) helps. 

(,3 4 ) prophecy'. 5. J (3) governments. 
[ (j8 6 ) discerning of spirits. [ (4) diversities of tongues, See (y x ). 

372 



CHAP.xra. SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 373 

these charisms, or spiritual gifts, were wrought by one and the same 
Spirit, who distributed them to each severally according to His own will ; 
and among these he classes the gift of Healing, and the gift of Tongues, 
as falling under the same category with the talent for administrative use- 
fulness, and the faculty of Government. But though we learn from this 
to refer the ordinary natural endowments of men, not less than the super- 
natural powers bestowed in the Apostolic age, to a divine source, yet, 
since we are treating of that which gave a distinctive character to the 
Apostolic Church, it is desirable that we should make a division between 
the two classes of gifts, the extraordinary and the ordinary ; although 
this division was not made by the Apostles at the time when both kinds 
of gifts were in ordinary exercise. 

The most striking manifestation of divine interposition was the power 
of working what are commonly called Miracles, that is, changes in the 
usual operation of the laws of nature. This power was exercised by St. 
Paul himself very frequently (as we know from the narrative in the 
Acts), as well as by the other Apostles; and in the Epistles we find 
repeated allusions to its exercise by ordinary Christians. 1 As examples 
of the operation of jthis power, we need only refer to St. Paul's raising 
Eutychus from the dead, his striking Elymas with blindness, his healing 
the sick at Ephesus, 2 and his curing the father of Publius at Melita. 3 

The last-mentioned examples are instances of the exercise of the gift 
of healing, which was a peculiar branch of the gift of miracles, and 
sometimes apparently possessed by those who had not the higher gift. 
The source of all these miraculous powers was the charism of faith ; 
namely, that peculiar kind of wonder-working faith spoken of in Matt, 
xvii. 20, 1 Cor. xii. 9, and xiii. 2, which consisted in an intense belief 
that all obstacles would vanish before the power given. This must of 
course be distinguished from that disposition of faith which is essential to 
the Christian life. 

It maybe remarked, that the following divis- charisms themselves : they are alluded to only 

ions are in I., and not in II. ; viz. (3 lt (3 5 , and as things well known to the Corinthians, and! 

72 : a i and a 2 , though not explicitly in II., of course without any. precise description of 

yet are probably included in it as necessary their nature. 

gifts for "apostles," and perhaps also for In Rom. xii. 6-8, another unsystematic - 
" teachers," as Neander supposes. enumeration of four charisms is given ; viz. . 
It is difficult to observe any principle which (1) prophecy, (2) ministry, (3) teaching, (4) ear- 
runs through these classifications ; probably I. hortation. 

was not meant as a systematic classification at 1 Gal. iii. 5 (where observe the present 

all ; II., however, certainly was in some meas- tense) is one of many examples, 
ure, because St. Paul uses the words "first, 2 Acts xix. 11, 12. 

second, third," frc. 3 On this latter miracle see the excellent 

It is very difficult to arrive at any certain remarks in Smith's Voyaye and Shipwreck of 

conclusion on the subject, because of our im- St. Paid, p. 115. 
perfect understanding of the nature of the 



374 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xm. 

We have remarked that the exercise of these miraculous powers is 
spoken of both in the Acts and Epistles as a matter of ordinary occur- 
rence, and in that tone of quiet (and often incidental) allusion in which 
we mention the facts of our daily life. And this is the case, not in a 
narrative of events long past (where unintentional exaggeration might 
be supposed to have crept in), but in the narrative of a contemporary, 
writing immediately after the occurrence of the events which he records, 
and of which he was an eye-witness ; and yet farther, this phenomenon 
occurs in letters which speak of those miracles as wrought in the daily 
sight of the readers addressed. Now the question forced upon every 
intelligent mind is, whether such a phenomenon can be explained except 
by the assumption that the miracles did really happen. Is this assump- 
tion more difficult than that of Hume (which has been revived with an 
air of novelty by modern infidels), who cuts the knot by assuming that 
whenever we meet with an account of a miracle, it is ipso facto to be 
rejected as incredible, no matter by what weight of evidence it may be 
supported ? 

Besides the power of working miracles, other supernatural gifts of a 
less extraordinary character were bestowed upon the.early Church. The 
anost important were the gift of tongues, and the gift of prophecy. With 
regard to the former there is much difficulty, from the notices of it in 
Scripture, in fully comprehending its nature. But from the passages 
where it is mentioned l we may gather thus much concerning it : first, 
that it was not a knowledge of foreign languages, as is often supposed ; we 
uever read of its being exercised for the conversion of foreign nations, 
nor (except on the day of Pentecost alone) for that of individual foreign- 
ers ; and even on that occasion the foreigners present were all Jewish 
proselytes, and most of them understood the Hellenistic 2 dialect. Sec- 
■ ondly, we learn that this gift was the result of a sudden influx of super- 
natural inspiration, which came upon the new believer immediately after 
ihis baptism, and recurred afterwards at uncertain intervals. Thirdly, we 
find that while under its influence the exercise of the understanding was 
suspended, while the spirit was rapt into a state of ecstasy by the imme- 
diate communication of the Spirit of God. In this ecstatic trance the 
^believer was constrained by an irresistible 3 power to pour forth his feel- 

1 Viz. Mark xvi. 17 ; Acts ii. 4, &c, Acts and the Jews from these latter countries would 
x. 46, Acts xi. 15-17, Acts xix. 6; 1 Cor. probably understand the Aramaic of Palestine, 
xii., and 1 Cor. xiv. We must refer to the [For a different view of the gift of tongues we 
notes on these two last-named chapters for may refer to Dr. Wordsworth's note on Acts 
some further discussion of the difficulties con- ii. 4. — H.] 

nected with this gift. 3 His spirit was not subject to his will. 

2 This must probably have been the case See 1 Cor. xiv. 32. [Some power of self-con* 
with all the foreigners mentioned, except the trol does appear distinctly implied in this pas- 
OParthians, Medes, Elamites, and Arabians, sage and v. 28. — H.] 



chap. xiu. THE GIFT OF PEOPHECY. 375 

iiigs of thanksgiving and rapture in words ; yet the words which issued 
from his mouth were not his own ; he was even (usually) ignorant of 
their meaning. St. Paul desired that those who possessed this gift should 
not be suffered to exercise it in the congregation, unless some one present 
possessed another gift (subsidiary to this), called the interpretation of 
tongues, by which the ecstatic utterance of the former might be ren- 
dered available for general edification. Another gift, also, was needful 
for the checking of false pretensions to this and some other charisms, viz. 
the gift of discerning of spirits, the recipients of which could distinguish 
between the real and the imaginary possessors of spiritual gifts. 1 

From the gift of tongues we pass, by a natural transition, to the gift 
of prophecy . 2 It is needless to remark that, in the Scriptural sense of the 
term, & prophet does not mean & foreteller of future events, but a revealer 
of G-ooVs will to man; though the latter sense may (and sometimes does) 
include the former. So the gift of prophecy was that charism which 
enabled its possessors to utter, with the authority of inspiration, divine 
strains of warning, exhortation, encouragement, or rebuke ; and to teach 
and enforce the truths of Christianity with supernatural energy and 
effect. The wide diffusion among the members of the Church of this 
prophetical inspiration was a circumstance which is mentioned by St. 
Peter as distinctive of the Gospel dispensation ; 3 in fact, we find that in 
the family of Philip the Evangelist alone, 4 there were four daughters who 
exercised this gift; and the general possession of it is in like manner 
implied by the directions of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 5 The latter 
Apostle describes the marvellous effect of the inspired addresses thus 
spoken. 6 He looks upon the gift of prophecy as one of the great instru- 
ments for the conversion of unbelievers, and far more serviceable in this 
respect than the gift of tongues, although by some of the new converts 
it was not so highly esteemed, because it seemed less strange and won- 
derful. 

Thus far we have mentioned the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit \vhich 
were vouchsafed to the Church of that age alone ; yet (as we have before 
said) there was no strong line of division, no " great gulf fixed " between 
these, and what we now should call the ordinary gifts, or natural endow- 
ments of the Christian converts. Thus the gift of prophecy cannot easily 
be separated by any accurate demarcation from another charism often 
mentioned in Scripture, which we should now consider an ordinary talent, 

1 This latter charism seems to have been sufficient to refer to such passages as Acts xi. 
requisite for the presbyters. See 1 Thess. v. 27, 28. 3 Acts ii. 17, 18. 
21. * Acts xxi. 9. 

2 If it be asked why we class this as among 5 1 Cor. xi. 4, and 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 31, 34. 
the supernatural or extraordinary gifts, it will be 6 1 Cor. xiv. 25. 



376 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

namely, the gift of teaching. The distinction between them appears to 
have been that the latter was more habitually and constantly exercised 
by its possessors than the former : we are not to suppose, however, that 
it was necessarily given to different persons ; on the contrary, an excess 
of divine inspiration might at any moment cause the teacher to speak as a 
prophet; and this was constantly exemplified in the case of the Apostles, 
who exercised the gift of prophecy for the conversion of their unbeliev- 
ing hearers, and the gift of teaching for the building-up of their converts 
in the faith. 

Other gifts specially mentioned as charisms are the gift of government 
and the gift of ministration. 1 By the former, certain persons were spe- 
cially fitted to preside over the Church and regulate its internal order ; by 
the latter its possessors were enabled to minister to the wants of their 
brethren to manage the distribution of relief among the poorer members of 
the Church, to tend the sick, and carry out other practical works of piety. 

The mention of these latter charisms leads us naturally to consider the 
offices which at that time existed in the Church, to which the possessors 
of these gifts were severally called, according as the endowment which 
they had received fitted them to discharge the duties of the respective 
functions. We will endeavor, therefore, to give an outline of the con- 
stitution and government of the primitive Christian churches, as it existed 
in the time of the Apostles, so far as we can ascertain it from the informa- 
tion supplied to us in the New Testament. 

Amongst the several classifications which are there given of church 
officers, the most important (from its relation to subsequent ecclesiastical 
history) is that by which they are divided into Apostles, 2 Presbyters, and 

1 The "charism" of "ministry" or of 16 times in Corinthians; — 14 times of St. 
"help." Paul or the Twelve, twice in etymological 

2 "Apostles and Presbyters" are men- sense, viz. 2 Cor. viii. 23, and xi. 13. 
tioned Acts xv. 2, and elsewhere ; and the 3 times in Gal. ; — of St. Paul and the 
two classes of " Presbyters and Deacons " Twelve. 

are mentioned Phil. i. 1. See p. 378, n. 2. 4 times in Ephes. ; — of St. Paul and the 

The following are the facts concerning the use Twelve, 

of the word uttogto?^ in the New Testament. once in Philip. ; — etymological sense. 

It occurs — once in Thess. ; — of St. Paul, 

once in St. Matthew ; — of the Twelve. 4 times in Timothy ; — of St. Paul. 

once in St. Mark ; — of the Twelve. once in Titus ; — of St. Paul. 

6 times in St. Luke ; — 5 times of the Twelve, once in Hebrews (iii. 1 ) ; — of Christ Himself. 

once in its general etymological sense. 3 times in Peter; — of the Twelve. 

once in St. John; — in its general etymologi- once in Jude; — of the Twelve. 

cal sense. 3 times in Apocalypse; — either of "false 
30 times in Acts; — (always in plural) 28 apostles " or of the Twelve. 

times of the Twelve, and twice of Paul Besides this, the word a-Koaroto] is used to 

and Barnabas. signify the Apostolic office, once in Acts arid 

3 times in Romans; — twice of St. Paul, three times by St. Paul (who attributes it to 

once of Andronicus. himself). 



CHAP.xra. CONSTITUTION OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 3<7 

Deacons. The monarchical, or (as it would be now called) the episcopal 
element of church government was, in this first period, supplied by the 
authority of the Apostles. This title was probably at first confined to " the 
Twelve," who were immediately nominated to their office (with the excep- 
tion of Matthias) by our Lord himself. To this body the title was limited 
by the Judaizing section of the Church ; but St. Paul vindicated his own 
claim to the Apostolic name and authority as resting upon the same com- 
mission given him by the same Lord ; and his companion, St. Luke, applies 
the name to Barnabas also. In a lower sense, the term was applied to all 
the more eminent Christian teachers ; as, (or example, to Andronicus 
and Junias. 1 And it was also sometimes used in its simple etymological 
sense of emissary, which had not yet been lost in its other and more 
technical meaning. Still those only were called emphatically the Apostles 
who had received their commission from Christ himself, including the 
eleven who had been chosen by Him while on earth, with St. Matthias 
and St. Paul, who had been selected for the office by their Lord (though 
in different ways) after His ascension. 

In saying that the Apostles embodied that element in church govern- 
ment, which has since been represented by episcopacy, we must not, 
however, be understood to mean that the power of the Apostles was sub- 
ject to those limitations to which the authority of bishops has always 
been subjected. The primitive bishop was surrounded by his council of 
presbyters, and took no important step without their sanction ; but this 
was far from being the case with the Apostles. They were appointed by 
Christ himself, with absolute power to govern His Church ; to them He 
had given the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, with authority to admit or 
to exclude ; they were also guided by His perpetual inspiration, so that 
all their moral and religious teaching was absolutely and infallibly true ; 
they were empowered by their solemn denunciations of evil, and their in- 
spired judgments on all moral questions, to bind and to loose, to remit 
and to retain the sins of men. 2 This was the essential peculiarity of their 
office, which can find no parallel in the after-history of the Church. But, 
so far as their function was to govern, they represented the monarchical ele- 
ment in the constitution of the early Church, and their power was a full 
counterpoise to that democratic tendency which has sometimes been 
attributed to the ecclesiastical arrangements of the Apostolic period. 
Another peculiarity which distinguishes them from all subsequent rulers 
of the Church is, that they were not limited to a sphere of action defined 

1 Rom. xvi. 7. now, but it is in quite a secondary sense; viz. 

2 No doubt, in a certain sense, this power is only so far as it is exercised in exact accord- 
shared (according to the teaching of our ance with the inspired teaching of the 
Ordination Service) by Christian ministers Apostles. 



378 THE LIFE AjTD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xiii. 

by geographical boundaries : the whole world was their diocese, and they 
bore the Glad-tidings, east or west, north or south, as the Holy Spirit 
might direct their course at the time, and governed the churches which 
they founded wherever they might be placed. Moreover, those charisms 
which were possessed by other Chrstians singly and severally, were collec- 
tively given to the Apostles, because all were needed for their work. The 
gift of miracles was bestowed upon them in abundant measure, that they 
might strike terror into the adversaries of the truth, and win, by outward 
wonders, the attention of thousands, whose minds were closed by igno- 
rance against the inward and the spiritual. They had the gift of prophecy 
as the very characteristic of their office, for it was their especial commis- 
sion to reveal the truth of God to man ; they were consoled in the midst 
of their labors by heavenly visions, and rapt in supernatural ecstasies, in 
which they " spake in tongues " " to God, and not to man." l They had 
the u gift of government" for that which came upon them daily was " the 
care of all the Churches ; " the "gift of teaching" for they must build up 
their converts in the faith; even the "gift- of ministration" was . not 
unneeded by them, nor did they think it beneath them to undertake the 
humblest offices of a deacon for the good of the Church. When need- 
ful, they could " serve tables," and collect arms, and work with their 
own hands at mechanical trades, " that so laboring they might support 
the weak ; " inasmuch as they were the servants of Him who came not 
to be ministered unto, but to minister. 

Of the offices concerned with Church government, the next in rank to 
that of the Apostles was the office of Overseers or Elders, more usually 
known (by their Greek designations) as Bishops or Presbyters. These 
terms are used in the New Testament as equivalent, 2 the former (Inlcxonog) 
denoting (as its meaning of overseer implies) the duties, the latter 
(jtQzofivztQog) the rank, of the office. The history of the Church leaves 
us no room for doubt that on the death of the Apostles, or perhaps at an 
earlier period (and, in either case, by their directions), one amongst the 
Presbyters of each Church was selected to preside over the rest, and to 
him was applied emphatically the title of the bishop or overseer, which 
had previously belonged equally to all ; thus he became in reality (what he 
was sometimes called) the successor of the Apostles, as exercising (though 
in a lower degree) that function of government which had formerly 
belonged to them. 3 But in speaking of this change we are anticipating ; 

1 See note on 1 Cor. xiv. 18. Also see (Acts xx. 17). See also the Pastoral Epistles, 
2 Cor. xii. 12. passim. 

2 Thus, in the address at Miletus, the same 3 Baron Bunsen (whom noone can suspect 
persons are called hmaKonovg (Acts xx. 28) of hierarchal tendencies) expressed his con- 
who had just before been named npeofivrepovs currence in this view. He says : " St. John 



CHAP.xm. CONSTITUTION OF THE PRIMITIVE CHUECH. 379 

for at the time of which we are now writing, at the foundation of the 
Gentile Churches, the Apostles themselves were the chief governors of 
the Church, and the presbyters of each particular society were co-ordi- 
nate with one another. We find that they existed at an early period in 
Jerusalem, and likewise that they were appointed by the Apostles upon 
the first formation of a church in every city. The same name, " Elder,'' 
was attached to an office of a corresponding nature in the Jewish syna- 
gogues, whence both title and office were probably derived. The name 
of Bishop was afterwards given to this office in the Gentile churches at 
a somewhat later period, as expressive of its duties, and as more familiar 
than the other title to Greek ears. 1 

The office of the Presbyters was to watch over the particular church 
in which they ministered, in all that regarded its external order and 
internal purity ; they were to instruct the ignorant, 2 to exhort the faith- 
ful, to confute the gainsayers, 3 to " warn the unruly, to comfort the 
feeble-minded, to support the weak, to be patient towards all." 4 They 
were " to take heed to the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made 
them overseers, to feed the Church of God which He had purchased with 
His own blood." 5 In one word, it was their duty (as it has been the 
duty of all who have been called to the same office during the nineteen 
centuries which have succeeded) to promote to the utmost of their ability, 
and by every means within their reach, the spiritual good of all those 
committed to their care. 6 

The last of the three orders, that of Deacons, did not take its place in 
the ecclesiastical organization till towards the close of St. Paul's life ; or, 
at least, this name was not assigned to those who discharged the func- 
tions of the Diaconate till a late period ; the Epistle to the Philippians 
being the earliest in which the term occurs T in its technical sense. In 

established or sanctioned the institution of " teachers " may at first have been sometimes 

single Rectors, called Overseers (emononoi), as different from the "presbyters," as the 

presidents of the Presbytery. This form of " charism of teaching " was distinct from the 

government, as being the more perfect and " charism of governing ; " but those who 

practical, particularly in such difficult times, possessed both gifts would surely have been 

soon spread over the Christian world." — Bun- chosen presbyters from the first, if they were 

sen's Hippolytus, 2d ed. ii. 360. to be found; and, at all events, in the time of 

1 'EmcKOTToc was the title of the Athenian the Pastoral Epistles we find the offices united, 
commissioners to their subject allies. (1 Tim. iii. 2.) See, however, the note on 

2 1 Tim. iii. 2. 1 Tim. v. 17. 

3 Tit. i. 9. 7 In Romans xvi. 1, it is applied to a wo- 

4 1 Thess. v. 14. 6 Acts xx. 28. man ; and we cannot confidently assert that it 
6 Other titles, denoting their office, are ap- is there used technically to denote an office, 

plied to the presbyters in some passages ; e. g. especially as the word diaicovoc is so constantly 

Rom. xii. 8; and 1 Thess. v. 12; Heb. xiii. used in its non-technical sense of one who 

7; Eph. iv. 11; 1 Cor. xii. 28. It is, indeed, ministers in any way to others. [See next 

possible ( as Neander thinks ) that the note but one. — h.] 



380 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

fact the word (pimovog) occurs thirty times in the New Testament, and 
only three times (or at most four) is it used as an official designation ; in 
all the other passages it is used in its simple etymological sense of a 
ministering' servant. It is a remarkable fact, too, that it never once occurs 
in the Acts as the title of those seven Hellenistic Christians who are gen- 
erally (though improperly) called the seven deacons, and who were only 
elected to supply a temporary emergency. 1 But although the title of 
the Diaconate does not occur till afterwards, the office seems to have 
existed from the first in the Church of Jerusalem (see Acts v. 6, 10) ; 
those who discharged its duties were then called the young men, in con- 
tradistinction to the presbyters or elders ; and it was their duty to assist 
the latter by discharging the mechanical services requisite for the well- 
being of the Christian community. Gradually, however, as the Church 
increased, the natural division of labor would suggest a subdivision of 
the ministrations performed by them ; those which only required bodily 
labor would be intrusted' to a less educated class of servants, and those 
which required the work of the head as well as the hands (such, for 
example, as the distribution of alms) would form the duties of the dea- 
cons ; for we may now speak of them by that name, which became appro 
priated to them before the close of the Apostolic epoch. 

There is not much information given us, with regard to their functions, 
in the New Testament : but, from St. Paul's directions to Timothy con- 
cerning their qualifications, it is evident that their office was one of con- 
siderable importance. He requires that they should be men of grave 
character, and " not greedy of filthy lucre ; " the latter qualification 
relating to their duty in administering the charitable fund of the Church. 
He desires that they should not exercise the office till after their character 
had been first subjected to an examination, and had been found free from 
all imputation against it. If (as is reasonable) we explain these intima- 
tions by what we know of the Diaconate in the succeeding century, we 
may assume that its duties in the Apostolic Churches (when their organi- 
zation was complete) were to assist the presbyters in all that concerned 
the outward service of the Church, and in executing the details of those 
measures, the general plan of which was organized by the presbyters. 
And, doubtless, those only were selected for this office who had received 
the gift of ministration previously mentioned. 

It is a disputed point whether there was an order of Deaconesses to 
minister among the women in the Apostolic Church ; the only proof of 

1 See Chap. II. p. 61. We observe, also, much higher importance than that held by the 

that when any of the seven are referred to, it subsequent deacons. [Still it can hardly be 

is never by the title of deacon ; thus Philip is doubted that we have here the beginning of 

called "the evangelist" (Acts xxi. 8). In the official diaconate in the Church. — n«] 
fact, the office of " the seven " was one of 



chap.xhi. CONSTITUTION OF THE PRIMITIVE CHUHCH. 381 

their existence is the epithet attached to the name of Phoebe, 1 which may 
be otherwise understood. At the same time, it must be acknowledged 
that the almost Oriental seclusion in which the Greek women were kept 
would render the institution of such an office not unnatural in the 
churches of Greece, as well as in those of the East. 

Besides the three orders of Apostles, Presbyters, and Deacons, we find 
another classification of the ministry of the Church in the Epistle to the 
Ephesians, 2 where they are divided under four heads, viz., 3 1st, Apostles ; 
2dly, Prophets ; 3dly, Evangelists ; 4thly, Pastors and Teachers. By 
the fourth class we must understand i the Presbyters to be denoted, and 
we then have two other names interpolated between these and the 
Apostles ; viz. Prophets and Evangelists. By the former we must under- 
stand those on whom the gift of prophecy was bestowed in such abundant 
measure as to constitute their peculiar characteristic, and whose work 
it was to impart constantly to their brethren the revelations which they 
received from the Holy Spirit. The term Evangelist is applied to those 
missionaries, who, like Philip, 5 and Timothy, 6 travelled from place to 
place, to bear the Glad-tidings of Christ to unbelieving nations or individ- 
uals. Hence it follows that the Apostles were all Evangelists, although 
there were also Evangelists who were not' Apostles. It is needless to 
add that our modern use of the word Evangelist (as meaning writer of a 
Gospel) is of later date, and has no place here. 

All these classes of Church-officers were maintained (so far as they re- 
quired it) by the contributions of those in whose service they labored. 
St. Paul lays down, in the strongest manner, their right to such main- 
tenance ; 7 yet, at the same time, we find that he very rarely accepted the 
offerings, which, in the exercise of this right, he might himself have 
claimed. He preferred to labor with his own hands for his own support, 
that he might put his disinterested motives beyond the possibility of 
suspicion ; and he advises the presbyters of the Ephesian Church to follow 
his example in this respect, that so they might be able to contribute, by 
their own exertions, to the support of the helpless. 

The mode of appointment to these different offices varied with the 
nature of the office. The Apostles, as we have seen, received their com- 
mission directly from Christ himself; the Prophets were appointed by 

1 Rom. xvi. 1. See p. 379, n. 7. It a different view is held of the Scriptural 

should be observed, however, that the "wid- authority for a female diaconate. — n.] 
ows" mentioned I Tim. v. 9 were practically 2 Eph. iv. 11. 

Deaconesses, although they do not seem, at 8 A similar classification occurs 1 Cor. xii. 

the time of the Pastoral Epistles, to have been 28 ; viz., 1st, Apostles ; 2dly, Prophets ; 3dly, 

called by that name. [For a general discus- Teachers. 4 See above, p. 379, n. 6. 

sion of this subject, see the Quarterly Review 5 Acts xxi. 8. 8 2 Tim. iv. 5» 

for October, 1860, especially pp. 357, 358, where ' 1 Cor. ix. 7-14. 



382 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xm. 

that inspiration which they received from the Holy Spirit, yet their claims 
would be subjected to the judgment of those who had received the gift of 
discernment of spirits. The Evangelists were sent on particular missions 
from time to time, by the Christians with whom they lived (but not with- 
out a special revelation of the Holy Spirit's will to that effect), as the 
Church of Antioch sent away Paul and Barnabas to evangelize Cyprus. 
The Presbyters and Deacons were appointed by the Apostles themselves 
(as at Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia), 1 or by their deputies, as 
in the case of Timothy and Titus ; yet, in all such instances, it is not 
improbable that the concurrence of the whole body of the Church was 
obtained ; and it is possible that in other cases, as well as in the appoint- 
ment of the seven Hellenists, the officers of the Church may have been 
elected by the Church which they were to serve. 

In all cases, so far as we may infer from the recorded instances in the 
Acts, those who were selected for the performance of Church offices were 
solemnly set apart for the duties to which they devoted themselves. This 
ordination they received, whether the office to which they were called was 
permanent or temporary. The Church, of which they were members, de- 
voted a preparatory season to " fasting and prayer ; " and then those who 
were to be set apart were consecrated to their work by that solemn and 
touching symbolical act, the laying-on of hands, which has been ever 
since appropriated to the same purpose and meaning. And thus, in 
answer to the faith and prayers of the Church, the spiritual gifts neces- 
sary for the performance of the office were bestowed 2 by Him who is " the 
Lord and Giver of Life." 

Having thus briefly attempted to describe the Offices of the Apostolic 
Church; we pass to the consideration of its Ordinances. Of these, the 
chief were, of course, those two sacraments ordained by Christ Himself, 
which have been the heritage of the Universal Church throughout all 
succeeding ages. The sacrament of Baptism was regarded as the door 
of entrance into the Christian Church, and was held to be so indispen- 
sable that it could not be omitted even in the case of St. Paul. We 
have seen that although he had been called to the apostleship by the 
direct intervention of Christ Himself, yet he was commanded to receive 
baptism at the hands of a simple disciple. In ordinary cases, the sole 
condition required for baptism was, that the persgns to be baptized 
should acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, 3 " declared to be the Son of 

1 Acts xiv. 21-23. pear as if only applicable to Jews or Jewish 

2 Compare 2 Tim. i. 6. " The gift of God proselytes, who already were looking for a 
which is in thee by the putting-on of my Messiah; yet, since the acknowledgment of 
hands." Jesus as the Messiah involves in itself, when 

3 This condition would (at first sight) ap- rightly understood, the whole of Christianity, 



chap. xm. 



OEDINANCES OF THE PEIMITIVE CHUECH. 



883 



God with power, by His resurrection from the dead." In this acknowl- 
edgment was virtually involved the readiness of the new converts to 
submit to the guidance of those whom Christ had appointed as the 
Apostles and teachers of His Church ; and we find l that they were 
subsequently instructed in the truths of Christianity, and were taught the 
true spiritual meaning of those ancient prophecies, which (if Jews) they 
had hitherto interpreted of a human conqueror and an earthly kingdom. 
This instruction, however, took place after baptism, not before it ; and 
herein we remark a great and striking difference from the subsequent 
usage of the Church. For, not long after the time of the Apostles, the 
primitive practice in this respect was completely reversed ; in all cases 
the convert was subjected to a long course of preliminary instruction 
before lie was admitted to baptism, and in some instances the catechumen 
remained unbaptized till the hour of death ; for thus he thought to 
escape the strictness of a Christian life, and fancied that a death-bed 
baptism would operate magically upon his spiritual condition, and 
insure his salvation. The Apostolic practice of immediate baptism 
would, had it been retained, have guarded the Church from so baneful a 
superstition. 

It has been questioned- whether the Apostles baptized adults only, or 
whether they admitted infants also into the Church ; yet we cannot but 
think it probable that infant baptism 2 was their practice. This -appears, 
not merely because (had it been otherwise) we must have found some 
traces of the first introduction of infant baptism afterwards, but also 



it was a sufficient foundation for the faith of 
Gentiles also. In the case both of Jews and 
Gentiles, the thing required, in the first in- 
stance, was a belief in the testimony of the 
Apostles, that " this Jesus had God raised up," 
and thus had " made that same Jesus, whom 
they had crucified, both Lord and Christ/' 
The most important passages, as bearing on 
this subject, are the baptism and confirmation 
of the Samaritan converts (Acts viii.), the 
account of the baptism of the Ethiopian 
eunuch (Acts viii.), of Cornelius (Acts x.), of 
the Philippian jailer (Acts xvi.) (the only 
case where the baptism of a non-proselyted 
Heathen is recorded), of John's disciples at 
Ephesus (Acts xix.), and the statement in 
Eom. x. 9, 10. 

1 This appears from such passages as Gal. 
vi. 6 ; 1 Thess. v. 12 ; Acts xx. 20, 28, and 
many others. 

2 It is af first startling to find Neander, 
with his great learning and candor, taking an 



opposite view. Yet the ailments on which 
he ground? his opinion, both in the Planting 
and Leading and in the Church History, seem 
plainly inconclusive. He himself acknowl- 
edges that the principles laid down by St. 
Paul (1 Cor. vii. 14) contain a justification of 
infant baptism, and he admits that it was 
practised in the time of Irenseus. His chief 
reason against thinking it an Apostolical 
practice (Church History, sect. 3) is, that 
Tertullian opposed it ; but Tertullian does not 
pretend to call it an innovation. It is need- 
less here to do more than refer to the well- 
known passages of Origen which prove that 
infant baptism prevailed in the church of 
Alexandria as early as the close of the second 
century. Surely if infant baptism had not 
been sanctioned by the Apostles, we should 
have found some one at least among the many 
ohurches of primitive Christendom resisting 
its introduction. 



384 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

because the very idea of the Apostolic baptism, as the entrance into 
Christ's kingdom, implies that- it could not have been refused to infants 
without violating the command of Christ : " Suffer little children to come 
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
Again, St. Paul expressly says that the children of a Christian parent 
were to be looked upon as consecrated to God (ayioi) by virtue of their 
very birth ; l and it would have been most inconsistent with this view, as 
well as with the practice in the case of adults, to delay the reception of 
infants into the Church till they had been fully instructed in Christian 
doctrine. 

We know from the Gospels 2 that the new converts were baptized " in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And 
after the performance 3 of the sacrament, an outward sign was given that 
God was indeed present with His Church, through the mediation of The 
Son, in the person of The Spirit ; for the baptized converts, when the 
Apostles had laid their hands on them, received some spiritual gift, 
either the power of working miracles, or of speaking in tongues, be- 
stowed upon each of them by Him who " divideth to every man 
severally as He will." It is needless to add that baptism was (unless 
in exceptional cases) administered by immersion, the convert being 
plunged beneath the surface of the water to represent his death to 
the life of sin, and then raised from this momentary burial to repre- 
sent his resurrection to the life of righteousness. It must be a subject 
of regret that the general discontinuance of this original form of 
baptism (though perhaps necessary in our northern climates) has 
rendered obscure to popular apprehension some very important passages 
of Scripture. 

With regard to* the other sacrament, we know both from the Acts and 
the Epistles how constantly the Apostolic Church obeyed their Lord's 
command: "Do this in remembrance of me." Indeed it would seem 
that originally their common meals were ended, as that memorable feast 
at Emmaus had been, by its celebration ; so that, as at the first to those 
two disciples, their Lord's presence was daily " made known unto them 
in the breaking of bread." 4 Subsequently the Communion was admin- 

1 1 Cor. vii. 14. baptism. The answer of St. Paul to the dis- 

2 Matt, xxviii. 19. We cannot agree with ciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus (Acts 
Neander (Planting and Leading, i. 25, and xix. 3), is a strong argument that the name of 
188) that the evidence of this positive com- the Holy Ghost occurred in the baptismal for- 
mand is at all impaired by our finding baptism mula then employed. 

described in the Acts and Epistles as baptism 8 The case of Cornelius, in which the gifts 

into the name of Jesus ; the latter seems a con- of the Holy Spirit were bestowed before bap- 

densed expression which would naturally be tism, was an exception to the ordinary rule, 

employed, just as we now speak of Christian 4 Luke xxiv. 35. 



CHAP.xm. ORDINANCES OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 385 

istered at the close of the public feasts of love QAgapce 1 ') at which the 
Christians met to realize their fellowship one with another, and to par- 
take together, rich and poor, masters and slaves, on equal terms, of the 
common meal. But this practice led to abuses, as we see in the case of 
the Corinthian Church, where the very idea of the ordinance was vio- 
lated by the providing of different food for the rich and poor, and where 
some of the former were even guilty of intemperance. Consequently a 
change was made, and the communion administered before instead of 
after the meal, and finally separated from it altogether. 

The festivals observed by the Apostolic Church were at first the same 
with those of the Jews ; and the observance of these was continued, 
especially by the Christians of Jewish birth, for a considerable time. A 
higher and more spiritual meaning, however, was attached to their cele- 
bration ; and particularly the Paschal feast was kept, no longer as a 
shadow of good things to come, but as the commemoration of blessings 
actually bestowed in the death and resurrection of Christ. Thus we 
already see the germ of our Easter festival in the exhortation which St. 
Paul gives to the Corinthians concerning the manner in which they 
should celebrate the Paschal feast. Nor was it only at this annual feast 
that they kept in memory the resurrection of their Lord ; every Sunday 
likewise was a festival in memory of the same event ; the Church never 
failed to meet for common prayer and praise on that day of the week ; 
and it very soon acquired the name of the " Lord's Day," which it has 
since retained. 

But the meetings of the first converts for public worship were not con- 
fined to a single day of the week ; they were always frequent, often daily. 
The Jewish Christians met at first in Jerusalem in some of the courts of 
the temple, there to join in the prayers and hear the teaching of Peter 
and John. Afterwards the private houses 2 of the more opulent 
Christians were thrown open to furnish their brethren with a place of 
assembly; and they met for prayer and praise in some "upper chamber," 3 
with the " door shut for fear of the Jews." The outward form and order 
of their worship differed very materially from our own, as indeed was 
necessarily the case where so many of the worshippers were under the 
miraculous influence of the Holy Spirit. Some were filled with prophetic 
inspiration ; some constrained to pour forth their ecstatic feelings in the 
exercise of the gift of tongues, " as the Spirit gave them utterance." 
We see, from St. Paul's directions to the Corinthians, that there was 

1 Jude 12. This is the custom to which 2 See Rom. xvi. 5, and 1 Cor. xvi. 19, and 

Pliny alludes, when he describes the Chris- Acts xviii. 7. 

tians meeting to partake of cibus promiscuus et 3 "The upper chamber where they were 

innoxius. gathered together." — Acts xx. 8. 

25 



686 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

danger even then lest their worship should degenerate into a scene of 
confusion, from the number who wished to take part in the public minis- 
trations ; and he lays down rules which show that even the exercise of 
supernatural gifts was to be restrained, if it tended to violate the orderly 
celebration of public worship. He directs that not more than two or 
three should prophesy in the same assembly ; and that those who had the 
gift of tongues should not exercise it, unless some one present had the 
gift of interpretation, and could explain their utterances to the congrega- 
tion. He also forbids women (even though some of them might be 
prophetesses) Y to speak in the public assembly ; and desires that they 
should appear veiled, as became the modesty of their sex. 

In the midst of so much diversity, however, the essential parts of 
public worship were the same then as now, for we find that prayer was 
made, and thanksgiving offered up, by those who officiated, and that the 
congregation signified their assent by a unanimous Amen. 2 Psalms also 
were chanted, doubtless to some of those ancient Hebrew melodies which 
have been handed down, not improbably, to our own times in the sim- 
plest form of ecclesiastical music ; and addresses of exhortation or 
•instruction were given by those whom the gift of prophecy, or the gift of 
teaching, had fitted for the task. 

But whatever were the other acts of devotion in which these assem- 
blies were employed, it seems probable that the daily worship always con- 
cluded with the celebration of the Holy Communion. 3 And as in this 
the members of the Church expressed and realized the closest fellowship, 
not only with their risen Lord, but also with each other, so it was cus- 
tomary to symbolize this latter union by the interchange of the kiss of 
peace before the sacrament, a practice to which St. Paul frequently 
alludes. 4 

It would have been well if the inward love and harmony of the 
Church had really corresponded with the outward manifestation of it in 
this touching ceremony. But this was not the case, even while the 
Apostles themselves poured out the wine and broke the bread which 
symbolized the perfect union of the members of Christ's body. The 

1 Acts xxi. 9. of the Church. This was certainly the case 

2 1 Cor. xiv. 16. in Acts xx. 8 ; a passage which Neander must 

3 This seems proved by 1 Cor. xi. 20, have overlooked when he says ( Church History, 
•<where St. Paul appears to assume that the sect. 3) that the church service in the time of 
•very object of " coming together in Church " the Apostles was held early in the morning. 

was "to eat the Lord's Supper." As the There are obvious reasons why the evening 

Lord's Supper was originally the conclusion would have been the most proper time for a 

of the Agape, it was celebrated in the even- service which was to be attended by those 

ing ; and probably, therefore, evening was the whose day was spent in working with their 

time, on ordinary occasions, for the meeting hand*. 4 See note on 1 Thess. v. 26 



cHAP.xm. DIVISIONS IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 337 

kiss of peace sometimes only veiled the hatred of warring factions. So 
St. Paul expresses to the Corinthians his grief at hearing that there were 
" divisions among them," which showed themselves when they met 
together for public worship. The earliest division of the Christian 
Church into opposing parties was caused by the Judaizing teachers, of 
whose factious efforts in Jerusalem and elsewhere we have already 
spoken. Their great object was to turn the newly-converted Christians 
into Jewish proselytes, who should differ from other Jews only in the 
recognition of Jesus as the Messiah. In their view the natural posterity 
of Abraham were still as much as ever the theocratic nation, entitled to 
God's exclusive favor, to which the rest of mankind could only be admit- 
ted by becoming Jews. Those members of this party who were really sin- 
cere believers in Christianity, probably expected that the majority of their 
countrymen, finding their own national privileges thus acknowledged and 
maintained by the Christians, would on their part more willingly 
acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah ; and thus they fancied that the 
Christian Church would gain a larger accession of members than could 
ever accrue to it from isolated Gentile converts : so that they probably 
justified their opposition to St. Paul on grounds not only of Jewish but 
of Christian policy ; for they imagined that by his admission of uncir- 
cumcised Gentiles into the full membership of the Church he was repel- 
ling far more numerous converts of Israelitish birth, who would otherwise 
have accepted the doctrine of Jesus. This belief (which in itself, and 
seen from their point of view, in that age, was not unreasonable) might 
have enabled them to excuse to their consciences, as Christians, the bit- 
terness of their opposition to the great Christian Apostle. But in consid- 
ering them as a party, we must bear in mind that they felt themselves 
more Jews than Christians. They acknowledged Jesus of Nazareth as 
the promised Messiah, and so far they were distinguished from the rest 
of their countrymen ; but the Messiah himself, they thought, was only a 
" Saviour of His people Israel : " and they ignored that true meaning of 
the ancient prophecies, which St. Paul was inspired to reveal to the 
Universal Church, teaching us that the " excellent things " which are 
spoken of the people of God, and the city of God, in the Old Testa- 
ment, are to be by us interpreted of the " household of faith," and " the 
heavenly Jerusalem." 

We have seen that the Judaizers at first insisted upon the observance of 
the law of Moses, and especially of circumcision, as an absolute requisite 
for admission into the Church, " saying, Except ye be circumcised after 
the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." But after the decision of the 
" Council of Jerusalem " it was impossible for them to require this con- 
dition ; they therefore altered their tactics, and as the decrees of the 



383 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

Council seemed to assume that the Jewish Christians would continue to 
observe the Mosiac Law, the Judaizers took advantage of this to insist 
on the necessity of a separation between those who kept the whole Law 
and all others ; they taught that the uncircumcised were in a lower con- 
dition as to spiritual privileges, and at a greater distance from God ; and 
that only the circumcised converts were in a state of full acceptance with 
Him : iii short, they kept the Gentile converts who would not submit to 
circumcision on the same footing as the proselytes of the gate, and treated 
the circumcised alone as proselytes of righteousness. When we compre- 
hend all that was involved in this, we can easily understand the energetic 
opposition with which their teaching was met by St. Paul. It was no 
mere question of outward observance, no matter of indifference (as it 
might at first sight appear), whether the Gentile converts were circum- 
cised or not ; on the contrary, the question at stake was nothing less than 
this, whether Christians should be merely a Jewish sect under the bondage 
of a ceremonial law, and only distinguished from other Jews by believing 
that Jesus was the Messiah, or whether they should be the Catholic 
Church of Christ, owing no other allegiance but to him, freed from the 
bondage of the letter, and bearing the seal of their inheritance no longer 
in their bodies, but in their hearts. We can understand now the full 
truth of his indignant remonstrance, " If ye be circumcised, Christ shall 
profit you nothing." And we can understand also the exasperation which 
his teaching must have produced in those who held the very antithesis 
of this, namely, that Christianity without circumcision was utterly worth- 
less. Hence their long and desperate struggle to destroy the influence 
of St. Paul in every Church which he founded or visited, in Antioch, in 
Galatia, in Corinth, in Jerusalem, and in Rome. For as he was in truth 
the great prophet divinely commissioned to reveal the catholicity of the 
Christian Church, so he appeared to them the great apostate, urged by 
the worst motives l to break down the fence and root up the hedge, which 
separated the heritage of the Lord from a godless world. 

We shall not be surprised at their success in creating divisions in the 
Churches to which they came, when we remember that the nucleus of all 
those Churches was a body of converted Jews and proselytes. The Ju- 
daizing emissaries were ready to flatter the prejudices of this influential 
body ; nor did they abstain (as we know both from tradition and from his 
own letters) from insinuating the most scandalous charges against their 

1 That curious apocryphal book, the Clem- Peter to James. The English reader should 
entine Recognitions, contains, in a modified consult the interesting remams of Prof. Stan- 
form, a record of the view taken by the Juda- ley on the Clementines (Stanley's Seitnons, 
izers of St. Paul, from the pen of the Judaiz- p. 374, &c), and also Neander's Church History 
ing party itself, in the pretended epistle of ( American translation, vol. ii. p. 35, &c). 



CHAP.xm. DIVISIONS IN THE PBTMITIVE CHUECH 389 

great opponent. 1 And thus, in every Christian church established >w St. 
Paul, there sprang up, as we shall see, a schismatic party, opposed to his 
teaching and hostile to his person. 

This great Judaizing party was of course subdivided into various sec- 
tions, united in their main object, but distinguished by minor shades of 
difference. Thus, we find at Corinth that it comprehended two factions, 
the one apparently distinguished from the other by a greater degree of 
violence. The more moderate called themselves the followers of Peter, 
or rather of Cephas, for they preferred to use his Hebrew name. 2 These 
dwelt much upon our Lord's special promises to Peter, and the necessary 
inferiority of St. Paul to him who was divinely ordained to be the rock 
whereon the Church should be built. They insinuated that St. Paul felt 
doubts about his own Apostolic authority, and did not dare to claim the 
right of maintenance, 3 which Christ had expressly given to His true 
Apostles. They also depreciated him as a maintainer of celibacy, and 
contrasted him in this respect with the great Pillars of the Church, " the 
brethren of the Lord and Cephas," who were married. 4 And no doubt 
they declaimed against the audacity of a converted persecutor, " born 
into the Church out of due time," in "withstanding to the face" the 
chief of the Apostles. A still more violent section called themselves, by 
a strange misnomer, the party of Christ. 5 These appear to have laid 
great stress upon the fact, that Paul had never seen or known our Lord 
while on earth ; and they claimed for themselves a peculiar connection 
with Christ, as having either been among the number of Hk disciples, or 
at least as being in close connection with the " brethren of the Lord," and 
especially with James, the head of the Church at Jerusalem. To this 
subdivision probably belonged the emissaries who professed to come " from 
James," 6 and who created a schism in the Church of Antioch. 

Connected to a certain extent with the Judaizing party, but yet to be 
carefully distinguished from it, were fhose Christians who are known in 
the New Testament as the " weak brethren." 7 These were not a factious 
or schismatic party ; nay, they were not, properly speaking, a party at all. 



1 We learn from Epiphanius that the Ebi- tion of the "Christ" party (1 Cor. i. 12). 
onites accused St. Paul of renouncing Juda- As to the views held by some eminent core 
ism because he was a rejected candidate for mentators on the passage, it is a question 
the hand of the High Priest's daughter. See whether they are consistent with 2 Cor. x. 7. 
p. 91. Surely St. Paul would never have said, "Am 

2 The MS. reading is Cephas, not Peter, in those who claim some imaginary communion 
those passages where the language of the with Christ belong to Christ, so also do I 
Judaizers is referred to. See note on Gal. i. 18. belong to Christ." 

3 1 Cor. ix. 4, 6 ; 2 Cor. xi- 9, 10. 6 Gal. ii. 12. 

4 1 Cor. ix. 5. 7 Rom. xiv. 1,2; Rom. xv. 1 ; 1 Cor. vui 



5 



Such appears the most natural explana- 7, ix. 22. 



390 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xin. 

They were individual converts of Jewish extraction, whose minds were 
not as yet sufficiently enlightened to comprehend the fulness of " the 
liberty with which Christ had made them free." Their conscience was 
sensitive, and filled with scruples, resulting from early habit and old 
prejudices ; but they did not join in the violence of the Judaizing bigots, 
and there was even a danger lest they should be led, by the example of 
their more enlightened brethren, to wound their own conscience, by join- 
ing in acts which they, in their secret hearts, thought wrong. Nothing is 
more beautiful than the tenderness and sympathy which St. Paul shows 
towards these weak Christians. While he plainly sets before them their 
mistake, and shows that their prejudices result from ignorance, yet he has 
no sterner rebuke for them than to express his confidence in their further 
enlightenment : " If in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal 
this also unto you." * So great is his anxiety lest the liberty which they 
witnessed in others should tempt them to blunt the delicacy of their 
moral feeling, that he warns his more enlightened converts to abstain 
from lawful indulgences, lest they cause the weak to stumble. " If meat 
make my brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world standeth, 
lest I make my brother to offend." 2 "Brethren, ye have been called 
unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love 
serve one another." 3 " Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ 
died." 4 

These latter warnings were addressed by St. Paul to a party very differ- 
ent from those of whom we have previously spoken ; a party who called 
themselves (as we see from his epistle to Corinth) by his own name, and 
professed to follow his teaching, yet were not always animated by his 
spirit. There was an obvious danger lest the opponents of the Judaizing 
section of the Church should themselves imitate one of the errors of 
their antagonists, by combining as partisans rather than as Christians. 
St. Paul feels himself necessitated to remind them that the very idea of 
the Catholic Church excludes all party combinations from its pale, and 
that adverse factions, ranging themselves under human leaders, involve a 
contradiction to the Christian name. " Is Christ divided ? was Paul 
crucified for you ? or were you baptized into the name of Paul ? " " Who, 
then, is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed ? " 5 

The Pauline party (as they called themselves) appear to have ridiculed 
the scrupulosity of their less enlightened brethren, and to have felt for 
them a contempt inconsistent with the spirit of Christian love. 6 And in 

1 Phil. iii. 15. 8 1 Cor. i. 13, and 1 Cor. iii. 5. 

2 1 Cor. viii. 13. 6 Rom. xiv. 10. " Why dost thou despise 

3 Gal. v. 13. thy brother? " is a question addressed to this 

4 Eom. xiv. 15. party. 



CHAP.xm. DIVISIONS IN THE PEIMITIVE CHUKOT. 391 

their opposition to the Judaizers, they showed a bitterness of feeling ana 
violence of action, 1 too like that of their opponents. Some of them, also, 
were inclined to exult over the fall of God's ancient people, and to glory 
in their own position, as though it had been won by superior merit. 
These are rebuked by St. Paul for their " boasting," and warned against 
its consequences. " Be not high-minded, but fear ; for if God spared not 
the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.' 1 2 One sec- 
tion of this party seems to have united these errors with one still more 
dangerous to the simplicity of the Christian faith ; they received Chris- 
tianity more in an intellectual than a moral aspect ; not as a spiritual 
religion, so much as a new system of . philosophy. This was a phase of 
error most likely to occur among the disputatious 3 reasoners who 
abounded in the great Greek cities ; and, accordingly, we find the first 
trace of its existence at Corinth. There it took a peculiar form, in con- 
sequence of the arrival of Apollos as a Christian teacher, soon after the 
departure of St. Paul. He was a Jew of Alexandria, and as such had 
received that Grecian cultivation, and acquired that familiarity with 
Greek philosophy, which distinguished the more learned Alexandrian 
Jews. Thus he was able to adapt his teaching to the taste of his philos- 
ophizing hearers at Corinth far more than St. Paul could do ; and, 
indeed, the latter had purposely abstained from even attempting this at 
Corinth. 4 Accordingly, the School which we have mentioned called 
themselves the followers of Apollos, and extolled his philosophic views, in 
opposition to the simple and unlearned simplicity which they ascribed to 
the style of St. Paul. It is easy to perceive in the temper of this portion 
of the Church the germ of that rationalizing tendency which afterwards 
developed itself into the Greek element of Gnosticism. Already, indeed, 
although that heresy was not yet invented, some of the worst opinions of 
the worst Gnostics found advocates among those who called themselves 
Christians ; there was, even now, a party in the Church which defended 
fornication 5 on theory, and which denied the resurrection of the dead. 6 
These heresies probably originated with those who (as we have observed) 
embraced Christianity as a new philosophy ; some of whom attempted,, 
with a perverted ingenuity, to extract from its doctrines a justification of 
the immoral life to which they were addicted. Thus, St. Paul had taught 
that the law was dead to true Christians ; meaning thereby, that those 
who were penetrated by the Holy Spirit, and made one with Christ, 
worked righteousness, not in consequence of a law of precepts and penal- 

1 See the admonitions addressed to the 8 The "disputers of this world," 1 Cor. i„. 
" spiritual" in Gal. v. 13, 14, 26, and Gal. vi. 20. * 1 Cor. ii. 1. 
1-5. 5 See 1 Cor. vi. 9-20. 

2 Rom. xi. 17-22 6 See 1 Cor. xv. 12. 



392 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xiii. 

ties, but through the necessary operation of the spiritual principle within 
them. For, as the law against theft might be said to be dead to a rich 
man (because he would feel no temptation to break it), so the whole 
moral law would be dead to a perfect Christian ; 1 hence, to a real Chris- 
tian, it might in one sense be truly said that prohibitions were abolished. 2 
But the heretics of whom we are speaking took this proposition in a sense 
the very opposite to that which it really conveyed ; and whereas St. Paul 
taught that prohibitions were abolished for the righteous, they maintained 
that all things were lawful to the wicked. " The law is dead " 3 was their 
motto, and their practice was what the practice of Antinomians in all 
ages has been. " Let us continue in sin, that grace may abound," was 
their horrible perversion of the Evangelical revelation that God is love. 
" In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircum- 
cision." 4 " The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." 5 " Meat com- 
mendeth us not to God ; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we 
eat not are we the worse ; " 6 " the kingdom of God is not meat and 
drink." 7 Such were the words in which St. Paul expressed the great 
truth, that religion is not a matter of outward ceremonies, but of inward 
life. But these heretics caught up the words, and inferred that all out- 
ward acts were indifferent, and none could be criminal. They advocated 
the most unrestrained indulgence of the passions, and took for their 
maxim the worst precept of Epicurean atheism, " Let us eat and drink, 
for to-morrow we die." It is in the wealthy and vicious cities of Pome 
and Corinth that we find these errors first manifesting themselves ; and 
in the voluptuous atmosphere of the latter it was not unnatural that there 
should be some who would seek in a new religion an excuse for their old 
vices, and others who would easily be led astray by those " evil communi- 
cations " whose corrupting influence the Apostle himself mentions as the 
chief source of this mischief. 

The Resurrection of the Dead was denied in the same city and by the 
same 8 party ; nor is it strange that as the sensual Felix trembled when 
Paul preached to him of the judgment to come, so these profligate cavil- 
lers shrank from the thought of that tribunal before which account must 
be given of the things done in the body. Perhaps, also (as some have 
inferred from St. Paul's refutation of these heretics), they had misunder- 



1 This state would be perfectly realized if 2 Compare 1 Tim. i. 9, — " the Law is not 

the renovation of heart were complete ; and it made for a righteous man." 
is practically realized in proportion as the 3 " All things are lawful unto me," 1 Cor. 

Christian's spiritual union with Christ ap- vi. 12. 4 Gal. v. 6. 

proaches its theoretic standard. Perhaps it 5 2 Cor. iii. 6. 6 1 Cor. viii. 8. 

■was perfectly realized by St. Paul when he 7 Rom. xiv. 17. 

^wrote Gal. ii. 20. 8 This is proved by 1 Cor. xv 35. 



CHAP.xm. HERESIES IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 393 

stood the Christian doctrine, which teaches us to believe in the resurrec- 
tion of a spiritual body, as though it had asserted the re-animation of 
" this vile body " of " flesh and blood," which " cannot inherit the king- 
dom of God ; " or it is possible that a materialistic philosophy 1 led them 
to maintain that when the body had crumbled away in the grave, or been 
consumed on the funeral pyre, nothing of the man remained in being. 
In either case, they probably explained away the doctrine of the Res- 
urrection as a metaphor, similar to that employed by St. Paul when he 
says that baptism is the resurrection of the new convert ; 2 thus they 
would agree with those later heretics (of whom were Hymenasus and 
Philetus) who taught " that the Resurrection was past already." 

Hitherto we have spoken of those divisions and heresies which appear 
to have sprung up in the several Churches founded by St. Paul at the 
earliest period of their history, almost immediately after their conversion. 
Beyond this period we are not yet arrived in St. Paul's life ; and from 
his conversion even to the time of his imprisonment, his conflict was 
mainly with Jews or Judaizers. But there were other forms of error 
which harassed his declining years ; and these we will now endeavor 
(although anticipating the course of our biography) shortly to describe, 
so that it may not be necessary afterwards to revert to the subject, and 
at the same time that particular cases, which will meet us in the Episiles, 
may be understood in their relation to the general religious aspect of 
the time. 

We have seen that, in the earliest epoch of the Church, there were 
two elements of error which had already shown themselves ; namely, 
the bigoted, exclusive, and superstitious tendency, which was of Jewish 
origin ; and the pseudo-philosophic, or rationalizing tendency, which was 
of Grecian birth. In the early period of which we have hitherto spoken, 
and onwards till the time of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, the first 
of these tendencies was the principal source of danger ; but after this, as 
the Church enlarged itself, and the number of Gentile converts more and 
more exceeded that of Jewish Christians, the case was altered. The 
catholicity of the Church became an established fact, and the Judaizers, 
properly so called, ceased to exist as an influential party anywhere except 
in Palestine. Yet still, though the Jews were forced to give up their 
exclusiveness, and to acknowledge the uncircumcised as " fellow-heirs 
and of the same body," their superstition remained, and became a 
fruitful source of mischief. On the other hand, those who sought for 
nothing more in Christianity than a new philosophy, were naturally 

1 If this were the case, we must suppose Gnostics, who denied the Resurrection, 
them to have been of Epicurean tendencies, 2 q \, jj, 12. Compare Rom. vi. 4. 

and, so far, different from the later Platonizing 



394 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xux. 

increased in number, in proportion as the Church gained converts from 
the educated classes ; the lecturers in the schools of Athens, the " wis- 
dom-seekers " of Corinth, the Antinomian perverters of St. Paul's 
teaching, and the Platonizmg rabbis of Alexandria, all would share in 
this tendency. The latter, indeed, as represented by the learned Philo, 
had already attempted to construct a system of Judaic Platonism, which 
explained away almost all the peculiarities of the Mosaic theology into 
accordance with the doctrines of the Academy. And thus the way was 
already paved for the introduction of that most curious amalgam of 
Hellenic and Oriental specnlation with Jewish superstition, which was 
afterwards called the Gnostic heresy. It is a disputed point at what time 
this heresy made its first appearance in the Church : some l think that it 
had already commenced in the Church of Corinth when St. Paul warned 
them to beware of the knowledge ( Gnosis) which puffeth up ; others 
maintain that it did not originate till the time of Basilides, long after 
the last Apostle had fallen asleep in Jesus. Perhaps, however, we may 
consider this as a difference rather about the definition of a term than 
the history of a sect. If we define Gnosticism to be that combination of 
Orientalism and Platonism held by the followers of Basilides or Valen- 
tinus, and refuse the title of Gnostic to any but those who adopted their 
systems, no doubt we must not place the Gnostics among the heretics of 
the Apostolic age. But if, on the other hand (as seems most natural), 
we define a Gnostic to be one who claims the possession of a peculiar 
" Gnosis " (i. e. a deep and philosophic insight into the mysteries of 
theology, unattainable by the vulgar), then it is indisputable that Gnos- 
ticism had begun when St. Paul warned Timothy against those who laid 
claim to a " knowledge QG-nosis) 2 falsely so called. And, moreover, we 
find that, even in the Apostolic age, these arrogant speculators had begun 
to blend with their Hellenic philosophy certain fragments of Jewish 
superstition, which afterwards were incorporated into the Cabala. 3 In 

1 This is the opinion of Dr. Burton, the ing'the Christian principle which recognizes 
great English authority on the Gnostic heresy. no religious distinctions between rich and poor, 
(Lectures, pp. 84, 85.) We cannot refer to learned and ignorant. (Church History, sect, 
this eminent theologian without expressing 4.) So in Hippolytus's recently-discovered 
our obligation to his writings, and our admi- " Refutation of Heresies," we find that some 
ration for that union of profound learning of the earlier Gnostics are represented as in- 
with clear good sense and candor which dis- terpreting the " good ground " in the parable 
tinguishes him. His premature death robbed of the Sower to mean the higher order of 
the Church of England of a writer, who, had intellects. 

his life been spared, would have been inferior 3 Thus the " genealogies " mentioned in 

to none of its brightest ornaments. the Pastoral Epistles were probably those 

2 Neander well observes, that the essential speculations about the emanations of spiritual 
feature in Gnosticism is its re-establishing an beings found in the Cabala ; at least, such is 
aristocracy of knowledge in religion, and reject- Burton's opinion. (Pp. 114 and 413.) And 



CHAP.xin. HEEESIES IN THE PRIMITIVE CHUECH. 395 

spite, however, of the occurrence of such Jewish elements, those heresies 
which troubled the later years of St. Paul, and afterwards of St. John, 
were essentially rather of Gentile 1 than of Jewish origin. So far as 
they agreed with the later Gnosticism, this must certainly have been the 
case, for we know that it was a characteristic of all the Gnostic sects to 
despise the Jewish Scriptures. 2 Moreover, those who laid claims to 
" Gnosis " at Corinth (as we have seen) were a Gentile party, who pro- 
fessed to adopt* St. Paul's doctrine of the abolition of the law, and per- 
verted it into Antinomianism : in short, they were the opposite extreme 
to the Judaizing party. Nor need we be surprised to find that some 
of these philosophizing heretics adopted some of the wildest super- 
stitions of the Jews ; for these very superstitions were not so much the 
natural growth of Judaism as ingrafted upon it by its Rabbinical 
corrupters and derived from Oriental sources. And there was a strong 
affinity between the neo-Platonic philosophy of Alexandria and the 
Oriental theosophy which sprang from Buddhism and other kindred 
systems, and which degenerated into the practice of magic and incanta- 
tions. 

It is not necessary, however, that we should enter into any discussion 
of the subsequent development of these errors ; our subject only re- 
quires that we give an outline of the forms which they assumed during 
the lifetime of St. Paul ; and this we can only do very imperfectly, 
because the allusions in St. Paul's writings are so few and so brief, that 
they give us but little information. Still, they suffice to show the main 
features of the heresies which he condemns, especially when we compare 
them with notices in other parts of the New Testament, and with the 
history of the Church in the succeeding century. 

We may consider these heresies, first, in their doctrinal, and, secondly, 
in their practical aspect. With regard to the former, we find that their 
general characteristic was the claim to a deep philosophical insight into 
the mysteries of religion. Thus the Colossians are warned against the 
false teachers who would deceive them by a vain affectation of " Philoso- 
phy," and who were " puffed up by a fleshly mind." (Col. ii. 8, 18.) 3 
So, in the Epistle to Timothy, St. Paul speaks of these heretics as falsely 

claiming " knowledge " (Gnosis). And in the Epistle to the Ephesians 

• 

the Angel worship at Colossae belonged to the 1 In the larger editions is an Appendix on 
same class of superstitions. It has been shown the " Heretics of the later Apostolic Age." 
by Dr. Burton (pp. 304-306), as well as by 2 Dr. Burton says: — "We find all the 
Neander and other writers, that the later Gnostics agreed in rejecting the Jewish Scrip- 
Gnostic theories of aions and emanations were tures, or at least in treating them with con- 
derived, in some measure, from Jewish sources, tempt." — P. 39. 

although the essential character of Gnosticism 3 Compare 1 Cor. viii. 1 : " Knowledge 

is entirely Anti-Judaical. {gnosis) puffeth up." 



396 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xm. 

(so called) he seems to allude to the same boastful assumption, when he 
speaks of the love of Christ as surpassing " knowledge," in a passage 
which contains other apparent allusions l to Gnostic doctrine. Connect- 
ed with this claim to a deeper insight into truth than that possessed by 
the uninitiated, was the manner in which some of these heretics explained 
away the facts of revelation by an allegorical interpretation. Thus we 
find that Hymena3us and Philetus maintained that " the Resurrection 
was past already." We have seen that a heresy apparently identical with 
this existed at a very early period in the Church of Corinth, among the 
free-thinking, or pseudo-philosophical, party there ; and all the Gnostic 
sects of the second century were united in denying the resurrection of 
the dead. 2 Again, we find the Colossian heretics introducing a worship 
of angels, " intruding into those things which they have not seen : " and 
so, in the Pastoral Epistles, the " self-styled Gnostics " (1 Tim. vi. 20) 
are occupied with " endless genealogies," which were probably fanciful 
myths, concerning the origin and emanation of spiritual beings. 3 This 
latter is one of the points in which Jewish superstition was blended with 
Gentile speculation ; for we find in the Cabala, 4 or collection of Jewish 
traditional theology, many fabulous statements concerning such emana- 
tions. It seems to be a similar superstition which is stigmatized in the 
Pastoral Epistles as consisting of " profane and old wives' fables ; " 5 and, 
again, of " Jewish fables and commandments of men." 6 The Gnostics of 
the second century adopted and systematized this theory of emanations, 
and it became one of the most peculiar and distinctive features of their 
heresy. But this was not the only Jewish element in the teaching of 
these Colossian heretics ; we find also that they made a point of conscience 
of observing the Jewish Sabbaths 7 and festivals, and they are charged 
with clinging to outward rites (Col. ii. 8, 20), and making distinctions 
between the lawfulness of different kinds of food. 



1 Eph. iii. 19. See Dr. Burton's remarks, evidence that it had been cultivated by the 
Lectures, pp. 83 and 125. Jewish doctors long before." — P. 298. [See 

2 Burton, p. 131. above, Ch. II. p. 55. — h.] 

3 See p. 394, n. 3. According to the 5 1 Tim. iv. 7. 
Cabala, there were ten Sephirolh, or emana- 6 Tit. i. 14. 

tions proceeding from God, which appear to 7 This does not prove them, however, to 

have suggested tl* Gnostic seons. Upon this have been Jews, for the superstitious Heathen 

theory was grafted a system of magic, con- were also in the habit of adopting some of 

sisting mainly of the use of Scriptural words the rites of Judaism, under the idea of their 

to produce supernatural effects. producing some magical effect upon them ; as 

4 St. Paul denounces " the tradition of we find from the Roman satirists. Compare 
men" (Col. ii. 8) as the source of these Horace, Sat. i. 9, 71 ("Hodie tricesima sab- 
errors ; and the word Cabala means tradition. ' bata," &c), and Juv. vi. 542-547. See also 
Dr. Burton says, " The Cabala had certainly some remarks on the Colossian heretics in 
grown into a system at the time of the de- our introductory remarks on the Epistle to the 
struction of Jerusalem; and there is also Colossians. 



CHAP.xm. HEEESIES IN THE PEIMITIVE CHURCH. 397 

In their practical results, these heresies which we are considering had 
a twofold direction. On one side was an ascetic tendency, such as we 
find at Colossae, showing itself by an arbitrarily invented worship of God, 1 
an affectation of self-humiliation and mortification of the flesh. So, in 
the Pastoral Epistles, we find the prohibition of marriage, 2 the enforced 
abstinence from food, and other bodily mortifications, mentioned as 
characteristics of heresy. 3 If this asceticism originated from the Jewish 
element which has been mentioned above, it may be compared with the 
practice of the Essenes, 4 whose existence shows that such asceticism was 
not inconsistent with Judaism, although it was contrary to the views of 
the Judaizing party properly so called. On the other hand, it may have 
arisen from that abhorrence of matter, and anxiety to free the soul from 
the dominion of the body, which distinguished the Alexandrian Plato- 
nists, and which (derived from them) became a characteristic of some of 
the Gnostic sects. 

But this asceticism was a weak and comparatively innocent form, in 
which the practical results of this incipient Gnosticism exhibited them- 
selves. Its really dangerous manifestation was derived, not from its 
Jewish, but from its Heathen element. We have seen how this showed 
itself from the first at Corinth ; how men sheltered their immoralities 
under the name of Christianity, and even justified them by a perversion 
of its doctrines. Such teaching could not fail to find a ready audience 
wherever there were found vicious lives and hardened consciences. Ac- 
cordingly, it was in the luxurious and corrupt population of Asia Minor, 5 
that this early Gnosticism assumed its worst form of immoral practice 
defended by Antinomian doctrine. Thus, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
St. Paul warns his readers against the sophistical arguments by which 
certain false teachers strove to justify the sins of impurity, and to per- 
suade them that the acts of the body could not contaminate the soul,--- 
" Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for because of these things 

i " Will-worship." — Col. ii. 23. * [See above, Ch. II. p. 32. — n.] 

2 Which certainly was the reverse of the 5 Both at Colossas and in Crete it seems 
Judaizing exaltation of marriage. to have been the Jewish form of these heresies 

3 St. Paul declares that these errors shall which predominated : at Colossae they took 
come "in the last days " (2 Tim. iii. 1); but an ascetic direction; in Crete, among a sim- 
St. John says " the last days " were come in pier and more provincial population, the false 
his time (I John ii. 18) ; and it is implied by teachers seem to have been hypocrites, who 
St. Paul's words that the evils he denounces encouraged the vices to which their followers 
were already in action ; just as he had said were addicted, and inoculated them with 
before to the Thessalonians, " the mystery of foolish superstitions (Tit. i. 14, iii. 9) ; but 
lawlessness is already working" (2 Thess. we do not find in these Epistles any mention 
ii. 7), where the peculiar expressions " lawless- of the theoretic Antinomianism which existed 
ness " and " the lawless one " seem to point to in some of the great cities. 

the Antinomian character of these heresies. 



398 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PATJL. chap. xm. 

cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." * Hy- 
menseus and Philetus are the first leaders of this party mentioned by 
name : we have seen that they agreed with the Corinthian Antinomians 
in denying the Resurrection, and they agreed with them no less in prac- 
tice than in theory. Of the first of them it is expressly said that he 2 had 
" cast away a good conscience," and of both we are told that they showed 
themselves not to belong to Christ, because they had not His seal ; this 
seal being described as twofold, — "The Lord knoweth them that are 
His," and " Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from 
iniquity." 3 St. Paul appears to imply that though they boasted their 
" knowledge of God," yet the Lord had no knowledge of them ; as our 
Saviour had himself declared that to the claims of such false disciples He 
would reply, 4 ' I never knew you ; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity" 
But in the same Epistle where these heresiarchs are condemned, St. Paul 
intimates that their principles were not yet fully developed ; he warns 
Timothy 4 that an outburst of immorality and lawlessness must be shortly 
expected within the Church beyond any thing which had yet been ex- 
perienced. The same anticipation appears in his farewell address to the 
Ephesian presbyters, and even at the early period of his Epistles to the 
Thessalonians ; and we see from the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude, 
and from the Apocalypse of St. John, all addressed (it should be remem- 
bered) to the Churches of Asia Minor, that this prophetic warning was 
soon fulfilled. We find that many Christians used their liberty as a cloak 
of maliciousness ; 5 " promising their hearers liberty, yet themselves the 
slaves of corruption ; " 6 " turning the grace of God into lasciviousness ; " 7 
that they were justly condemned by the surrounding Heathen for their 
crimes, and even suffered punishment as robbers and murderers. 8 They 
were also infamous for the practice of the pretended arts of magic and 
witchcraft, 9 which they may have borrowed either from the Jewish sooth- 
sayers 10 and exorcisers, 11 or from the Heathen professors of magical arts 
who so much abounded at the same epoch. Some of them, who are called 
the followers of Balaam in the Epistles of Peter and Jude, and the 
Nicolaitans (an equivalent name) in the Apocalypse, taught their follow- 
ers to indulge in the sensual impurities, and even in the idol-feasts, of the 

1 Eph. v. 6. See also the whole of the 6 2 Pet. ii. 19. 

warnings in Eph. v. The Epistle, though not 7 Jude 4. , 

addressed (at any rate not exclusively) to the 8 1 Pet. iv. 15. 

Ephesians, was probably sent to several other 9 Rev. ii. 20. Compare Rev. ix. 21, Rev. 

i ties in Asia Minor. xxi. 8, and Rev. xxii. 15. 

2 1 Tim. i. 19, 20. 10 Compare Juv. vi. 546: " Qualiacunque 

3 2 Tim. ii. 19. voles Judasi somnia vendunt." [See above 
* 2 Tim. iii. Ch. V. pp. 132, 133. — H.] 

» 1 Pet. ii. 16. u See Acts xix. 13. 



CHAP.xm. HEEESIES IN THE PKIMITIVE CHURCH. 399 

Heathen. 1 We find, moreover, that these false disciples, with their 
licentiousness in morals, united anarchy in politics, and resistance to law 
and government. They " walked after the flesh in the lust of unclean- 
ness, and despised governments." And thus they gave rise to those 
charges against Christianity itself, which were made by the Heathen 
writers of the time, whose knowledge of the new religion was naturally 
taken from those amongst its professors who rendered themselves notori- 
ous by falling under the judgment of the Law. 

When thus we contemplate the true character of these divisions and 
heresies which beset the Apostolic Church, we cannot but acknowledge 
that it needed all those miraculous gifts with which it was endowed, and 
all that inspired wisdom which presided over its organization, to ward off 
dangers which threatened to blight its growth and destroy its very exist- 
ence. In its earliest infancy, two powerful and venomous foes twined 
themselves round its very cradle ; but its strength was according to its 
day ; with a supernatural vigor it rent off the coils of Jewish bigotry and 
stifled the poisonous breath of Heathen licentiousness ; but the peril was 
mortal, and the struggle was for life or death. Had the Church's fate 
been subjected to the ordinary laws which regulate the history of earthly 
commonwealths, it could scarcely have escaped one of two opposite desti- 
nies, either of which must have equally defeated (if we may so speak) 
the world's salvation. Either it must have been cramped into a Jewish 
sect, according to the wish of the majority of its earliest members, or 
(having escaped this immediate extinction) it must have added one more 
to the innumerable schools of Heathen philosophy, subdividing into a 
hundred branches, whose votaries would some of them have sunk into 

1 Such, at least, seems the natural explana- not impute to them sin." And Epiphaniua 

tion of the words in Rev. ii. 20 ; for we can gives the most horrible details of the enor- 

scarcely suppose so strong a condemnation if mities which they practised. Again, their 

the offence had been only eating meat which addiction to magical arts was notorious. And 

had once formed part of a sacrifice. It is re- their leaders, Basilides and Valentinus, are 

markable how completely the Gnostics of the accused of acting like the Nicolaitans of the 

second century resembled these earlier heretics Apocalypse, to avoid persecution. Such ac- 

in all the points here mentioned. Their im- cusations may, no doubt, be slanders, as far ag 

morality is the subject of constant animadver- those leaders were individually concerned, 

sion in the writings of the Fathers, who tell The increased knowledge of them which we 

us that the calumnies which were cast upon have lately derived from the publication of 

the Christians by the Heathen were caused by Hippolytus's " Refutation of Heresies " leads 

the vices of the Gnostics. Ircnaeus asserts us to think of them as bold speculators, but 

that they said, " as gold deposited in mud does not as bad men. Yet we cannot doubt that 

not lose its beauty, so they themselves, what- their philosophical speculations degenerated 

ever may be their outward immorality, can- into the most superstitious thcosophy in the 

not be injured by it, nor lose their spiritual hands of their followers. And the details 

substance." And so Justin Martyr speaks of furnished by Hippolytus prove that many of 

heretics, who said " that though they live sin- the Gnostics fully deserved the charges of 

ful lives, yet, if they know God, the Lord will immorality commonly brought against them. 



400 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xih. 

Oriental superstitions, others into Pagan voluptuousness. If we need 
any proof how narrowly the Church escaped this latter peril, we have 
only to look at the fearful power of Gnosticism in the succeeding century. 
A Kid, indeed, the more we consider the elements of which every Christian 
community was originally composed, the more must we wonder how 
the little flock of the wise and good 1 could have successfully resisted the 
overwhelming contagion of folly and wickedness. In every city the 
nucleus of the Church consisted of Jews and Jewish proselytes ; on this 
foundation was superadded a miscellaneous mass of Heathen converts, 
almost exclusively from the lowest classes, baptized, indeed, into the name 
of Jesus, but still with all the habits of a life of idolatry and vice cling- 
ing to them. How was it, then, that such a society could escape the two 
temptations which assailed it just at the time when they were most likely 
to be fatal ? While as yet the Jewish element preponderated, a fanatical 
party, commanding almost necessarily the sympathies of the Jewish por- 
tion of the society, made a zealous and combined effort to reduce 
Christianity to Judaism, and subordinate the Church to the Synagogue. 
Over their great opponent, the one Apostle of the Gentiles, they won a 
temporary triumph, and saw him consigned to prison and to death. How 
was it that the very hour of their victory was the epoch from which we 
date their failure? Again, — this stage is passed, — the Church is 
thrown open to the Gentiles, and crowds flock in, some attracted by 
wondeu at the miracles they see, some by hatred of the government under 
which they live, and by hopes that they may turn the Church into an 
organized conspiracy against law and order ; and even the best, as yet 
unsettled in their faith, and ready to exchange their new belief for a 
newer, " carried about with every wind of doctrine." At such an epoch, 
a systematic theory is devised, reconciling the profession of Christianity 
with the practice of immorality ; its teachers proclaim that Christ has 
freed them from the law, and that the man who has attained true spiritual 
enlightenment is above the obligations of outward morality ; and with 
this seducing philosophy for the Gentile they readily combine the Caba- 
listic superstitions of Rabbinical tradition to captivate the Jew. Who 
could wonder if, when such incendiaries applied their torch to such mate- 
rials, a flame burst forth which well-nigh consumed the fabric ? Surely 
that day of trial was " revealed in fire," and the building which was able 
to abide the flame was nothing less than the temple of God. 

It is painful to be compelled to acknowledge among the Christians 
of the Apostolic Age the existence of so many forms of error and sin. 
It was a pleasing dream which represented the primitive church as a 

1 Whom St. Paul calls "perfect" (Phil. iii. 15), I e. mature in the knowledge of Christian 
truth. 






chap. xm. 



HERESIES IK THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 



401 



society of angels ; and it is not without a struggle that we bring our- 
selves to open our eyes and behold the reality. But yet it is a higher 
feeling which bids us thankfully recognize the truth that " there is no 
partiality with God ; " * that He has never supernaturally coerced any 
generation of mankind into virtue, nor rendered schism and heresy 
impossible in any age of the Church. So St. Paul tells his converts 2 
that there must needs be heresies among them, that the good may be 
tried and distinguished from the bad ; implying that, without the possi- 
bility of a choice, there would be no test of faith or holiness. And so 
our Lord Himself compared His Church to a net cast into the sea, 
which gathered fish of all kinds, both good and bad ; nor was its purity 
to be attained by the exclusion of evil, till the end should come. There- 
fore, if we sigh, as well we may, for the realization of an ideal which 
Scripture paints to us and imagination embodies, but which our eyes 
seek for and cannot find ; if we look vainly and with earnest longings 
for the appearance of that glorious Church, " without spot or wrinkle 
or any such thing," the fitting bride of a heavenly spouse; — it may 
calm our impatience to recollect that no such Church has ever existed 
upon earth, while yet we do not forget that it has existed and does 
exist in heaven. In the very lifetime of the Apostles, no less than 
now, " the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the mani- 
festation of the sons of God ; " miracles did not convert ; inspira- 
tion did not sanctify ; then, as now, imperfection and evil clung to the 
members, and clogged the energies of the kingdom of God ; now, as 
then, Christians are fellow-heirs, and of the same body with the spirits 
of just men made perfeet ; now, as then, the communion of saints unites 
into one family the Church militant with the Church triumphant. 




Coin of Corinth. 3 



1 Actsx 34. 

2 1 Cor. xi. 19. 

8 The figures on the right and left represent 

26 



the eastern and western harbors of Corinth, 
which is symbolized by the female figure on a 
rock in the centre. See p. 360. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Departure from Antioch. — St. Paul's Companions. — Journey through Phrygia and Galatia. — > 
Apollos at Ephesus and Corinth. — Arrival of St. Paul at Ephesus. — Disciples of John the 
Baptist. — The Synagogue. — The School of Tyrannus. — Ephesian Magic. — Miracles.— 
The Exorcists. — Burning of the Books. 

THE next period of St. Paul's life opens with a third journey through 
the interior of Asia Minor. 1 In the short stay which he had made 
at Ephesus on his return from his second journey, he had promised to 
come again to that city, if the providence of God should allow it. This 
promise he was enabled to fulfil, after a hasty visit to the metropolis of 
the Jewish nation, and a longer sojourn in the first metropolis of the 
Gentile Church. 3 

It would lead us into long and useless discussions, if we were to 
speculate on the time spent at Antioch, and the details of the Apostle's 
occupation in the scene of his early labors. We have already stated our 
reasons for believing that the discussions which led to the Council at 
Jerusalem, took place at an earlier period, 4 as well as the quarrel between 
St. Peter and St. Paul concerning the propriety of concession to the 
Judaizers. 5 But without knowing the particular form of the controver- 
sies brought before him, or the names of those Christian teachers with 
whom he conferred, we have seen enough to make us aware that immi- 
nent dangers from the Judaizing party surrounded the Church, and that 
Antioch was a favorable place for meeting the machinations of this party, 
as well as a convenient starting-point for a journey undertaken to 
strengthen those communities that were likely to be invaded by false 
teachers from Judaea. 

It is evident that it was not St. Paul's only object to proceed with all 
haste to Ephesus : nor indeed is it credible that he could pass through 
the regions of Cilicia and Lycaonia, Phrygia and Galatia, without 
remaining to confirm those Churches which he had founded himself, and 

1 Acts xriii. 23. 6 Neander is inclined to assign the misun- 

2 lb. 21. See pp. 368, 369. derstanding of the two Apostles to this time. 

3 See the end of Ch. XII. So Olshausen. See p. 198. 

4 See Appendix I. for the answers to Wie- 
seler's arguments on this subject. 

402 



chap. xiv. ST. PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY IN ASIA MINOR. 403 

some of which he had visited twice. We are plainly told that his journey 
was occupied in this work, and the few words which refer to this subject 
imply a systematic visitation. 1 He would be the more anxious to estab- 
lish them in the true principles of the Gospel, in proportion as he was 
aware of the widely-spreading influence of the Judaizers. Another 
specific object, not unconnected with the healing of divisions, was before 
him during the whole of this missionary journey, — a collection for the 
relief of the poor Christians in Judaea. 2 It had been agreed, at the meet- 
ing of the Apostolic Council (G-al. ii. 9, 10), that while some should go 
to the Heathen, and others to the Circumcision, the former should care- 
fully " remember the poor ; " and this we see St. Paul, on the present 
journey among the Gentile Churches, " forward to do." We even know 
the "order which he gave to the Churches of Galatia" (1 Cor. xvi. 1, 
2). He directed that each person should lay by in store, on the first day 
of the week, according as God had prospered him, that the collection 
should be deliberately made, and prepared for an opportunity of being 
taken to Jerusalem. 

We are not able to state either the exact route which St. Paul followed, 
or the names of the companions by whom he was attended. As regards 
the latter subject, however, two points may be taken for granted, that 
Silas ceased to be, and that Timotheus continued to be, an associate of 
the Apostle. It is most probable that Silas remained behind in Jerusa- 
lem, whence he had first accompanied Barnabas with the Apostolic letter, 3 
and where, on the first mention of his name, he is stated to have held a 
leading position in the Church. 4 He is not again mentioned in connec- 
tion with the Apostle of the Gentiles. 5 The next place in Scripture 
where his name occurs is in the letter of the Apostle of the Circumcision 
(1 Pet. v. 12), which is addressed to the strangers scattered throughout 
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. There, " Silvanus " is 
spoken of as one not unknown to the persons addressed, but as " a faith- 
ful brother unto them ; " — by him the letter was sent which " exhorted" 
the Christians in the north and west of Asia Minor, and " testified that 
that was the true grace of God wherein they stood;" — and the same 
disciple is seen, on the last mention of his name, as on the first, to be 
co-operating for the welfare of the Church, both with St. Peter and St. 
Paul. 6 

1 Acts xviii. 23. Notice the phrase "in 8 Seep. 198. 4 Acts xv. 22. 
order." 5 His name is in the salutation in the 

2 The steady pursuance of this object in Epistles to the Thessalonians, but not in any 
the whole course of this journey may be subsequent letters. Compare 2 Cor. i. 19. 
traced through the following passages : 1 Cor. 6 Compare again the account of the Coun- 
xvi. 1-4 ; 2 Cor. viii., ix. ; Rom. xv. 25, 26 ; cil of Jerusalem and the mission of Silas and 
Acts xxiv. 17. Barnabas. 



404 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xir. 

It may be considered, on the other hand, probable, if not certain, that 
Timotheus was with the Apostle through the whole of this journey. 
Abundant mention of him is made, both in the Acts and the Epistles, in 
connection with St. Paul's stay at Ephesus, and his subsequent move- 
ments. 1 Of the other companions who were undoubtedly with him at 
Ephesus, we cannot say with confidence whether they attended him from 
Antioch, or joined him afterwards at some other point. But Erastus 
(Acts xix. 22) may have remained with him since the time of his first 
visit to Corinth, and Caius and Aristarchus (Acts xix. 29) since the 
still earlier period of his journey through Macedonia. 2 Perhaps we have 
stronger reasons for concluding that Titus, who, though not mentioned 
in the Acts, 3 was certainly of great service in the second missionary 
journey, travelled with Paul and Timotheus through the earlier part of 
it. In the frequent mention which is made of him in the Second Epistle 
to the Corinthians, he appears as the Apostle's laborious minister, and as 
a source of his consolation and support, hardly less strikingly than the 
disciple whom he had taken on the previous journey from Lystra and 
Iconium. 4 

Whatever might be the exact route which the Apostle followed from 
Antioch to Ephesus, he would certainly, as we have said, revisit those 
Churches which twice 5 before had known him as their teacher. He 
would pass over the Cilician plain on the warm southern shore, 6 and the 
high table-land of Lycaonia on the other side of the Pass of Taurus. 7 He 
would see once more his own early home on the banks of the Cydnus ; 8 
and Timothy would be once more in the scenes of his childhood at the 
base of the Kara-Dagh. 9 After leaving Tarsus, the cities of Derbe, 
Lystra, and Iconium, possibly also Antioch in Pisidia, 10 would be the 
primary objects in the Apostle's progress. Then we come to Phrygia 



1 See Acts xix. 22; 1 Cor. iv. 17, xvi. 10; mentary; but it has been put forth indepen 
2 Cor. i. 1 ; Rom. xvi. 21 ; Acts xx. 4. dently, and more fully elaborated by Mr. 

2 See Tate, pp. 52, 53. Lightfoot in the Cambridge Journal of Classical 

3 Wieseler, indeed, identifies him with Jus- and Sacred Philology (June, 1855). 

tus, who is mentioned xviii. 7. See Appen- 5 He had been in Lycaonia on the first and 

dix I. second missionary journeys, in Cilicia on the 

4 If we compare 2 Cor. xii. 18 with 1 Cor. second; but he had previously been there at 
xvi. 11, 12, it is natural to infer that the least once since his conversion. 

bearers of the First Epistle (from Ephesus to 6 See p. 20, and the allusions to the climate 

Corinth) were Titus, and some brother, who is in Ch. VI. and Ch. VIII. 

unnamed, but probably identical with one of 7 See again Ch. VI. and Ch. VIII. for Ly« 

the two brethren sent on the subsequent mission caonia and Mount Taurus. 

(2 Cor. viii. 16-24), and with the Second 8 See pp. 21 and 46. 

Epistle (from Macedonia to Corinth). See 9 See Ch. VI. and VIII., with the map on 

also 2 Cor. viii. 6. This view is advocated by p. 167, and the engraving on p. 226. 

Prof. Stanley in his recently published Com- 10 See p. 232. 



chap. xiv. APOLLOS AT EPHESUS. 405 

and Galatia, both vague and indeterminate districts, which he had visited 
once, 1 and through which, as before, we cannot venture to lay down a 
route. 2 Though the visitation of the Churches was systematic, we need 
not conclude that the same exact course was followed. Since the order 
in which the two districts are mentioned is different from that in the 
former instance, 3 we are at liberty to suppose that he travelled first from 
Lycaonia through Cappadocia 4 into Galatia, and then by Western 
Phrygia to the coast of the iEgean. In this last part of his progress we 
are in still greater doubt as to the route, and one question of interest is 
involved in our opinion concerning it. The great road from Ephesus by 
Iconium to the Euphrates passed along the valley of the Maeander, and 
near the cities of Laodicea, Colossas and Hierapolis ; and we should 
naturally suppose that the Apostle would approach the capital of Asia 
along this well-travelled line. 5 But the arguments are so strong for 
believing that St. Paul was never personally at Colossse, 6 that it is safer 
to imagine him following some road farther to the north, such as that, 
for instance, which, after passing near Thyatira, entered the valley of the 
Hermus at Sardis. 7 

Thus, then, we may conceive the Apostle arrived at that region, where 
he was formerly in hesitation concerning his future progress, 8 — the 
frontier district of Asia and Phrygia, 9 the mountains which contain the 
upper waters 10 of the Hermus and Masander. And now our attention is 
suddenly called away to another preacher of the Gospel, whose name, 
next to that of the Apostles, is perhaps the most important in the early 
history of the Church. There came at this time to Ephesus, either 
directly from Egypt by sea, as Aquila or Priscilla from Corinth, or by 

1 Acts xvi. 6. 2 See Ch. VIII. of Hamilton's travels. See especially ch. viii. 

2 Compare Acts xvi. 6 with xviii. 23. In -x., xxviii.-xl. ; also li., lii., and especially 
both cases we should observe that the phrase vol. i. pp. 135, 149. We may observe that, on 
"region (or country) of Galatia" is used. one of his journeys, neai-ly in the dii*ection in 
The Greek in each passage is the same. See which St. Paul was moving, he crossed the 
what is said on the expression " Churches of mountains from near Afium Kara Hissar 
Galatia," p. 234. (Synnada) to visit Yalobatch (Antioch in Pisi- 

4 This is Wieseler's view. Por the prov- dia). The Apostle might easily do the same, 
ince of Cappadocia, see p. 214. The district 8 Acts xvi. 6-8. 

is mentioned Acts ii. 9, and 1 Pet. i. 1. 9 See description of this district on p. 239. 

5 See pp. 232-234. 10 This part of the table-land of the interior 

6 From Col. ii. 1 we should naturally infer is what is meant by " the higher districts," 
that St. Paul had never been personally among Acts xix. 1. It is needless to say that the word 
the Colossians. Compare Col. i. 4, 7, 8, and " coasts " in the Authorized Version has no 
our note below on Col. ii. 1. A full discus- reference to the sea. Herodotus uses a similar 
sion of the subject will be found in Dr. David- expression of this region, i. 177. Even Paley 
son's Introduction. makes a curious mistake here, I y taking 

7 The characteristic scenery of the Mcean- "upper" in the sense of "northern." Hor. 
der and Hermus is described in several parts Paul. 1 Cor. No. 5. 



406 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xiv. 

some route through the intermediate countries, like that of St. Paul him- 
self, a " disciple " named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. This visit 
occurred at a critical time, and led to grave consequences in reference to 
the establishment of Christian truth, and the growth of parties in the 
Church ; while the religious community (if so it may be called) to which 
he belonged at the time of his arrival, furnishes us with one of the most 
interesting links between the Gospels and the Acts. 1 

Apollos, 2 along with twelve others, 3 who are soon afterwards mentioned 
at Ephesus, was acquainted with Christianity only so far as it had been 
made known by John the Baptist. They " knew only the baptism of 
John." 4 From the great part which was acted by the forerunner of 
Christ in the first announcement of the Gospel, and from the effect pro- 
duced on the Jewish nation by his appearance, and the number of dis- 
ciples who came to receive at his hands the baptism of repentance, we 
should expect some traces of his influence to appear in the subsequent 
period, during which the Gospel was spreading beyond Judaea. Many 
Jews from other countries received from the Baptist their knowledge .of 
the Messiah, and carried with them this knowledge on their return from 
Palestine. We read of an heretical sect, at a much later period, who held 
John the Baptist to have been himself the Messiah. 5 But in a position 
intermediate between this deluded party, and those who were travelling 
as teachers of the full and perfect Gospel, there were doubtless many, 
among the floating Jewish population of the Empire, whose knowledge 
of Christ extended only to that which had been preached on the banks of 
the Jordan. That such persons should be found at Ephesus, the natural 
meeting-place of all religious sects and opinions, is what we might have 
supposed a priori. Their own connection with Judaea, or the connection 
of their teachers with Judaea, had been broken before the day of Pente- 
cost. Thus their Christianity was at the same point at which it had stood 
at the commencement of our Lord's ministry. They were ignorant of 
the full meaning of the death of Christ ; possibly they did not even know 
the fact of His resurrection ; and they were certainly ignorant of the 
mission of the Comforter. 6 But they knew that the times of the Messiah 
were come, and that one had appeared 7 in whom the prophecies were 

1 See the excellent remarks of Olshausen 3 See Acts xix. 1-7. 

on the whole narrative concerning Apollos 4 Acts xviii. 25. Compare xix. 3. 

and the other disciples of John the Baptist. 5 The Zabeans. So in the Clementine 

2 Winer remarks that this abbreviated Recognitions are mentioned some " of John's 
form of the name Apollonius is found in Sozo- disciples, who preached their master as though 
men. It is, however, very rare ; and it is he were Christ." 

worth observing that among the terra-cottas 6 Acts xix. 2. 

discovered at Tarsus (described p. 221, n. 4) is 7 Kuinoel thinks they were not even aware 

a circular disk which has the name AlIOAARC of Christ's appearance. 

inscribed on it in cursive Greek. 



chap. xiv. APOLLOS AT EPHESTTS. 407 

fulfilled. That voice had reached them, which cried, " Prepare ye the 
way of the Lord " (Is. xl. 3). They felt that the axe was laid to the root 
of the tree, that " the kingdom of Heaven was at hand," that " the 
knowledge of salvation was come to those that sit in darkness " (Luke i. 
77), and that the children of Israel were everywhere called to " repent." 
Such as were in this religious condition were evidently prepared for the 
full reception of Christianity, so soon as it was presented to them ; and 
we see that they were welcomed by St. Paul and the Christians at 
Ephesus as fellow-disciples l of the same Lord and Master. 

In some respects Apollos was distinguished from the other disciples of 
John the Baptist, who are alluded to at the same place, and nearly at the 
same time. There is much significance in the first fact that is stated, that 
he was " born at Alexandria." Something has been said by us already 
concerning the Jews of Alexandria, and their theological influence in the 
age of the Apostles. 2 In the establishment of a religion which was in- 
tended to be the complete fulfilment of Judaism, and to be universally 
supreme in the Gentile world, we should expect Alexandria to bear her 
part, as well as Jerusalem. The Hellenistic learning fostered by the 
foundations of the Ptolemies might be made the handmaid of the truth, 
no less than the older learning of Judaea and the schools of the Hebrews. 
As regards Apollos, he was not only an Alexandrian Jew by birth, but he 
had a high reputation for an eloquent and forcible power of speaking, and 
had probably been well trained in the rhetorical schools on the banks of 
the Nile. 3 But though he was endued with the eloquence of a Greek 
orator, the subject of his study and teaching was the Scriptures of his 
forefathers. The character which he bore in the Synagogues was that of 
a man'" mighty in the Scriptures." In addition to these advantages of 
birth and education, he seems to have had the most complete and 
systematic instruction in the Gospel which a discipie of John could 
possibly receive. 4 Whether from the Baptist himself, or from some of 
those who travelled into other lands with his teaching as their possession, 
Apollos had received full and accurate instruction in the " way of the 
Lord." We are further told that his character was marked by a fervent 
zeal 5 for spreading the truth. Thus we may conceive of him as travel- 
ling, like a second Baptist, beyond the frontiers of Judasa, — expounding 
the prophecies of the Old Testament, announcing that the times of the 
Messiah were come, and calling the Jews to repentance in the spirit of 

1 Note the word " disciples," xix. 1. "learned," inasmuch as in the same verse he 

2 See pp. 33-36. Also pp. 9, 15-17, and is called " mighty in the Scriptures." 

103. * Literally, "he was catcchctically in- 

8 The A. V. is probably correct in ren- structed in the way of the Lord/' 
dering the word " eloquent " rather than ° Acts xviii. 25. 



408 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xiy. 

Elias. 1 Hence lie was, like his great teacher, diligently " preparing the 
way of the Lord." 2 Though ignorant of the momentous facts which had 
succeeded the Resurrection and Ascension, he was turning the hearts of 
the " disobedient to the wisdom of the just," and u making ready a peo- 
ple for the Lord," 3 whom he was soon to know "more perfectly." 
Himself " a burning and a shining light," he bore witness to " that Light 
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," 4 — as, on the 
other hand, he was a " swift witness " against those Israelites whose lives 
were unholy, and came among them " to purify the sons of Levi, that 
they might offer unto the Lord, an offering in righteousness," 5 and to 
proclaim that, if they were unfaithful, God was still able " to raise up 
children unto Abraham." 6 

Thus burning with zeal, and confident of the truth of what he had 
learnt, he spoke out boldly in the Synagogue. 7 An intense interest must 
have been excited about this time concerning the Messiah in the syna- 
gogue at Ephesus. Paul had recently been there, and departed with the 
promise of return. 8 Aquila and Priscilla, though taking no forward 
part as public teachers, would diligently keep the subject of the Apostle's 
instruction before the mind of the Israelites. And now an Alexandrian 
Jew presented himself among them, bearing testimony to the same Mes- 
siah with singular eloquence, and with great power in the interpretation 
of Scripture. Thus an unconscious preparation was made for the arrival 
of the Apostle, who was even now travelling towards Ephesus through 
the uplands of Asia Minor. 

The teaching of Apollos, though eloquent, learned, and zealous, was 
seriously defective. But God had provided among his listeners those who 
could instruct him more perfectly. Aquila and Priscilla felt that he was 
proclaiming the same truth in which they had been instructed at Corinth. 
They could inform him that they had met with one who had taught with 
authority far more concerning Christ than had been known even to John 
the Baptist ; and they could recount to him the miraculous gifts, which 
attested the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Thus they attached them- 
selves closely to Apollos ; 9 and gave him complete instruction in that 
" way of the Lord," which he had already taught accurately, 10 though 

1 He was probably able to go further in erence to John the Baptist. Matt. iii. 3 j 
Christian teaching than John the Baptist Mark i. 3 ; Luke iii. 4 ; John i. 23 ; Isa. xl. 
could do, by giving an account of the life of 3 (LXX.). Compare Mai. iii. 1 (LXX.). 
Jesus Christ. So far his knowledge was 8 Luke i. 16, 17. 

accurate. Further instruction from Aquila 4 John v. 35, i. 9. 

and Priscilla made it more accurate. 5 Mai. iii. 3-5. 6 Matt. iii. 9. 

2 The phrase " way of the Lord " should 7 Acts xviii. 26. 8 See p. 369. 
he carefully compared with the passages in the 9 " They took him to themselves/' v. 26. 
liospels and Prophets, where it occurs in ref- 10 Compare v. 25 and v. 26. 



chap. xiv. APOLLOS AT CORINTH. 409 

imperfectly ; and the learned Alexandrian obtained from the tent-makers 
a knowledge of that " mystery" which the ancient Scriptures had only 
partially revealed. 

This providential meeting with Aquila and Priscilla in Asia became the 
means of promoting the spread of the Gospel in Achaia. Now that 
Apollos was made fully acquainted with the Christian doctrine, his zeal 
urged him to go where it had been firmly established by an Apostle. 1 It 
is possible, too, that some news received from Corinth might lead him to 
suppose that he could be of active service there in the cause of truth. 
The Christians of Ephesus encouraged 2 him in this intention, and gave 
him " letters of commendation" 3 to their brethren across the iEgean. 
On his arrival at Corinth, he threw himself at once among those Jews 
who had rejected St. Paul, and argued with them publicly and zealously 
on the ground of their Scriptures, 4 and thus 5 became " a valuable support 
to those who had already believed through the grace of God ; " for he 
proved with power that that Jesus who had been crucified at Jerusalem, 
and whom Paul was proclaiming throughout the world, was indeed the 
Christ. 6 Thus he watered where Paul had planted, and God gave an 
abundant increase. (1 Cor. iii. 6.) And yet evil grew up side by side 
with the good. For while he was a valuable aid to the Christians, and 
a formidable antagonist to the Jews, and while he was honestly co-ope- 
rating in Paul's great work of evangelizing the world, he became the 
occasion of fostering party-spirit among the Corinthians, and was un- 
willingly held up as a rival of the Apostle himself. In this city of rheto- 
ricians and sophists, the erudition and eloquent speaking of Apollos were 
contrasted with the unlearned simplicity with which St. Paul had studi- 
ously presented the Gospel to his Corinthian hearers. 7 Thus many 
attached themselves to the new teacher, and called themselves by the 
name of Apollos, while others ranged themselves as the party of Paul 
(1 Cor. i. 12), forgetting that Christ could not be "divided," and that 
Paul and Apollos were merely " ministers by whom they had believed." 
(1 Cor. iii. 5.) We have no reason to imagine that Apollos himself 

1 Acts xviii. 27. Christians against the Jews, in the contro- 

2 The exhortation (v. 27) may refer to versies which had doubtless been going on 
him. At all events, he was encouraged in his since St. Paul's departure. 

plan. 6 " Showing by the Scriptures that Jesus 

5 Compare what is said here in v. 27 with was Christ," v. 28. The phrase is much more 

2 Cor. iii. 1 , where the reference is to com- definite than those which are used above 

mendatory letters addressed to or from the (" the way of the Lord," and "the things of 

very same Church of Corinth. the Lord," v. 25) of the time when he was 

4 Compare in detail the expressions in v. not fully instructed. 

28 with those in vv. 24-26. 7 gee the remarks on the Corinthian parties 

5 The word " for " should be noticed. His in p. 391. 
coming was a valuable assistance to. the 



410 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL chap.xiv 

encouraged or tolerated such unchristian divisions. A proof of his 
strong feeling to the contrary, and of his close attachment to St. Paul, 
is furnished by that letter to the Corinthians, which will soon be brought 
under our notice, 1 where, after vehement rebukes of the schismatic spirit 
prevailing among the Corinthians, it is said, " touching our brother Apol- 
los," that he was unwilling to return to them at that particular time, 
though St. Paul himself had " greatly desired it." 

But now the Apostle himself is about to arrive in Ephesus. His resi- 
dence in this place, like his residence in Antioch and Corinth, is a subject 
to which our attention is particularly called. Therefore, all the features 
of the city — its appearance, its history, the character of its population, 
its political and mercantile relations — possess the utmost interest for us. 
We shall defer such description to a future chapter, and limit ourselves 
here to what may set before the reader the geographical position of 
Ephesus, as the point in which St. Paul's journey from Antioch termt- 
nated for the present. 

We imagined him 2 about the frontier of Asia and Phrygia, on his 
approach from the interior to the sea. From this region of volcanic 
mountains, a tract of country extends to the iEgean, which is watered 
by two of the long western rivers, the Hermus and the Mseander, and 
which is celebrated through an extended period of classical history, and 
is sacred to us as the scene of the Churches of the Apocalypse. 3 Near 
the mouth of one of these rivers is Smyrna ; near that of the other is 
Miletus. The islands of Chios and Samos are respectively opposite the, 
projecting portions of coast, where the rivers flow by these cities to the 
sea. 4 Between the Hermus and the Maeander is a smaller river, named 
the Cayster, separated from the latter by the ridge of Messogis, and from 
the former by Mount Tmolus. 5 Here, in the level valley of the Cayster, is 
the early cradle of the Asiatic name, — the district of primeval " Asia," 
— not as understood in its political or ecclesiastical sense, but the Asia of 
old poetic legend. 6 And here, in a situation pre-eminent among the 
excellent positions which the Ionians chose for their cities, Ephesus was 

1 1 Cor. xvi. 12. We may just mention and Philadelphia are in that of the Hermus; 
that a very different view has been taken of Pergamus is farther to the north, on the 
the character of Apollos and his relation to Caicus. For a description of this district, see 
St. Paul, — viz. that he was the chief promo- Arundell's Visit to the Seven Churches, and 
ter of the troubles at Corinth, and that he Fellows's Asia Minor. 

acted rebelliously in refusing to return thither 4 In the account of St. Paul's return we 

when the Apostle desired him to do so. We shall have to take particular notice of this 

have no doubt, however, that the ordinary coast. He sailed between these islands and 

view is correct. the mainland, touching at Miletus. Acts xx. 

2 Above, p. 405. 5 See p. 461. 

3 Rev. i., ii., iii. Laodicea is in the basin 6 For the early history of the word Asia, 
of the Maeander j Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis, see pp. 205, 206. 



chap. xiv. ST. PAUL'S VISIT TO EPHESUS. 411 

built, on some bills near tbe sea. For some time after its foundation by 
Androclus the Athenian, it was inferior to Miletus ; but with the decay 
of the latter city, in the Macedonian and Roman periods, it rose to 
greater eminence, and in the time of St. Paul it was the greatest city of 
Asia Minor, as well as the metropolis of the province of Asia. Though 
Greek in its origin, it was half-Oriental in the prevalent worship and in 
the character of its inhabitants ; and being constantly visited by ships 
from all parts of the Mediterranean, and united by great roads with the 
markets of the interior, it was the common meeting-place of various char- 
acters and classes of men. 

Among those whom St. Paul met on his arrival was the small company 
of Jews above alluded to, 1 who professed the imperfect Christianity of 
John the Baptist. By this time, Apollos had departed to Corinth. 
Those " disciples " who were now at Ephesus were in the same religious 
condition in which he had been when Aquila and Priscilla first spoke to 
him, though doubtless they were inferior to him both in learning and in 
zeal. 2 St. Paul found, on inquiry, that they had only received John's 
baptism, and that they were ignorant of the great outpouring of the 
Holy Ghost, in which the life and energy of the Church consisted. 3 
They were even perplexed by his question. 4 He then pointed out, in 
conformity with what had been said by John the Baptist himself, that 
that prophet only preached repentance to prepare men's minds for Christ, 
who is the true object of faith. On this they received Christian 
baptism; 5 and after they were baptized, the laying-on of the Apostle's 
hands resulted, as in all other Churches, in the miraculous gifts of 
tongues and of prophecy. 6 

After this occurrence has been mentioned as an isolated fact, our atten- 
tion is called to the great teacher's labors in the Synagogue. Doubtless, 
Aquila and Priscilla were there. Though they are not mentioned here 
in connection with St. Paul, we have seen them so lately instructing 
Apollos (Acts xviii.), and we shall find them so soon again sending salu- 
tations to Corinth in the Apostle's letter from Ephesus (1 Cor. xvi.),that 
we cannot but believe he met his old associates, and again experienced 
the benefit of their aid. It is even probable that he again worked with 

1 Above, p. 406. See Acts xix. 1-7. were baptized, receive the miraculous gifts 

2 It is impossible to know whether these of the Holy Ghost?" The aorist is used 
men were connected with Apollos. The again in the answer. We should compare 
whole narrative seems to imply that they were John vii. 39. 

in a lower state of religious knowledge than 5 On the inference derivable from this pas- 
he was. 3 See Ch. XIII. sage, that the name of the Holy Ghost was 
4 The chief difficulty here is created by the used in the baptismal formula, see p. 3S4. 

inaccurate rendering of the aorists in the A. V. 6 See again Ch. XIII. and the note below 

The Apostle's question is, " Did ye, when ye on 1 Cor. 



412 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xiv. 

them at the same trade : for in the address to the Ephesian elders at 
Miletus (Acts xx. 34) he stated that " his own hands had ministered to 
his necessities, and to those who were with him; " and in writing to the 
Corinthians he says (1 Cor. iv. 11, 12), that such toil had continued 
" even to that hour." There is no doubt that he " reasoned " in the 
Synagogue at Ephesus with the same zeal and energy with which his 
spiritual labors had been begun at Corinth. 1 He had been anxiously ex- 
pected, and at first he was heartily welcomed. A preparation for his 
teaching had been made by Apollos and those who instructed him. 
" For three months," Paul continued to speak boldly in the Synagogue, 
" arguing, and endeavoring to convince his hearers of all that related to 
the kingdom of God." 2 The hearts of some were hardened, while others 
repented and believed ; and, in the end, the Apostle's doctrine was public- 
ly calumniated by the Jews before the people. 3 On this he openly sepa- 
rated himself, and withdrew the disciples from the Synagogue ; and the 
Christian Church at Ephesus became a distinct body, separated both 
from the Jews and the Gentiles. 

As the house of Justus at Corinth 4 had afforded St. Paul a refuge from 
calumny, and an opportunity of continuing his public instruction, so here 
he had recourse to " the school of Tyrannus," who was probably a 
teacher of philosophy or rhetoric, converted by the Apostle to Chris- 
tianity. 5 His labors in spreading the gospel were here continued for two 
whole years. For the incidents which occurred during this residence, for 
the persons with whom the Apostle became acquainted, and for the pre- 
cise subjects of his teaching, we have no letters to give us information 
supplementary to the Acts, as in the case of Thessalonica and Corinth : 6 
inasmuch as that which is called the " Epistle to the Ephesians " enters 
into no personal or incidental details. 7 But we have, in the address to 
the Ephesian elders at Miletus, an affecting picture of an Apostle's labors 
for the salvation of those whom his Master came to redeem. From that 
address we learn that his voice had not been heard within the school of 
Tyrannus alone, but that he had gone about among his converts, instruct- 
ing them " from house to house," and warning " each one " of them 
affectionately " with tears." 8 The subject of his teaching was ever the 
same, both for Jews and Greeks, — " repentance towards God, and faith 

1 Acts xviii. 4. 2 Acts xix. 8. 6 See in the chapter containing the two 

8 " Before the multitude," v. 9. Epistles to the Thessalonians, and in those 

4 Acts xviii. 7. See p. 348. which contain the two Epistles to the Co- 

5 Those who are apt to see a Jewish or rinthians. 

Talmudical reference almost everywhere 7 The peculiarities of this Epistle will be 

think that Tyrannus may have been a Jew, considered hereafter, 
and his "school" a place for theological 8 Acts xx. 20, 31. Compare v. 19 

teaching such as those mentioned p. 55. 



chap. xiv. EPHESIAN MAGIC. 413 

towards our Lord Jesus Christ." * Labors so incessant, so disinterested, 
and continued through so long a time, could not fail to produce a great 
result at Ephesus. A large Church was formed over which many pres- 
byters were called to preside. 2 Nor were the results confined to the city. 
Throughout the province of" Asia " the name of Christ became generally 
known, both to the Jews and the Gentiles ; 3 and, doubtless, many 
daughter-churches were founded, whether in the course of journeys un- 
dertaken by the Apostle himself, 4 or by means of those with whom he 
became acquainted, — as for instance by Epaphras, Archippus, and 
Philemon, in connection with Colossae, and its neighbor cities Hierapolis 
and Laodicea. 5 

[t is during this interval, that one of the two characteristics of the 
people of Ephesus comes prominently into view. This city was renowned 
throughout the world for the worship of Diana, and the practice of magic. 
TNough it was a Greek city, like Athens or Corinth, the manners of its 
inhabitants were half Oriental. The image of the tutelary goddess 
resembled an Indian idol 6 rather than the beautiful forms which crowded 
the Acropolis of Athens : 7 and the enemy which St. Paul had to oppose 
was not a vaunting philosophy, as at Corinth, 8 but a dark and Asiatic 
superstition. The worship of Diana and the practice of magic were 
closely connected together. Eustathius says, that the mysterious 
symbols called " Ephesian Letters" were engraved on the crown, the 
girdle, and the feet of the goddess. These Ephesian letters or monograms 
have been compared by a Swedish writer to the Runic characters of the 
North. When pronounced, they were regarded as a charm ; and were 
directed to be used, especially by those who were in the power of evil 
spirits. When written, they were carried about as amulets. Curious 
stories are told of their influence. Croesus is related to have repeated 
the mystic syllables when on his funeral-pile ; and an Ephesian wrestler 
is said to have always struggled successfully against an antagonist from 
Miletus until he lost the scroll, which before had been like a talisman. 

1 Acts xx. 21. Ephesus by Colossae and the valley of the 

2 Acts xx. 17, " the elders of the church," Maeander. The same arguments tend to prove 
below (v. 28) called " overseers." See what is that he never visited this district from Ephesus. 
said on this subject, p. 378. It is thought by many that Epaphras was con- 

3 " So that all they which dwelt in Asia," verted by St. Paul at Ephesus, and founded 
&c, Acts xix. 10. There must have been the church of Colossse. See Col. i. 7, iv 
many Jews in various parts of the prov- 12-17; Philem. 23. 

ince. 6 s^ t h e co i n a t the end of this chapter, 

4 What is said of his continued residence and the description of Diana's worship in 
at Ephesus by no means implies that he did, Ch. XVI. 

not make journeys in the province. 7 g ee p. 308, &c. 

6 See above (p. 405, n. 6) for the arguments 8 See p. 391. 

against supposing that St. Paul travelled to 



414 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat.xtv 

The study of these symbols was an elaborate science : and books, both 
numerous and costly, were compiled by its professors. 1 

This statement throws some light on the peculiar character of the 
miracles wrought by St. Paul at Ephesus. We are not to suppose that 
the Apostles were always able to work miracles at will. An influx of 
supernatural power was given to them, at the time, and according to the 
circumstances, that required it. And the character of the miracles was 
not always the same. They were accommodated to the peculiar forms 
of sin, superstition, and ignorance they were required to oppose. 2 Here, 
at Ephesus, St. Paul was in the face of magicians, like Moses and Aaron 
before Pharaoh ; and it is distinctly said that his miracles were " not 
ordinary wonders ; " 3 from which we may infer that they were different 
from those which he usually performed. We know, in the case of our 
blessed Lord's miracles, that though the change was usually accomplished 
on the speaking of a word, intermediate agency was sometimes em- 
ployed ; as when the blind man was healed at the pool of Siloam. 4 A 
miracle which has a closer reference to our present subject is that in 
which the hem of Christ's garment was made effectual to the healing of a 
poor sufferer, and the conviction of the bystanders. 5 So on this occasion 
garments 6 were made the means of communicating a healing power to 
those who were at a distance, whether they were possessed with evil 
spirits, or afflicted with ordinary diseases. 7 Such effects, thus publicly 
manifested, were a signal refutation of the charms and amulets and 
mystic letters of Ephesus. Yet was this no encouragement to blind 
superstition. When the suffering woman was healed by touching the 
hem of the garment, the Saviour turned round, and said, " Virtue is gone 
out of me" 8 And here at Ephesus we are reminded that it was God 
who " wrought miracles by the hands of Paul" (v. 11), and that " the 
name," not of Paul, but " of the Lord Jesus, was magnified." (v. 17.) 

1 The lives of Alexander of Tralles in Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." John ix. 
Smith's Diet, of Biography and in the Biog- 6, 7. 

raphy of the U. K. Society, contain some im- , 5 Matt. ix. 20. See Trench on the Miracles, 

portant illustrations of Ephesian magic. p. 189, &c. 

2 The narrative of what was done by St. 6 Both the words used here are Latin. 
Paul at Ephesus should be compared with St. The former, sudarium, is that which occurs 
Peter's miracles at Jerusalem, when "many Luke xix. 20; John xi. 44, xx. 7; and is 
signs and wonders were wrought among the translated " napkin." The latter, semicinctium, 
people . . . insomuch that they brought forth denotes some such article of dress — shawl, 
the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds handkerchief, or apron — as is easily laid 
and couches, that at the least the shadow of aside. Baumgarten's remarks on the signifi- 
Peter passing by might overshadow some of cance of these miracles are well worthy of 
them." — Acts v. 12-16. 3 Acts xix. 11. consideration. He connects the sudaria and 

4 " He spat on the ground, and made clay semicinctia with St. Paul's daily labor in hia 
of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the own support. 7 Acts xix. 12. 

blind man with the clay, and said unto him, 8 Luke viii. 46. Compare vi. 19. 



chap. xiv. MIEACLES WOEKED BY ST. PAUL. 415 

These miracles must have produced a great effect upon the minds of 
those who practised curious arts in Ephesus. Among the magicians who 
were then in this city, in the course of their wanderings through the 
East, were several Jewish exorcists. 1 This is a circumstance which need 
not surprise us. The stern severity with which sorcery was forbidden in 
the Old Testament 2 attests the early tendency of the Israelites to such 
practices : the Talmud bears witness to the continuance of these prac- 
tices at a later period ; 3 and we have already had occasion, in the course 
of this history, to notice the spread of Jewish magicians through various 
parts of the Roman Empire. 4 It was an age of superstition and impos- 
ture — an age also in which the powers of evil manifested themselves with 
peculiar force. Hence we find St. Paul classing " witchcraft " among 
the works of the flesh (Gal. v. 20), and solemnly warning the Galatians 
both in words 5 and by his letters, that they who practise it cannot inherit 
the kingdom of God ; and it is of such that he writes to Timothy 
(2 Tim. iii. 13) — that " evil men and seducers 6 shall wax worse and 
worse, deceiving and being deceived." This passage in St. Paul's latest 
letter had probably reference to that very city in which we see him now 
brought into opposition with Jewish sorcerers. These men, believing 
that the name of Jesus acted as a charm, and recognizing the Apostle as 
a Jew like themselves, attempted his method of casting out evil spirits. 7 
But He to whom the demons were subject, and who had given to His 
servant " power and authority " over them (Luke ix. 1), had shame and 
terror in store for those who presumed thus to take His Holy Name in 
vain. 

One specific instance is recorded, which produced disastrous conse- 
quences to those who made the attempt, and led to wide results among 
the general population. In the number of those who attempted to cast 
out evil spirits by the " name of Jesus," were seven brothers, sons of 
Sceva, who is called a high priest, 8 either because he had really held this 
office at Jerusalem, or because he was chief of one of the twenty-four 
courses of priests. But the demons, who were subject to Jesus, and by 

1 Acts xix. 13 cians which they attributed to King Solo 

2 See Exod. xxii. 18; ^er. xx. 27; Deut. mon. 4 See p. 133, &c. 
xviii. 10, 11 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 9. 6 Observe the phrase in v. 21, "as I told 

3 A knowledge of magic was a requisite you in time past," perhaps on the very journey 
qualification of a member of the Sanhedrin, through Galatia which we have just had occa- 
that he might be able to try those who were sion to mention. 

accused of such practices. Josephus {Ant. xx. 6 The word here used is the customary 

7, 2) speaks of a Cyprian Jew, a sorcerer, who term for these wandering magicians. 

was a friend and companion of Felix, and who ? g ce v# 13, 

is identified by some with Simon Magus. 8 Olshausen's version, that he was merely 

Again (Ant viii. 2, 5), he mentions certain the chief rabbi of the Ephesian Jews, can 

forms of incantation used by Jewish magi- hardly be a correct rendering of the term. 



416 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xtv. 

His will subject to those who preached His Gospel, treated with scorn 
those who used His Name without being converted to His truth. " Je- 
sus I recognize, and Paul I know ; * but who are ye ? " was the answer 
of the evil spirit. And straightway the man who was possessed sprang 
upon them with frantic violence, so that they were utterly discomfited, 
and " fled out of the house naked and wounded." 2 

This fearful result of the profane use of that Holy Name which was 
proclaimed by the Apostles for the salvation of all men, soon became 
notorious, both among the Greeks and the Jews. 3 Consternation and 
alarm took possession of the minds of many ; and in proportion to this 
alarm the name of the Lord Jesus began to be reverenced and honored. 4 
Even among those who had given their faith to St. Paul's preaching, 5 
some appear to have retained their attachment to the practice of magical 
arts. Their conscience was moved by what had recently occurred, and 
they came and made a full confession to the Apostle, and publicly 
acknowledged and forsook their deeds of darkness. 6 

The fear and conviction seem to have extended beyond those who made 
a profession of Christianity. A large number of the sorcerers them- 
selves 7 open.lv renounced the practice which had been so signally con- 
demned by a higher power ; and they brought together the books 8 that 
contained t u e mystic formularies, and burnt them before all the people. 
When the volumes were consumed, 9 they proceeded to reckon up the 
price at which these manuals of enchantment would be valued. Such 
books, from their very nature, would be costly ; and all books in that age 
bore a value which is far above any standard with which we are familiar. 
Hence we need not be surprised that the whole cost thus sacrificed and 
surrendered amounted to as much as two thousand pounds of English 
money. 10 This scene must have been long remembered at Ephesus. It 
was a strong proof of honest conviction on the part of the sorcerers, and 
a striking attestation of the triumph of Jesus Christ over the powers of 
darkness. The workers of evil were put to scorn, like the priests of Baal 

1 The two verbs in the original are differ- 8 Literally, " their books." 

ent. 9 The imperfect should be noticed, as im- 

2 v. 16. parting a graphic character to the whole nar- 
8 v. 17. rative. The burning and blazing of the books 

4 The verb is in the imperfect. went on for some considerable time. Compare 

5 It seems unnatural to take the perfect the instances of the burning of magical books 
participle in any other sense than " those who recorded in Liv. xl. 29 ; Suet. Aug. 31 : also 
had previously believed." Tac. Ann. xiii. 50 ; Agr. 2. 

6 "Their deeds," which must surely refer 10 The "piece of silver " mentioned here 
to the particular practices in question. The was doubtless the drachma, the current Greek 
verb denotes " to make a full confession," as coin of the Levant : the value was about ten- 
iu Matt. iii. 6, Jam. v. 16. pence. There can be no reason to suppose 

7 v. 19. with Grotius that the shekel is meant. 



CHAP. XIV. 



BURNING OF THE BOOKS. 



417 



by Elijah on Mount Carmel ; * and the teaching of the doctrine of Christ 
" increased mightily and grew strong." 2 

With this narrative of the burning of the books, we have nearly 
reached the term of St. Paul's three-years' residence at Ephesus. 3 
Before his departure, however, two important subjects demand our atten- 
tion, each of which may be treated in a separate chapter : — the First 
Epistle to the Corinthans, with the circumstances in Achaia which led to 
the writing of it, — and the uproar in the Ephesian Theatre, which will 
be considered in connection with a description of the city, and some notice 
of the worship of Diana. 




Coin of Ephesus.* 



1 1 Kings xviii. 

2 v. 20. 

8 See v. 21, which immediately follows. 

27 



4 From Akerman's Numismatic Illustrations, 
p. 49. For the form under which Diana is 
represented, see below, pp. 465, 466. 



CHAPTER XV. 

St. Paul pays a Short Visit to Corinth. — Returns to Ephesus. — Writes a Letter to the Corin- 
thians, which is now lost. — They reply, desiring further Explanations. — State of the 
Corinthian Church. — St. Paul writes the First Epistle to the Corinthians. 

WE have hitherto derived such information as we possess, concern- 
ing the proceedings of St. Paul at Ephesus, from the narrative in 
the Acts ; but we must now record an occurrence which St. Luke has 
passed over in silence, and which we know only from a few incidental 
allusions in the letters of the Apostle himself. This occurrence, which 
probably took place not later than the beginning of the second year of 
St. Paul's residence at Ephesus, was a short visit which he paid to the 
Church at Corinth. 1 



1 The occurrence of this visit is proved by 
the following passages : — 

(1.) 2 Cor. xii. 14. "Now for the third 
time I am prepared to come to you." 

(2.) 2 Cor. xiii. 1. "Now for the third 
time I am coming to you." 

If the visit after leaving Ephesus was the 
third, there must have been a second before it. 

(3.) 2 Cor. xii. 21. "Lest again, when I 
come, God should humble me, and I should 
grieve many of those who sinned before." He 
fears lest he should again be humbled on visit- 
ing them, and again have to mourn their sins. 
Hence there must have been a former visit, in 
which he was thus humbled and made to 
mourn. 

Paley in the Horoz Paidince, and other com- 
mentators since, have shown that these pas- 
sages (though they acknowledge their mosfc 
natural meaning to be in favor of an inter- 
mediate visit) may be explained away ; in the 
first two St. Paul might perhaps only have 
meant " this is the third time I have intended 
to come to you ; " and in the third passage we 
may take again with come in the sense of " on 
my return." But we think that nothing but 
the hypothesis of an intermediate visit can ex- 
plain the following passages : — 
418 



(4) 2 Cor. ii. 1. "I decided not to come 
again in grief to you " (which is the reading 
of every one of the Uncial manuscripts). 
Here it would be exceedingly unnatural to 
join again with come; and the feeling of this 
probably led to the error of the Textus Recep- 
tus. 

(5) 2 Cor. xiii. 2 (according to the reading 
of the best MSS.). I have warned you formerly , 
and I now forewarn you, as when I was present 
the second time, so now while I am absent, saying 
to those icho had sinned before that time, and to all 
the rest, " If I come again, I will not spare." 

Against these arguments Paley sets (1st) 
St. Luke's silence, which, however, is acknowl- 
edged by all to be inconclusive, considering 
that so very many of St. Paul's travels and ad- 
ventures are left confessedly unrecorded in the 
Acts (see note on 2 Cor. xi. 23, &c.). (2dly) 
The passage, 2 Cor. i. 15, 16, in which St. 
Paul tells the Corinthians he did not wish now 
to give them a " second benefit ; " whence he 
argues that the visit then approaching would 
be his second visit. But a more careful exam- 
ination of the passage shows that St. Paul is 
speaking of his original intention of paying 
them a double visit, on his way to Macedonia, 
and on his return from Macedonia. 



chap. xv. VISIT TO CORINTH. 419 

If we had not possessed any direct information that such a visit had 
been made, yet in itself it would have seemed highly probable that St. 
Paul would not have remained three years at Ephesus without revisiting 
his Corinthian converts. We have already remarked x on the facility of 
communication existing between these two great cities, which were united 
by a continual reciprocity of commerce, and were the capitals of two 
peaceful provinces. And examples of the intercourse which actually 
took place between the Christians of the two Churches have occurred, 
both in the case of Aquila and Priscilla, who had migrated from the one to 
the other (Acts xviii. 18, 19), and in that of Apollos, concerning whom, 
" when he was disposed to pass into Achaia," " the brethren [at Ephesus] 
wrote, exhorting the disciples [at Corinth] to receive him" (Acts xviii. 
27). In the last chapter, some of the results of this visit of Apollos to 
Corinth have been noticed ; he was now probably returned to Ephesus, 
where we know 2 that he was remaining (and, it would seem, stationary) 
during the third year of St. Paul's residence in that capital. No doubt, 
on his return, he had much to tell of the Corinthian converts to their 
father in the faith, — much of joy and hope, but also much of pain, to 
communicate ; for there can be little doubt that those tares among the 
wheat, which we shall presently see in their maturer growth, had already 
begun to germinate, although neither Paul had planted, nor Apollos 
watered them. One evil at least, we know, prevailed extensively, and 
threatened to corrupt the whole Church of Corinth. This was nothing 
less than the addiction of many Corinthian Christians to those sins of 
impurity which they had practised in the days of their Heathenism, and 
which disgraced their native city, even among the Heathen. We have 
before mentioned the peculiar licentiousness of manners which prevailed 
at Corinth. So notorious was this, that it had actually passed into the 
vocabulary of the Greek tongue ; and the very word " to Corinthianize," 
meant " to play the wanton ; " 3 nay, the bad reputation of the city had 
become proverbial, even in foreign languages, and is immortalized by the 
Latin poets. 4 Such being the habits in which many of the Corinthian 
converts had been educated, we cannot wonder if it proved most difficult 
to root out immorality from the rising Church. The offenders against 
Christian chastity were exceedingly numerous 5 at this period ; and it was 
especially with the object of attempting to reform them, and to check the 
growing mischief, that St. Paul now determined to visit Corinth. 

He has himself described this visit as a painful one ; 6 he went in sorrow 

1 P. 368. 5 Only a part of them, who remained unre- 

2 1 Cor. xvi. 12. pentant after rebuke and warning, are called 

3 It is so used by Aristophanes. " many." 2 Cor. xii. 21. 
* Hor. Ep. i. 17. See p. 361, n. 5. 6 2 Cor. ii. 1. 



420 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

at the tidings he had received ; and when he arrived, he found the state 
of things even worse than he had expected ; he tells us that it was a time 
of personal humiliation 1 to himself, occasioned by the flagrant sins of 
so many of his own converts ; he reminds the Corinthians, afterwards, 
how he had " mourned " over those who had dishonored the name of 
Christ by " the uncleanness and fornication and wantonness which they 
had committed." 2 

But in the midst of his grief he showed the greatest tenderness for the 
individual offenders ; he warned them of the heinous guilt which they 
were incurring ; he showed them its inconsistency with their Christian 
calling ; 3 he reminded them how, at their baptism, they had died to sin, 
and risen again unto righteousness ; but he did not at once exclude them 
from the Church which they had defiled. Yet he was compelled to 
threaten them with this penalty, if they persevered in the sins which had 
now called forth his rebuke. He has recorded the very words which he 
used. " If I come again," he said, " I will not spare." 4 

It appears probable that, on this occasion, St. Paul remained but a very 
short time at Corinth. When afterwards, in writing to them, he says 
that he does not wish " now to pay them a passing visit," he seems 5 to 
imply that his last visit had deserved that epithet. Moreover, had it 
occupied a large portion of the " space of three years," which he 
describes himself to have spent at Ephesus (Acts xx. 31), he would 
probably have expressed himself differently in that part of his address to 
the Ephesian presbyters ; 6 and a long visit could scarcely have failed to 
furnish more allusions in the Epistles so soon after written to Corinth. 
The silence of St. Luke also, which is easily explained on the supposi- 
tion of a short visit, would be less natural had St. Paul been long absent 
from Ephesus, where he appears, from the narrative in the Acts, to be 
stationary during all this period. 

On these grounds, we suppose that the Apostle, availing himself of the 
constant maritime intercourse between the two cities, had gone by sea to 
Corinth ; and that he now returned to Ephesus by the same route (which 
was very much shorter than that by land), after spending a few days or 
weeks at Corinth. 

1 2 Cor. xii. 21. (by the direct route) on my way to Macedonia 

2 2 Cor. xii. 21. for a passing visit," &c. 

3 There can be no doubt that he urged 6 Wiesler, however, gets over this, by sup- 
upon them the same arguments which he was posing that when St. Paul mentions three years 
afterwards obliged to repeat at 1 Cor. vi. 15. spent among his hearers, he means to address 

4 2 Cor. xiii. 2. not only the Ephesian presbyters whom he 
6 1 Cor. xvi. 7. Yet this admits of another had summoned, but also the companions of 

explanation; for perhaps he only meant to his voyage (Acts xx. 4) who had been with 
say, " I will not now (at once) come to you him in Macedonia and Achaia. 






chap. xv. AN EPISTLE CONCERNING PEOFLIGACY. 421 

But Ills censures and warnings had produced too little effect upon his 
converts; hismildness had been mistaken for weakness; his hesitation in 
punishing had been ascribed to a fear of the offenders ; and it was not 
long before he received new intelligence that the profligacy which had 
infected the community was still increasing. Then it was that he felt 
himself compelled to resort to harsher measures ; he wrote an Epistle 
(which has not been preserved to us) l in which, as we learn from himself, 
he ordered the Christians of Corinth, by virtue of his Apostolic authority, 
" to cease from all intercourse with fornicators." By this he meant, as 
he subsequently explained his injunctions, to direct the exclusion of all 
profligates from the Church. The Corinthians, however, either did not 
understand this, or (to excuse themselves) they affected not to do so ; for 
they asked, how it was possible for them to abstain from all intercourse 
with the profligate, unless they entirely secluded themselves from all the 
business of life which they had to transact with their Heathen neighbors. 
Whether the lost Epistle contained any other topics, we cannot know with 
certainty ; but we may conclude with some probability that it was very 
short, and directed to this one subject ; 2 otherwise it is not easy to under- 
stand why it should not have been preserved together with the two subse- 
quent Epistles. 

Soon after this short letter had been despatched, Timotheus, accom- 
panied by Erastus, 3 left Ephesus for Macedonia. St. Paul desired him, 
if possible, to continue his journey to Corinth ; but did not feel certain 
that it would be possible for him to do so 4 consistently with the other 
objects of his journey, which probably had reference to the great collec- 
tion now going on for the poor Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem. 

Meantime, some members of the household of Chloe, a distinguished 
Christian family at Corinth, arrived at Ephesus ; and from them St. Paul 
received fuller information than he before possessed of the condition of 
the Corinthian Church. The spirit of party had seized upon its mem- 
bers, and well-nigh destroyed Christian love. We have already seen, in 
our general view of the divisions of the Apostolic Church, that the great 
parties which then divided the Christian world had ranked themselves 
under the names of different Apostles, whom they attempted to set up 

1 In proof of this, see the note on 1 Cor. v. 8 Erastus was probably the " treasurer " of 
9-12. This lost Epistle must have been the city of Corinth, mentioned Kom. xvi. 23, 
written after his second visit ; otherwise he and 2 Tim. iv. 20 ; and therefore was most 
need not have explained it in the passage re- likely proceeding at any rate to Corinth, 
ferred to. * Timotheus apparently did not reach Cor- 

2 Probably it was in this lost letter that he inth on this occasion, or the fact would have 
gave them notice of his intention to visit them been mentioned 2 Cor. xii. 18. 

on his way to Macedonia ; for altering which 
he was so much blamed by his opponents. 



422 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

against eacli other as rival leaders. At Corinth, as in other places, emis- 
saries had arrived from the Judaizers of Palestine, who boasted of their 
" letters of commendation " from the metropolis of the faith ; they did not, 
however, attempt, as yet, to insist upon circumcision, as we shall find 
them doing successfully among the simpler population of Galatia. This 
would have been hopeless in a great and civilized community like that of 
Corinth, imbued with Greek feelings of contempt for what they would 
have deemed a barbarous superstition. Here, therefore, the Judaizers 
confined themselves, in the first instance, to personal attacks against St. 
Paul, whose apostleship they denied, whose motives they calumniated, and 
whose authority they persuaded the Corinthians to repudiate. Some of 
them declared themselves the followers of " Cephas," whom the Lord 
himself had selected to be the chief Apostle ; others (probably the more 
extreme members of the party) * boasted of their own immediate connec- 
tion with Christ himself, and their intimacy with " the brethren of the 
Lord," and especially with James, the head of the Church at Jerusalem. 
The endeavors of these agitators to undermine the influence of the 
Apostle of the Gentiles met with undeserved success ; and they gained 
over a strong party to their side. Meanwhile, those who were still stead- 
fast to the doctrines of St. Paul, yet were not all unshaken in their 
attachment to his person : a portion of them preferred the Alexandrian 
learning with which Apollos had enforced his preaching, to the simple 
style of their first teacher, who had designedly abstained, at Corinth, from 
any thing like philosophical argumentation. 2 This party, then, who 
sought to form for themselves a philosophical Christianity, called them- 
selves the followers of Apollos ; although the latter, for his part, evidently 
disclaimed the rivalry with St. Paul which was thus implied, and even 
refused to revisit Corinth, 3 lest he should seem to countenance the 
factious spirit of his adherents. 

It is not impossible that the Antinomian Free-thinkers, whom we have 
already seen to form so dangerous a portion of the Primitive Church, 
attached themselves to this last-named party ; at any rate, they were, at 
this time, one of the worst elements of evil at Corinth : they put forward 
a theoretic defence of the practical immorality in which they lived ; and 
some of them had so lost the very, foundation of Christian faith as to 
deny the resurrection of the dead, and thus to adopt the belief as well 
as the sensuality of their Epicurean neighbors, whose motto was, " Let us 
eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." 

A crime, recently committed by one of these pretended Christians, was 
now reported to St. Paul, and excited his utmost abhorrence : a member 

1 See above, p. 389. 2 1 Cor. ii. 1-5. 8 1 Cor. xri. 12. 

4 



chap. xv. CONTROVERSIES IN THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH. 423 

of the Corinthian Church was openly living in incestuous intercourse 
with his step-mother, and that during his father's life ; yet this audacious 
offender was not excluded from the Church. 

Nor were these the only evils : some Christians were showing their 
total want of brotherly love by bringing vexatious actions against their 
brethren in the Heathen courts of law ; others were turning even the 
spiritual gifts which they had received from the Holy Ghost into occa- 
sions of vanity and display, not unaccompanied by fanatical delusion ; 
the decent order of Christian worship was disturbed by the tumultuary 
claims of rival ministrations ; women had forgotten the modesty of their 
sex, and came forward, unveiled (contrary to the habit of their country), 
to address the public assembly ; and even the sanctity of the Holy Com- 
munion itself was profaned by scenes of revelling and debauch. 

About the same time that all this disastrous intelligence was brought 
to St. Paul by the household of Chloe, other messengers arrived from 
Corinth, bearing the answer of the Church to his previous letter, of which 
(as we have mentioned above) they requested an explanation ; and at 
the same time referring to his decision several questions which caused 
dispute and difficulty. These questions related — 1st, To the contro- 
versies respecting meat which had been offered to idols ; 2dly, To the 
disputes regarding celibacy and matrimony ; the right of divorce ; and 
the perplexities which arose in the case of mixed marriages, where one 
of the parties was an unbeliever ; 3dly, To the exercise of spiritual gifts 
in the public assemblies of the Church. 

St. Paul hastened to reply to these questions, and at the same time to 
denounce the sins which had polluted the Corinthian Church, and almost 
annulled its right to the name of Christian. The letter which he was 
thus led to write is addressed, not only to this metropolitan Church, but 
also to the Christian communities established in other places in the same- 
province, 1 which might be regarded as dependencies of that in the capital 
city ; hence we must infer that these Churches also had been infected by 
some of the errors or vices which had prevailed at Corinth. The letter 
is, in its contents, the most diversified of all St. Paul's Epistles ; and in 
proportion to the variety of its topics, is the depth of its interest for our- 
selves. For by it we are introduced, as it were, behind the scenes of the 
Apostolic Church, and its minutest features are revealed to us under the 
light of daily life. We see the picture of a Christian congregation as it 
met for worship in some upper chamber, such as the house of Aquila, or 
of Gaius, could furnish. We see that these seasons of pure devotion 
were not unalloyed by human vanity and excitement ; yet, on the other 

i See the translation of 1 Cor. ii. 2, and the note. Also p. 356 



424 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

ihand, we behold the Heathen auditor pierced to the heart by the inspired 
•eloquence of the Christian prophets, the secrets of his conscience laid 
ibare to him, and himself constrained to fall down on his face and worship 
God ; we hear the fervent thanksgiving echoed by the unanimous Amen ; 
we see the administration of the Holy Communion terminating the feast 
of love. Again we become familiar with the perplexities of domestic 
life, the corrupting proximity of Heathen immorality, the lingering 
superstition, the rash speculation, the lawless perversion of Christian 
liberty ; we witness the strife of theological factions, the party names, the 
sectarian animosities. We perceive the difficulty of the task imposed 
upon the Apostle, who must guard from so many perils, and guide 
through so many difficulties, his children in the faith, whom else he had 
begotten in vain ; and we learn to appreciate more fully the magnitude 
of that laborious responsibility under which he describes himself as 
almost ready to sink, " the care of all the Churches." 

But while we rejoice that so many details of the deepest historical in- 
terest have been preserved to us by this Epistle, let us not forget to thank 
God, who so inspired His Apostle, that in his answers to questions of 
transitory interest he has laid down principles of eternal obligation. 1 
Let us trace with gratitude the providence of Him, who " out of dark- 
ness calls up light ; " by whose mercy it was provided that the unchastity 
of the Corinthians should occasion the sacred laws of moral purity to be 
established forever through the Christian world ; — that their denial of 
the resurrection should cause those words to be recorded whereon 
reposes, as upon a rock that cannot be shaken, our sure and certain hope 
of immortality. 

The following is a translation of the Epistle, which was written at 
Easter, in the third year of St. Paul's residence at Ephesus : — 

FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 2 

i 1 PAUL, a called Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, salutation. 
2 and Sosthenes 3 the Brother, TO THE CHURCH OF GOD AT 

1 The contrast between the short-lived in- 2 The date of this Epistle can be fixed 

terest of the questions referred to him for with more precision than that of any other, 

solution, and the eternal principles by which It gives us the means of ascertaining, not 

they must be solved, was brought prominently merely the year, but even (with great proba- 

before the mind of the Apostle himself by bility) the month and week, in which it was 

the Holy Spirit, under whose guidance he written. 

wrote; and he has expressed it in those sub- (1) Apollos had been working at Corinth, 

lime words which might serve as a motto for and was now with St. Paul at Ephesus 0. Cor. 

the whole Epistle (1 Cor. vii. 29-31). i. 12; iii. 4, 22; iv. 6; xvi. 12). This was 

8 Sosthenes is, perhaps, the same mentioned Acts xviii. 17. 



FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



425 



CORINTH, hallowed in Christ Jesus, called Saints ; J together with all 2 
who call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord in every place which is 
their home — and our home also. 3 

Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and from our i. 3 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 4 thank my God continually on your behalf, for the grace of 4 
God given unto you in Christ Jesus. Because, in Him, you 5 
were 5 every-wise enriched with all the gifts of speech and knowledge 
(for thus my testimony to Christ was confirmed among you), so that you 6 



Introductory 
thanksgiving 
for their con- 
version. 



the case during St. Paul's residence at Ephe- 
sus (Acts xix. 1). 

(2) He wrote during the days of unleavened 
bread, i. e. at Easter (1 Cor. v. 7 : see the 
note on that passage), and intended to remain 
at Ephesus till Pentecost (xvi. 8, cf. xv. 32). 
After leaving Ephesus, he purposed to come 
by Macedonia to Achaia (xvi. 5-7). This 
was the route he took (Acts xx. 1, 2) on leav- 
ing Ephesus after the tumult in the theatre. 

(3) Aquila and Priscilla were with him at 
Ephesus (xvi. 19). They had taken up their 
residence at Ephesus before the visit of St. 
Paul (Acts xviii. 26). 

(4) The Great Collection was going on in 
Achaia (xvi. 1-3). When he wrote to the 
Romans from Corinth during his three 
months' visit there (Acts xx. 3), the collection 
was completed in Macedonia and Achaia 
(Rom. xv. 26). 

( 5 ) He hopes to go by Corinth to Jerusa- 
lem, and thence to Rome (xvi. 4, and xv. 
25-28). Now the time when he entertained 
this very purpose was towards the conclusion 
of his long Ephesian residence (Acts xix. 21). 

(6) He had sent Timothy towards Corinth 
(iv. 17), but not direct (xvi. 10). Now it was 
at the close of his Ephesian residence (Acts 
xix. 22) that he sent Timothy with Erastus 
(the Corinthian) from Ephesus to Macedonia, 
which was one way to Corinth, but not the 
shortest. 

1 The sense of the word for " Saints " in 
the New Testament is nearly equivalent to the 
modern " Christians ; " but it would be an 
anachronism so to translate it here, since (in 
the time of St. Paul) the word " Christian " 
was only used as a term of reproach. The 
objection to translating it " saints " is, that the 



idea now often conveyed by that term is differ- 
ent from the meaning of the Greek word as 
used by St. Paul. Yet as no other English 
word represents it better, either the old render- 
ing must be retained, or an awkward periph- 
rasis employed. The English reader should 
bear in mind that St. Paul applies the term 
to all members of the Church. 

2 This is added to comprehend those Chris- 
tians of the Church of Achaia who were not 
resident at Corinth, but in the neighboring 
places of the same province. Compare 2 Cor. 
i. 1. 

8 The Authorized Version here appears 
scarcely reconcilable with the order of the 
Greek, though it is defended by the opinions 
of Chrysostom, Billroth, Olshausen, &c. The 
translation of Meyer, " in every place under 
their and our dominion," seems more like a 
Papal than an Apostolic rescript ; and that of 
De Wette, " in every place both of their and our 
abode," is frigid, and adds nothing to the idea 
of "every place." St. Paul means to say 
that he feels the home of his converts to be also his 
own. Both sentiment and expression are the 
same as in Rom. xvi. 13 : " His mother and 



mine. 

4 Observe how 



I thank" and "my" fol- 
low immediately after " Paul and Sosthenes," 
showing that, though the salutation runs in 
the name of both, the author of the Epistle 
was St. Paul alone. Compare the remarks on 
1 Thess. i. 2. 

5 In this passage the aorists are here trans- 
lated as aorists. But as the distinction be- 
tween the aorist and perfect is by no means 
constantly observed in St. Paul's Hellenistic 
Greek, it may be doubted whether the aorists 
here are not used for perfects. 



4ztf THE LIFE AtfD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap xv. 

i. 7 come behind no other church in any gift ; looking earnestly for the tinio 
when our Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed to sight. 1 

8 And He also will confirm 2 you unto the end, that you may be without 

9 reproach at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. For God is faithful, by whom 
you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

10 I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus S^plrty- 

11 Christ, to shun disputes, and have no divisions among you, speciauen- 

sure of«the 

but to be knit together in the same mind, and the same pseudo-pniio. 
° ' sophicai par- 

judgment. 3 For I have been informed concerning you, my ty " 

brethren, by the members of Chloe's household, that there are contentions 

12 among you. I mean, that one of you says, " I am a follower of Paul ; " 
another, " I of Apollos ; " another, " I of Cephas ; " 4 another, " I of 

13 Christ. " Is Christ divided ? Was Paul crucified for you ? or were 

14 you baptized unto the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized 

15 none of you except Crispus and Gaius 5 (lest any one should say that I 

16 baptized unto my own name) ; and I baptized also the household of 

17 Stephanas ; besides these I know not that I baptized any other. For 
Christ sent me forth as His Apostle, 6 not to baptize, but to publish the 
Glad-tidings ; and that, not with wisdom of word, lest thereby the cross 

18 of Christ should be made void. 7 For the word of the cross 8 to those in 
the way of perdition is folly ; but to us in the way of salvation 9 it is 

19 the power of God. And so it is written, " Jf foil! btstrcg % falS- 

imm of % tors*, mxir bring ia nothing % tmb^rstanirmg of % 

20 jriltbttti" 10 Where is the Philosopher ? Where is the Rabbi ? Where 
is the reasoner of this world ? u Has not God turned the world's wis- 

1 See note on Rom. ii. 5. 5 Or Caius, if we use the Roman spelling; 

2 i. e. He will do His part to confirm you see p. 349. 

unto the end. If you fall, it will not be for 6 The verb involves this. 

want of His help. 7 Compare the use of the same verb in 

3 " Mind " refers to the view taken by the Rom. iv. 14. 

understanding; "judgment," to the practical 8 i. e. the tidings of a crucified Messiah. 

decision arrived at. 9 For the present participle we may refer 

4 Cephas is the name by which St. Peter to Acts ii. 47, and to ii. 6, below. In render- 
is called throughout this Epistle. It was the ing the participles here, " already dead," and 
actual word used by our Lord himself, and "already saved" Prof. Stanley neglects the 
remained the Apostle's usual appellation force of the tense. [This is corrected in the 
among the Jewish Christians up to this time. 2d edition. — h.] 

It is strange that it should afterwards have been 10 Is. xxix. 14 ; not quite literally quoted 

so entirely supplanted by its Greek equivalent, from LXX. 

" Peter," even among the Jewish Christians. n There are two words in the N. T. trans 

See note on Gal. i. 18. For an explanation of lated " world " in the A. V. That which is 

the parties here alluded to, see pp. 387-393. used here involves the notion of transitory 



chap. xv. FIEST EPISTLE TO THE COKINTHIANS. 427 

dom into folly ? for when the world had failed to gain by its wisdom the i. 21 
knowledge of God in the wisdom of God, it pleased God, by the folly of 
onr preaching, 1 to save those who believe. 2 For the Jews require a sign 22 
[from heaven] , and the Greeks demand philosophy ; but we 3 proclaim 23 
a Messiah crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks a 
folly; but to the called 4 themselves, whether they be Jews or Greeks, 24 
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the folly of God 25 
is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than 
man's strength. For you see, brethren, how God has called you ; how 26 
few of you are wise in earthly wisdom, how few are powerful, how few 
are noble. But the world's folly God has chosen, to confound its wis- 27 
dom ; and the world's weakness God has chosen, to confound its strength ; 
and the world's base things, and things despised, yea things that have no 28 
being, God has chosen, to bring to nought the things that be ; that no 29 
flesh should glory in His presence. But you are His children 5 in Christ 30 
Jesus, whom God sent unto us as our wisdom, 6 and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption ; that it might be according as it is writ- 

ten, "ft %t fcrastofr, Id firm Imasi in % fori>." 7 31 

in ins own So, brethren, when I myself came among you, and de- ii 1 

teaching he . „ 

bad not aimed clared to you the testimony of God, I came not with surpass- 
tion r fo? ta " m o s kiU °f speech, or wisdom. For no knowledge did I 2 
Jioqueucef or purpose to display among you, but the knowledge of Jesus 

but had relied 

natur?i g pSw r e"r Christ alone, and Him 8 — crucified. And in my intercourse 3 
w"nchbeion l g8 with you, I was filled with weakness and fear and much trem- 

to the Spirit 

of God. bling. 9 And when I proclaimed my message, I used not 4 



duration. So in English we speak of " the God, which has called them to enter into His 

notions (or spirit) of the age." Also in this church. 

expression is contained a reference to " the 5 " Of Him." 

future age," the period of the final triumph of 6 Literally, who became wisdom to us from 

Christ's kingdom. God, the preposition implying "sent from." 

1 [Or, more correctly, "that which we ? Jerem. ix. 23, 24, from the LXX., but 
preach," viz. the Gospel, which men deem not literally. Quoted also 2 Cor. x. 17; see 
folly. — h.] note there. 

2 Observe that the participle here is present, 8 i. e . Him, not exalted on the earthly 
not past. throne of David, but condemned to the death 

8 We, including St. Paul and the other of the vilest malefactor, 

preachers of Christianity. 9 St. Paul appears, on his first coming to 

4 All who make an outward profession of Corinth, to have been suffering under great 

Christianity are, in St. Paul's language, " the depression, perhaps caused by the bodily 

called." They have received a message from malady to which he was subject (cf. 2 Cor. 



428 THE LIFE A^D EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xv. 

ii. 5 persuasive words of human wisdom, but showed forth the working of 
God's Spirit and power, that your faith might have its foundation not 
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 

6 Nevertheless, among those who are ripe in understanding, 1 I speak 
wisdom ; albeit not the wisdom of this world, nor of its rulers, who will 

7 soon be nought. 2 But it is God's wisdom that I speak, whereof the 
secret is made known to His people ; 3 even the hidden wisdom which 

8 God ordained before the ages, that we might be glorified thereby. But 
the rulers of this world knew it not ; for had they known it, they would 

9 not have crucified the Lord of Glory. But as it is written, " (£gt hatfr 

not mn, not mx ^artr, nei%r £a;fa mtixtb xxda % \mxi cf matt, 
iht ifjmgs fojjixfj <Soir jratjj pr^partfr fox %m iljat Iobt Pim." 4 

10 Yet to us 5 God has revealed them by His Spirit. For the Spirit fathoms 

11 all things, even the depths of God. For who can know what belongs to 
man but the spirit of man which is within him ? even so none can know 

12 what belongs to God, but the Spirit of God alone. Now we have received, 
not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might 
understand those things which have been freely given us by God. 

13 These are the things whereof we speak, in words not taught by man's 
wisdom, but by the Spirit; explaining spiritual things to spiritual 6 men. 

14 But the natural 7 man rejects the teaching of God's Spirit, for to him it is 
folly ; and he cannot comprehend it, because it is spiritually discerned. 

15 But the spiritual man judges all things truly, yet cannot himself be truly 

xii. 8 ; seep. 235), perhaps b y the ill success 8 "Wisdom in a mystery" is a wisdom 

of his efforts at Athens. See p. 334. revealed to the initiated, i. e. (in this case) to 

The expression " fear and, trembling " is Christians, but hidden from the rest of the 

peculiarly Pauline, being used in four of St. world. 

Paul's Epistles, and by no other writer in the 4 Isaiah lxiv. 4 is the nearest passage to 

New Testament. It does not mean fear of this in the Old Testament. The quotation is 

personal danger, but a trembling anxiety to per- not to be found anywhere exactly. 
form a duty. Thus in Eph. vi. 5, slaves are 6 Us, including all the inspired Christian 

charged to obey their masters thus, and this teachers, and the rest of the " perfect." 
anxious conscientiousness is opposed to "eye- 6 Compare iii. 1. It should be observed 

service." that this verb is often used by LXX. for ex- 

1 " The perfect " is St. Paul's expression plain, interpret, as at Gen. xl. 8. 

for those who had attained the maturity of 7 Properly man considered as endowed 

Christian wisdom. Compare 1 Cor. xiv. 20, with the anima (the living principle), as dis- 

and Phil. iii. 15. Such men could understand tinguished from the spiritual principle. See 

that his teaching was in truth the highest Juv. Sat. xv. 148. Etymologically speaking, 

philosophy. the animal man would be the best translation ; 

2 Literally, " passing away into nothing- but to English readers this would convey a 
ness." harsher meaning than the original. 



CHAP.xr. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 429 

judged by others,. For " WjO Ijafjj fettofon % miirir of % ^ortrii. 16 
tlmt b sbouto instrutt Wim?" 1 but we have the mind of the Lord 2 
[within us]. 

The party And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men, 

to be "the but as carnal, yea, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, iii. 1 

spiritual" are . 

carnaf by be an( l not w i tn meat > f° r vou were not a ^ e to bear it ; nay, 
sions. s you are not yet able, for you are still carnal. For while you 2 
are divided amongst yourselves by jealousy, and strife, and factious par- 3 
ties, is it not evident that you are carnal, and walking in the ways of 
men ? When one says, " I follow Paul," and another, " I follow Apollos," 
can you deny that you are carnal ? 4 

Who, then, is Paul, or who is Apollos ? what are they but 

It is a contra- 

term^to 11 servants, by whose ministration you believed ? and was it not 5 
«an e tea h che*rs the Lord who gave to each of them the measure of his success ? 6 

the leaders of 

opposing par- I planted, Apollos watered ; but it was God who made the seed 

ties. ISature r 7 r ' 

oftheirwork. ^ Q g row# g fi^t h e w i 10 plants is nothing, nor he who waters, 
but God alone who gives the growth. But the planter and the waterer 7 
are one together ; 3 and each will receive his own wages according to his 8 
work. For we are God's fellow-laborers, 4 and you are God's husbandry. 
You are God's building ; God gave me the gift of grace whereby like a 9 
skilful architect I laid a foundation ; and on this foundation another 10 
builds ; but let each take heed what he builds thereon — [" thereon," I 
say,] for other foundation can no man lay than that already laid, which 11 
is Jesus Christ. 5 But on this foundation one may raise gold, and silver, 
and precious stones ; another, wood, hay, and stubble. 6 But each man's 12 
work will be made manifest ; for The Day 7 will make it known ; because 13 

1 Isaiah xl. 13 (LXX.), quoted also Rom. 6 [The image becomes much more vivid, if 
xi. 34. we remember the contrasted buildings of an 

2 The best MS S. are divided between the ancient city, — the sumptuous edifices of 
readings of "Christ " and "Lord" here. granite and marble, with ornaments of gold 

3 " And therefore cannot be set against and silver, on the one hand, and the hovels of 
each other " is implied. the poor on the other, with walls of wood and 

4 This remarkable expression is used by roof of thatch, and interstices stuffed with 
St. Paul more than once. Compare 2 Cor. vi. straw. See the description of Rome below, 
1, and the note on 1 Thess. iii. 2. Ch. XXIII. — h.] 

8 The MSS. vary here, but the same sense 7 « The Day of Christ's coming." Com- 

is virtually involved in all three readings ; viz. pare 1 Thess. v. 4. 
that the Messiahship of Jesus was the founda- 
tion of the teaching of the Apostles. 



430 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xv. 

that day will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test each builder's 
iii.l4work. He whose building stands unharmed shall receive payment for 

15 his labor ; he whose work is burned down shall forfeit his reward : yet 
he shall not himself be destroyed, but shall be saved as it were through 
the flames. 

16 Know x ye not that you are God's temple, and that you form T heChurchis 

17 a shrine wherein God's Spirit dwells ? If any man ruin the 

temple of God, God shall ruin 2 him ; for the temple of God is holy ; And 
holy 3 therefore are ye. 

18 Let none deceive himself; if any man is held wise among intellectual 

pride and 

you in the wisdom of this world, let him make himself a fool party-spirit 

J are unchns- 

19 [in the world's judgment], that so he may become wise. For tian * 

the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, as it is written, 

20 " Jp£ tahrfjj % telBt 1X1 %b 0fott tmfktimn"* And again, "Cjj* 

^ortr hnoiottlj % %usps of % foise %t %rr nxt faaitt/' 5 

21 Therefore let none of you make his boast in men; 6 for all things are 

22 yours ; both Paul and Apollos, and Cephas, and the whole world itself; 
both life and death, things present and things to come — all are yours — 

23 but 7 you are Christ's ; and Christ is God's. 

Let us be accounted as servants of Christ, and stewards of Christ's 

i • n r* i a ir >± • i • n Apostles are 

iv. 1 the mysteries of God. 8 Moreover, it is required in a steward only stew- 

•' u ards; that 

2 to be found faithful. 9 Yet to me it matters nothing that I be SS5,S? to 

3 judged by you or by the doom 10 of man ; nay, I judge not even own. eir 



1 The connection with what precedes is, vice, even as He Himself came to do the will 
" In calling you God's huilding, I tell you no of His Father. 

new thing ; you know already that you are 8 Mysteries are secrets revealed (i. e. the 

God's temple." Glad-tidings of Christ) to the initiated, i. e. to 

2 The verbal link is lost in the A. V. all Christians. See note on ii. 7. The meta- 
8 Not "which temple" (A. V.). phor here is, that as a steward dispensed his 

4 Job v. 13, from LXX., with an imma- master's bread to his fellow-servants, so Paul, 
terial variation. Peter, and Apollos dispensed the knowledge 

5 Ps. xciv. 11, from LXX., with a slight of Christ to their brethren. 

change. * [Or rather, " Inquiry is made into a stew- 

6 The meaning is, " Boast not of having ard's conduct, in order that he may be proved 
this man or that as your leader; for all the faithful." — h.] 

Apostles, nay, all things in the universe, are 10 This use of "day" is peculiar to St. 

ordained by God to co-operate for your good." Paul ; so that Jerome calls it a Cilicism. It is 

7 All things work together for the good of connected with that above (iii. 18), and occurs 
Christians ; all things conspire to do them 1 Thess. v. 4. 

service : but their work is to do Christ's ser- 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COBINTHIANS. 431 

myself. For although I know not that I am guilty of unfaithfulness, yetiv. 4 
this does not justify me ; but I must be tried by the judgment of the 
Lord. Therefore judge nothing hastily, until the coming of the Lord ; 5 
for He shall bring to light the secrets of darkness, and make manifest the 
counsels of men's hearts ; and then shall each receive* his due 1 praise 
from God. 

Contrast be- But these things, brethren, I have represented under the 6 
exuitltioVof * persons of myself and Apollos, for your sakes ; that by con- 

the pseudo- 
philosophical sidering us you might learn not to think of yourselves above 

party, and ° J ° * 

of e ci!ST ent that which has been written, 2 and that you may cease to puff 

yourselves up in the cause 3 of one against another. For who 7 
makes thee to differ from another ? what hast thou that thou didst not 
receive ? and how, then, canst thou boast, as if thou hadst won it for 
thyself? But ye, forsooth, have already eaten to the full [of spiritual 8 
food], ye are already rich, ye have seated yourselves upon your throne, 
and have no need 4 of me. Would that you were indeed enthroned, that 
I too might reign with you ! For, 5 1 think, God has set forth us the 9 
Apostles last of all, like criminals condemned to die, to be gazed at in a 
theatre 6 by the whole world, both men and angels. We for Christ's 10 
sake are fools, while you are wise in Christ ; we are weak, while you 
are strong ; you are honorable, while we are outcasts ; even to the 11 
present hour we bear hunger and thirst, and nakedness and stripes, and 
have no certain dwelling-place, and toil with our own hands ; curses we 12 
meet with blessings, persecution with patience, railings with good words. 
We have been made as it were the refuse of the earth, the offscouring 13 
of all things, unto this day. I write not thus to reproach you ; but as a 14 
father I chide the children whom I love. For though you may have ten 15 

1 " His praise." The error in A. V. was 6 Literally, because we have been made a 
caused by not observing the article. theatrical spectacle. Compare Heb. x. 33. 

2 This is ambiguous ; the phrase is com- The spectacle to which St. Paul here alludes 
monly employed in reference to the Old Testa- was common in those times. Criminals con- 
ment ; but here it suits better with the con- demned to death were exhibited for the amuse- 
text to take it as referring to the preceding ment of the populace on the arena of the 
remarks of St. Paul himself. amphitheatre, and forced to fight with wild 

8 St. Paul probably means " in the cause beasts, or to slay one another as gladiators. 

of your party-leaders ; " but speaks with in- These criminals were exhibited at the end of 

tentional indistinctness. the spectacle as an exciting termination to the 

* " Without us." entertainment ("set forth last of all"). So 

6 The connection is, " The lot of an Tertullian paraphrases the passage " Nos Deui 

Apostle is no kingly lot." Apostolos novissimos elegit velut bestiarios." 



432 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

thousand guardians l to lead you towards the school of Christ, you can 
have but one father ; and it was I who begat you in Christ Jesus, by the 
iv 1 6 Glad-tidings which I brought. I beseech you, therefore, become follow- 
ers of me. 

17 For this caust I have sent to you Timotheus, my beloved Mission of 

J 7 J Timotheus; 

son, a faithful servant of the Lord, who shall put you in JJJJSJS^ 
remembrance of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere atcorintn! 

18 in all the churches. Now some have been filled with arrogance, sup- 

19 posing that I am not coming to you. But I shall be with you shortly, 
if the Lord will ; and then I shall learn, not the word of these boasters, 

20 but their might. For mighty deeds, not empty words, are the tokens of 

21 God's kingdom. What is your desire ? Must I come to you with the 
rod, or in love and the spirit of meekness ? 

v. 1 It is reported that there is fornication generally 2 among judgment 

on the inces- 

you, and such fornication, as is not known 3 even among tuous -person. 

2 the Heathen, so that one among you has his father's wife. And you, 
forsooth, have been puffed up when you should have mourned, that 

3 the doer of this deed might be put away from the midst of you. For 
me, — being present with you in spirit, although absent in body, — I 
have already passed sentence, as though present, on him who has done 

4 this thing ; [and I decree] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
you convene an assembly, and when you, and my spirit with you, are gath- 

5 ered together, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you deliver 
over to Satan 4 the man who has thus sinned, for the destruction of his 
fleshly lusts, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 

6 Unseemly is your boasting ; know ye not that " a little leaven leaveneth 

7 the whole lump ? " 5 Cast out therefore the old leaven, that you may be 
an untainted mass, even as now 6 you are without taint of leaven ; for 

1 The guardian slave who led the child to 4 This expression appears used as equiva- 
school. The word is the same as in Gal. iii. lent to casting out of the Church : cf. 1 Tim i. 
24. See the note there. 20. Erom the following words there seems 

2 The adverb seems most naturally joined also a reference to the doctrine that Satan is 
with " among you," but it may be taken with the author of bodily disease. Compare 2 Cor. 
" reported " in the sense of " universally ;"■ so xii. 7. 

Prof. Stanley, " There is nothing heard of 6 The same proverb is quoted Gal. v. 9. 

except this." 6 In spite of the opinion of some eminent 

3 The " is named " of T. E. is omitted by modern commentators, which is countenanced 
the best MSS. ; "is heard of," or something by Chrysostom, we must adhere to the inter- 
equivalent, must be supplied. pretation which considers these words as writ* 



FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



433 



our Paschal Lamb is Christ, who was slain for us ; therefore let us keep v. 8 
the feast, not with the old leaven, nor the leaven of vice and wickedness, 
but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth. 

open and I enjoined you in my letter l to keep no company with 9 

nS d be ex- fornicators ; not that you should utterly forego all intercourse 10 
the church? with the men of this world who may be fornicators, or lasciv- 
ious, or extortioners, or idolaters ; for so you would need to go utterly 
out of the world. But 2 my meaning was, that you should keep no 11 
company with any man, who, bearing the name of a Brother, is either 



ten at the Paschal season, and suggested by it. 
The words leaven, lump, Paschal Lamb, and 
feast, all agree most naturally with this view. 
It has been objected, that St. Paul would not 
address the Corinthians as engaged in a feast 
which he, at Ephesus, was celebrating; be- 
cause it would be over before his letter could 
reach them. Any one who has ever written a 
birth-day letter to a friend in India will see 
the weakness of this objection. It has also 
been urged that he would not address a mixed 
church of Jews and Gentiles as engaged in 
the celebration of a Jewish feast. Those who 
urge this objection must have forgotten that 
St. Paul addresses the Galatians (undoubt- 
edly a mixed church) as if they had all been 
formerly idolaters (Gal. iv. 8) ; and addresses 
the Romans, sometimes as if they were 
all Jews (Rom. vii. 1), sometimes as if they 
were Gentiles (Rom. xi. 18). If we take 
" as ye are unleavened " in a metaphorical 
sense, it is scarcely consistent with the pre- 
vious " cast out the old leaven ; " for the pas- 
sage would then amount to saying, " Be free 
from leaven (metaphorically) as you are free 
from leaven (metaphorically);" whereas, on 
the other view, St. Paul says, " Be free from 
leaven (metaphorically) as you are free from 
leaven (literally)." There seems no difficulty 
in supposing that the Gentile Christians joined 
with the Jewish Christians in celebrating the 
Paschal feast after the Jewish manner, at least 
to the extent of abstaining from leaven in the 
love-feasts. And we see that St. Paul still 
observed the " days of unleavened bread " at 
this period of his life, from Acts xx. 6. Also, 
fnarn what follows, we perceive how naturally 
this greatest of Jewish feasts changed into the 
greatest of Christian festivals. 

1 Literally, " / wrote to you in the letter," 
?8 



viz. the letter which I last wrote, or the letter to 
which you refer in your questions ; for they had 
probably mentioned their perplexity about this 
direction in it. So in 2 Cor. vii. 8 the present 
letter (1 Cor.) is referred to in the same phrase 
(/ grieved you in the letter). There are two 
decisive reasons why these words must refer 
to & previous letter, not to the letter St. Paul 
is actually writing. (1.) No such direction 
as " Keep no company with fornicators " oc- 
curs in what has gone before. (2.) If St. 
Paul had meant to say " I have just written," 
he could not have added the words " in the 
letter," which would have been then worse 
than superfluous. Prof. Stanley (who has 
recently supported the view here opposed' 
urges that the aorist might be used of the 
present epistle as at 1 Cor. ix. 15; which is 
obviously true. He also urges that " the 
letter" may sometimes refer to the present 
letter; which may also be admitted in cases 
where the letter is referred to as a whole in its 
postscript ; e. g. " / Tertius, who wrote the letter " 
(Rom. xvi. 22). "I charge you that the letter 
be read" (1 Thess. v. 27). " When the letter 
has been read among you, cause it to be read at 
Laodlcea" (Col. iv. 16). But none of these 
instances gives any support to the view that 
a writer could refer to his own words, just 
uttered, by such a phrase as " I wrote to you 
in the letter." We are forced, therefore, to 
conclude that these words refer to a preceding 
letter, which has not been preserved. And 
this view receives a strong confirmation from 
the words of St. Paul's Corinthian opponents 
(spoken before 2 Cor; was written) : " His let- 
ters are weighty, &c." (2 Cor. x. 10.) 

2 The conjunction here seems not to be ft 
particle of time, but of connection. 



434 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

a fornicator, or a wanton, 1 or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or 

an extortioner ; with such a man, I say, you must not so much as eat. 

v.12 For what need have I to judge those also that are without ? Is it 

13 not your part to judge those that are within ? But those without are 

for God's judgment. " Jxom amongst goursHfos tjs sjjall ntst mi 

sri. 1 Can there be any of you who dare to bring their private ^fnc ^- 6 " 
differences into the courts of law, before the wicked, and not be brought 110 

into Heathen 

2 rather bring them before the saints? 3 Know ye not that the courts; and 

^ its existence 

saints shall judge the world ? and if the world is subjected to evfi. pr °° f ° f 

3 your judgment, are you unfit to decide the most trifling matters ? Know 
ye not that we shall judge angels ? how much more the affairs of this 

4 life ? If, therefore, you have disputes to settle which concern the affairs 
of this life, give the arbitration of them to the very least esteemed in 

5 your Church. I speak to your shame. Can it be that amongst you there 
is not so much as one man wise enough to arbitrate between his breth- 

6 ren, but must brother go to law with brother, and that in the courts of 

7 the unbelievers ? Nay, farther, you are in fault, throughout, in having 
such disputes at all. Why do you not rather submit to wrong? Why 

8 not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded ? Nay, you are yourselves 

9 wronging and defrauding, and that your brethren. Know ye No immo . 
not that wrong-doers shall not inherit the kingdom of God ? consfst C with 

true Chris- 
Be not deceived — neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adul- tianity. 

10 terers, nor self-defilers, nor sodomites, nor robbers, nor wantons, 4 nor 

1 The Greek word has the meaning of a 2 Deut. xxiv. 7 (LXX.). 

concupiscent man in some passages of St. Paul's 3 It should be remembered that the Greek 

writings. Compare Eph. v. 5 (where it is and > Roman law gave its sanction to the 

coupled with unclean). So the corresponding decision pronounced in a litigated case by 

substantive, in St. Paul, almost invariably arbitrators privately chosen ; so that the 

means lasciviousness. See Eph. iv. 19, v. 3 Christians might obtain a just decision of 

(and the note), and Col. iii. 5. The only their mutual differences without resorting to 

places where the word is used by St. Paul in the Heathen tribunals. The Jews resident in 

the sense covetousness are 2 Cor. ix. 5, and foreign parts were accustomed to refer their 

1 Thess. ii. 5, in the latter of which passages disputes to Jewish arbitrators. Joseph us 

the other meaning would not be inadmissible. (Ant. xiv. 10, 17) gives a decree by which the 

How the word contracted its Pauline meaning Jews at Sardis were permitted to establish a 

may be inferred from the similar use of con- " private court," for the purpose of deciding 

cupiscence in English. [Since the above was " their misunderstandings with one another." 
first published, Prof. Stanley and Prof. Jowett * Persons given to concupiscence. See note 

have both expressed their concurrence in this on t. 11. 
rendering of the word ; see note in this vol- 
ume on Eph. v. 3.] 



FIHST EPISTLE TO THE COBINTHIANS. 



435 



drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of 
God. And such were some of you; but you have washed away your vi. 11 
stains, 1 — you have been hallowed, you have been justified, in the name 
of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God. 2 

" All things are lawful for me." 3 But not all things are 12 

Antinomian 

defeuceof good for me. Though all things are in my power, they shall 
rented. n0 ^ \^ Y ' m g me uri( i er their power. " Meat is for the belly, and 13 

the belly for meat," though God will soon put an end to both ; but the 
body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.; 4 
and as God raised the Lord from the grave, so He will raise us also by 14 
His mighty power. 5 Know ye not that your bodies are members of 15 
Christ's body ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them 
the members of an harlot ? God forbid. Know ye not, that he who 16 
joins himself to an harlot becomes one body with her ? For it is said, 
"%JJ ttoailt sljctll Ire 0itt flesfj." 6 But he who joins himself to the 17 
Lord, becomes one spirit with Him. Flee fornication. The root of sin 18 
is not in the body, 7 [but in the soul ;] yet the fornicator sins against his 



1 Observe that the Greek verb is middle, 
not passive, as in A. V. : cf. Acts xxii. 16. 
If the aorist is here used in its proper sense 
(of which we can never be sure in St. Paul), 
the reference is to the time of their first con- 
version, or baptism. 

2 The words may be paraphrased thus, 
" By your fellowship with the Lord Jesus, 
whose name you bear, and by the indwelling 
of the Spirit of our God." 

3 See the explanation of this in Ch. XIII. ; 
and compare (for the true side of the phrase) 
Gal. v. 23, " Against such there is no law." 
Probably St. Paul had used the very words 
" All things are lawful for me " in this true 
sense, and the immoral party at Corinth had 
caught them up, and used them as their watch- 
word. It is also probable that this fact was 
mentioned in the letter which St. Paul had 
just received from Corinth (1 Cor. vii. 1). 
Also see chap. viii. 1 below. From what 
follows it is evident that these Corinthian 
freethinkers argued that the existence of bodily 
appetites proved the lawfulness of their gratifi- 
cation. 

* The body is for the Lord Jesus, to be 



consecrated by His indwelling to His service ; 
and the Lord Jesus is for the body, to conse- 
crate it by dwelling therein in the person of 
His Spirit. 

5 St. Paul's argument here is, that sins 
of uncbastity, though bodily acts, yet injure 
a part of our nature (compare the phrase 
" spiritual body," 1 Cor. xv. 44) which will 
not be destroyed by death, and which is closely 
connected with our moral well-being. And it 
is a fact no less certain than mysterious, that 
moral and spiritual ruin is caused by such 
sins ; which human wisdom (when untaught 
by Revelation) held to be actions as blameless 
as eating and drinking. 

6 Gen. ii. 24 (LXX.), quoted by our Lord, 
Matt. xix. 5. 

7 Literally, "every sin ichich a man commits 
is without (external to) the body." The Corin- 
thian freethinkers probably used this argu- 
ment also ; and perhaps availed themselves of 
our Lord's words, Mark vii. 18: " Do ye not 
perceive that whatsoever thing from wit\out enter- 
eth into the man, it cannot defile him, because it 
entereth not into his heart ? " &c. ( See the whf le 
passage.) 



436 THE LIEE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

vi 19 own body. Enow ye not that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit 

which dwells within you, which ye have received from God ? And you 

20 are not your own, for you were bought with a price. 1 Glorify God, 

therefore, not in your spirit only, but in your body also, since both are 

His. 2 

vii. 1 As to the questions which you have asked me in your letter, Answers to 

. '. T • • • questions 

2 this is my answer. It is good for a man to remain unmarried, concerning 

J ° marriage 

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, 3 let every man have his own tltL^cS' 

3 wife, and every woman her own husband. Let the husband cases of 

mixed mar- 

live in the intercourse of affection with his wife, and likewise ria ^ es - 

4 the wife with her husband. The wife has not dominion over her own body, 
but the husband ; and so also the husband has not dominion over his own 

5 body, but the wife. Do not separate one from the other, unless it be with 
mutual consent for a time, that you may give yourselves without disturb- 
ance 4 to prayer, and then return to one another, lest, through your 

6 fleshly passions, Satan should tempt you to sin. Yet this I say by way of 

7 permission, not of command. Nevertheless I would that all men were as 
I myself am ; but men have different gifts from God, one this, another 

8 that. But to the unmarried and to the widows, I say that it would be 
good for them if they should remain in the state wherein I myself also 

9 am ; yet if they are incontinent, let them marry ; for it is better to marry 

10 than to burn. To the married, not I, but the Lord gives commandment, 5 

11 that the wife part not from her husband ; (but if she be already parted, 
let her remain single, or else be reconciled with him ;) and also, that the 
husband put not away his wife. 

12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord. If any Brother be married to 
an unbelieving wife, let him not put her away, if she be content to live 

13 with him ; neither let a believing wife put away an unbelieving husband 



1 The price is the blood of Christ. Com- every unmarried person would be liable to spe- 
pare Acts xx. 28, and Col. i. 14. cial temptation. 

2 The latter part of this verse, though 4 " Fasting " is an interpolation, not found 
not in the best MSS., yet is implied in the in the best MSS. 

sense. 6 This commandment is recorded Mark x. 

3 The plural in the Greek perhaps means 11, 12: Whosoever shall put away his wife, and 
(as Prof. Stanley takes it) "because of the gen- marry another, committeth adultery against her. 
eral prevalence of fornication," with special ref- And if a woman shall put away her husband, and 
erence to the profligacy of Corinth, where be married to another, she committeth adultery. 



chap. xr. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 437 

who is willing to live with her ; for the unbelieving husband is hallowed vii.i 4 
by union with his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife by union with 
her believing husband ; for otherwise your children would be unclean, 1 
but now they are holy. But if the unbelieving husband or wife seeks for 15 
separation, let them be separated ; for in such cases, the believing 
husband or wife is not bound to remain under the yoke. But the call 
whereby God has called 2 us is a call of peace. 3 For thou who art the 16 
wife of an unbeliever, how knowest thou whether thou mayest save thy 
husband ? or thou who art the husband, whether thou mayest save thy 
wife? 
General rule, Only 4 let each man walk in the same path which God allotted 17 

that the con- 
verts should to him, wherein the Lord has called him. This rule I give in 18 

not quit that 7 ° 

whSe^they all the churches. Thus, if any man, when he was called, 5 
conversion, bore the mark of circumcision, let him not efface it ; if any 
man was uncircumcised at the time of his calling, let him not receive cir- 
cumcision. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing ; but l!J 
obedience to the commands of God. Let each abide in the condition 20 
wherein he was called. Wast thou in slavery at the time of thy calling ? 21 
Care not for it. Nay, though thou have power to gain thy freedom, 6 
rather make use of thy condition. For the slave who has been called in 22 
the Lord is the Lord's freedman ; and so also the freeman who has been 
called is Christ's slave. He has bought you all ; T beware lest you make 23 
yourselves the slaves of man. 8 Brethren, in the state wherein he was 24 
called, let each abide with God. 

1 The term means, literally, "unclean," 5 The past tense is mistranslated W »V 
and is used in its Jewish sense, to denote that called " in A. V. throughout this chapter, 
which is beyond the hallowed pale of God's peo- 6 The Greek here is ambiguous, and might 
pie; the antithesis to "holy," which was ap- be so rendered as to give directly opposite pre- 
plied to all within the consecrated limits. On cepts ; but the version given in the text 
the inferences from this verse, with respect to (which is that advocated by Chrysostom, 
infant baptism, see Ch. XIII. Meyer, and De Wette) agrees best with the 

2 This verb, in St. Paul's writings, means order of the Greek words, and also with the 
"to call into fellowship with Christ;" "to context. We must remember, with regard to 
call from the unbelieving World into the this and other precepts here given, that they 
Church." were given under the immediate anticipation 

8 The inference is, " therefore the profes- of our Lord's coming, 
sion of Christianity ought not to lead the 7 There is a change here in the Greek from 

believer to quarrel with the unbelieving mem- singular to plural. For the " price," see chap, 

bers of his family." vi. 20. 

4 Literally, only, as God allotted to each, as 8 Alluding to their servile adherence to 

the Lord has called each, so let him walk. party leaders. Compare 2 Cor. xi. 20. 



438 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAXIL. 



CHAP. XV. 



vii.25 Concerning your virgin daughters 1 1 have no command from Answer to 

° J c D questions 

the Lord, but I give my judgment, as one who has been moved d^ai^f 

26 by the Lord's mercy 2 to be faithful. I think, then, that it is marriage. 

27 good, by reason of the present 3 necessity, for all to be unmarried. 4 Art 

28 thou bound to a wife ? seek not separation ; art thou free ? seek not 
marriage ; yet if thou marry, thou sinnest not. 5 -And if your virgin daugh- 
ters marry, they sin not ; but the married will have sorrows in the flesh, 

29 and these I would spare you. 6 But this I say, brethren, the time is 
short ; 7 that henceforth both they that have wives be as though they had 

30 none, and they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice 
as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they possessed 

31 not, and they that use this world as not abusing 8 it; for the outward 

32 show of this world is passing away. 9 But I would have you free from 
earthly care. The cares of the unmarried man are fixed upon the Lord, 

33 and he strives to please the Lord. But the cares of the husband are 

34 fixed upon worldly things, striving to please his wife. The wife also has 
this difference 10 from the virgin ; the cares of the virgin are fixed upon 



1 We cannot help remarking, that the man- 
ner in which a recent inlidel writer has spoken 
of this passage is one of the most striking 
proofs how far a candid and acute mind may 
be warped by a strong bias. In this case the 
desire of the writer is to disparage the moral 
teaching of Christianity; and he brings for- 
ward this passage to prove his case, and 
blames St. Paul because he assumes these 
Corinthian daughters to be disposable in mar- 
riage at the will of their father; as if any 
other assumption had been possible in the 
case of Greek or Jewish daughters in that age. 
We must suppose that this writer would (on 
the same grounds) require a modern mission- 
ary to Persia to preach the absolute incom- 
patibility of despotic government with sound 
morality. A similar ignoratio elenchi runs 
through all his remarks upon this chapter. 

2 Compare " I obtained mercy/' 1 Tim. i. 
13. 

3 The participle here can only mean present. 
See the note on 2 Thess. ii. 2. The word was 
mistranslated in this passage in the first edition. 

4 " So," namely " as virgins." 

5 Literally, though thou shalt have married, 
thou hast not sinned; the aorist used for the 
perfect, as constantly by St. Paul. 



6 I is emphatic, I, if you followed my ad- 
vice ; also observe the present, " I am sparing 
you [by this advice]," or, in other words, " / 
would spare you." 

7 We adopt Lachmann's reading. " The 
object of this contraction of your earthly life 
is, that you may henceforth set your affections 
on things above." 

8 Literally, the verb appears to mean to use 
up, as distinguished from to use. Compare ix 
18. It thus acquired the sense of to abuse, in 
which it is sometimes employed by Demos- 
thenes and by the grammarians. 

9 Literally, "passing by," flitting past, like 
the shadows in Plato's Cavern (Eepub. vii. 1), 
or the figures in some moving phantasma- 
goria. 

10 The reading of Lachmann makes a con- 
siderable difference in the translation, which 
would thus run: "The husband strives to please 
his wife, and is divided [in mind]. Both the un- 
married wife [i. e. the ividow] and the virgin care 
for the things of the Lord," frc. This reading 
gives a more natural sense to " divided " (cf. 
i. 13, so Stanley) ; but on the other hand, the 
use of " unmarried wife " for widow is unprece- 
dented ; and in this very chapter (verse 8} 
the word widows is opposed to unmarried. 



chap. xv. FIEST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 439 

e 

the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit ; but the cares 
of the wife are fixed upon worldly things, striving to please her husband. 
Now this I say for your own profit ; not that I may entangle you in avii.35 
snare ; but that I may help you to serve the Lord with a seemly and 
undivided service. But if any man think that he is treating his virgin 36 
daughter in an unseemly manner, by leaving her unmarried beyond the 
flower of her age, and if need so require, let him act according to his will ; 
he may do so without sin ; let them l marry. But he who is firm in his 37 
resolve, and is not constrained to marry his daughter, but has the power 
of carrying out his will, and has determined to keep her unmarried, does 
well. Thus he who gives his daughter in marriage does well, but he who 38 
gives her not in marriage does better. 
Mamage of The w ^ e * s bound by the law of wedlock so long as her 39 

husband lives ; but after his death she is free to marry whom 
she will, provided that she choose one of the brethren 2 in the Lord. Yet 40 
she is happier if she remain a widow, in my judgment ; and I think that 
I, no less 3 than others, have the Spirit of God. 

Answer to As to the meats which l^ve been sacrificed to idols, we viii.l 

cerning meats know — (for " we all have knowledge;" 4 but knowledge 

offered to V ° ' & 

idols. p U Q- s U p^ ^iie \ oye builds. If any man prides himself on his 2 

knowledge, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know ; but whosoever 3 

loves God, of him God hath knowledge) 5 — as to eating the meats sacri- 4 
need to idols, we know (I say) that an idol has no true being, and that 

there is no other God but one. For though there be some who are called 5 
gods, either celestial or terrestrial, and though men worship many gods 

and many lords, yet to us there is but one God, the Father, from whom 6 
are all things, and we for Him ; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom 

are all things, and we by Him. 6 But " all " have not this " knowledge ; " 7 

1 " Them/' viz. the daughter and the suitor. 6 That is, God acknowledges him ; compare 

2 Literally, provided it be in the Lord. Gal. iv. 9. 

3 The " also " in " I also " has this meaning. 6 That is, by whom the life of all things, and 

4 It is necessary, for the understanding of our life also, is originated and sustained. So Col. 
this Epistle, that we should remember that it i. 16 : "By Him and for Him were all created, 
is an answer to a letter received from the Co- and in Him all things subsist ; " where it 
rinthian Church (1 Cor. vii. 1), and therefore should be remarked that the "for Him" is 
constantly alludes to topics in that letter. It predicated of the Son, as in the present passage 
6eems probable, from the way in which they of the Father. Both passages show how fully 
are introduced, that these words, " We all have St. Paul taught the doctrine of the Aoyoc, 
knowledge," are quoted from that letter. 



440 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. 1AITL. chap.xv. 

on the contrary, there are some who still have a conscientious fear of the 

idol, and think the meat an idolatrous sacrifice, so that, if they eat it, 

viii.8 their conscience being weak is denied. Now our food cannot change our 

place in God's sight ; with Him we gain nothing by eating, nor lose by 

9 not eating. But beware lest, perchance, this exercise of your rights * 

10 should become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if one of them see 
thee, who boastest of thy knowledge, 2 feasting in an idol's temple, will 
not he be encouraged to eat the meat offered in sacrifice, notwithstanding 

11 the weakness of his conscience ? 3 And thus, through thy knowledge, 

12 will thy weak brother perish, for whom Christ died. Nay, when you 
sin thus against your brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you 

13 sin against Christ. Wherefore, if my food cast a stumbling-block ia 
my brother's path, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest thereby 
I cause my brother's fall. 4 

it '1 Is it denied that I am an Apostle ? Is it denied that I 

He vindicate* 

am free from man's authority ? 5 It is denied that I have h , is c J aira t to ,. 

•> the Apostolic 

2 seen Jesus 6 our Lord ? Is it denied that you are the fruits of ffjuXiSJg 

t to to it i detractors; 

my labor in the Lord (■ It to others I am no apostle, yet at <™d explains 

J • x ** his renuncia* 

least I am such to you ; for you are yourselves the seal which SfSSVpSoi 

3 stamps the reality of my apostleship, in the Lord ; this is my 

4 answer to those who question my authority. Do they deny my right to 

5 be maintained 7 [by my converts] ? Do they deny my right to carry a 
believing wife with me on my journeys, like the rest of the apostles, and 

6 the brothers of the Lord, 8 and Cephas ? Or do they think that I and 

1 " This liberty of yours." Observe again 8 Literally, will not the conscience of him, 
the reference to the language of the self-styled though he is weak, be, §-c. 

Pauline party at Corinth. Compare "all 4 The whole of this eighth chapter is paral- 

things are lawful for me" (vi. 12). The de- lei to Rom. xiv. 

.crees of the " Council of Jerusalem " might 5 "Free." Compare verse 19 and Gal i. 1, 

seem to have a direct bearing on the question " an Apostle not of men." 

•discussed by St. Paul in this passage; but he 6 "Christ" here is omitted by the best 

docs not refer to them as deciding the points MSS. 

in dispute, either here or elsewhere. Probably 7 This was a point much insisted on by 

the reason of this is, that the decrees were the Judaizers (see 2 Cor. xii. 13-16). They 

meant only to be of temporary application ; argued that St. Paul, by not availing himself 

and in their terms they applied originally only of this undoubted apostolic right, betrayed his 

to the churches of Syria and Cilicia (see Acts own consciousness that he was no true 

xv. 23 ; also Chap. VII.). Apostle. 

2 Literally, the possessor of knowledge ; in allu- 8 "The brothers of the Lord." It is a 
sion to the previous " We all have knowl- very doubtful question whether these were the 
•edge," ,> sons of our Lord's mother's sister, viz. the 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COEINTHIANS. 441 

Barnabas alone have no right to be maintained, except by the labor of 
our own hands ? What soldier l ever serves at his private cost ? What ix. 7 
husbandman plants a vineyard without sharing in its fruit ? What 
shepherd tends a flock without partaking of their milk ? Say I this on 8 
Man's judgment only, or says not the Law the same ? Yea, in the Law 9 
of Moses it is written, " &\iau sfjalt not WXffih % 0# tljat teaftetjj 
0ltf tht CQXIX." 2 Is it for oxen that God is caring, or speaks He alto- 10 
gether for our sake ? For our sake, doubtless, it was written; because 
the ploughman ought to plough, and the thresher to thresh, with hope to 
share in the produce of his toil. If I have sown for you the seed of 11 
spiritual gifts, would it be much if I were to reap some harvest from 
your carnal gifts ? If others share this right over you, how much more 12 
should I ? Yet I have not used my right, but forego every claim, 3 lest I 
should by any means hinder the course of Christ's Glad-tidings. Know 13 
ye not that they 4 who perform the service of the temple live upon the 
revenues of the temple, and they who minister at the altar share with it 
in the sacrifices ? So also the Lord commanded 5 those who publish the 14 
Glad-tidings, to be maintained thereby. But I have not exercised any of 15 
these rights, nor do I write 6 this that it may be practised in my own 
case. For I had rather die than suffer any man to make void my 
boasting. For, although I proclaim the Glad-tidings, yet this gives me 16 
no ground of boasting; for I am compelled to do so by order of my 7 
Master. Yea, woe is me if I proclaim it not. For were my service of 17 
my own free choice, I might claim wages to reward my labor ; but since 
I serve by compulsion, I am a slave intrusted with a stewardship. 8 What, 
then, is my wage ? It is to make the Glad-tidings free of cost where I 18 

Apostles James and Judas, the sons of Al- 5 (Matt. x. 9, 10.) Provide neither gold nor 

phasus (Luke vi. 15, 16) (for cousins were silver nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your 

called brothers), or whether they were sons of journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet 

Joseph by a former marriage, or actually sons staves: for the workman is tborthy of his meat. 
of the mother of our Lord. e The aorist is the epistolary tense. There 

1 He means to say that, to have this right is considerable difference of reading in this 
of maintenance, a man need be nO Apostle. verse, but not materially affecting the sense. 

2 Deut. xxv. 4 (LXX.), quoted also 1 Tim. 7 "Necessity" here is the compulsion ex- 
r. 18. ercised by a master over a slave. In calling 

3 The proper meaning of the verb used his service compulsory, St. Paul refers to the 
here is to hold out against, as a fortress against miraculous character of his conversion, 
assault, or ice against superincumbent weight. 8 This " stewardship " consisted in dispens- 
Compare xiii. 7, and 1 Thess. iii. 1. ing his Master's goods to his fellow-slaves. 

4 Numbers vii. and Deut. xviii. See iv. 1, 2. 



442 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xy. 

ix.19. carry it, that I may forego my right as an Evangelist. 1 Therefore, 

20 although free from the authority of all men, I made myself the slave of 
all, that I might gain 2 the most. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I 
might gain the Jews ; to those under the law, as though I were under the 
law (not that I was myself subject to the law), 3 that I might gain those 

21 under the law ; to those without the law, 4 as one without the law (not 
that I was without law before God, but under the law of Christ), that I 

22 might gain those who were without the law. To the weak, I became 
weak, that I might gain the weak. I am become all things to all men, 

23 that by all means I might save some. And this I do for the sake of the 
Glad-tidings, that I myself may share therein with those who hear me. 

24 Know ye not that in the races of the stadium, though all run, yet but 

25 one can win the price ? — (so run that you may win) — and every man 
who strives in the matches trains himself by all manner of .self-restraint. 5 
Yet they do it to win a fading crown, 6 — we, a crown that cannot fade. 

26 I, therefore, run not like the racer who is uncertain of his goal ; I fight, 

27 not as the pugilist who strikes out against the air ; 7 but I bruise 8 my 
body and force it into bondage ; lest, perchance, having called others to 
the contest, 9 I should myself fail shamefully of the prize. 

*.l For 10 I would not have you ignorant, brethren , that our He again 

J ° 7 ' warns the Co- 

forefathers all were guarded by the cloud, and all passed safely againsTimmo- 

2 through the sea. And all, in the cloud, and in the sea, were Jximpi/s of 

the punish- 

3 baptized unto Moses. And all of them alike ate the same ment °/ God ' 8 

r ancient peo- 

4 spiritual food ; and all drank of the same spiritual stream ; for p e * 

1 Literally, that I may not fully use. See 6 This was the crown made of the leaves 
note on vii. 31. The perplexity which corn- of the pine, groves of which surrounded the 
mentators have found in this passage is partly Isthmian Stadium : the same tree still grows 
due to the construction of the Greek, but prin- plentifully on the Isthmus of Corinth. It was 
cipally to the oxymoron ; St. Paul virtually the prize of the great Isthmian games, 
says that his wage is the refusal of wages. The Throughout the passage, St. Paul alludes to 
passage may be literally rendered, "It is, that these contests, which were so dear to the pride 
/ should, while Evaflgelizing, make the Evangel and patriotism of the Corinthians. Compare 
free of cost, that I may not fully use my right as an also 2 Tim. ii. 5. And see the beginning of 
Evangelist." Ch. XX. on the same subject. 

2 " Gain " alludes to " wage." The souls 7 Literally, I run as one not unceriain [of the 
whom be gained were his wage. g oc ^\ • I fight as one not striking the air. 

3 The best MSS. here insert a clause which 8 This is the literal meaning of the pugilis- 
ts not in the Textus Receptus. tic term which the Apostle here employs. 

4 For " without law " in the sense of 9 " As a herald." See the second note on 
"heathen," compare Rom. ii. 12. Ch. XX. 

6 For a description of the severe training 10 The reading of the best MSS. is " for.* 

required, sec notes at the beginning of Ch. XX. The connection with what precedes is the pos- 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 443 

they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them ; l but that rock 
was Christ. Yet most of them lost God's favor, yea, they were struck x. 5 
down and perished in the wilderness. Now, these things were shadows 6 
of our own case, that we might learn not to lust after evil, as they lusted. 2 
Nor be ye idolaters, as were some of them ; as it is written, — " ^\)z ma- 7 

pfo sat irohm to mt atiir trrmk, mttr wzt up io plag." 3 Neither let 8 

us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day 
three and twenty thousand. 4 Neither let us try the long-suffering of 9 
Christ, as did some of them, who were destroyed by the serpents. 5 Nor 10 
murmur as some of them murmured, and were slain by the destroyer. 6 
Now all these things befell them as shadows of things to come ; and they 11 
were written for our warning, on whom the ends of the ages are come. 7 
Wherefore, let him who thinks that he stands firm, beware lest he fall. 12 
No trial has come upon you beyond man's power to bear ; and God is faith- 13 
ful to His promises, and will not suffer you to be tried beyond your 
strength, but will with every trial provide the way of escape, that you 
may be able to sustain it. 

^ e n™ainS"' Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to 14 
idolatry. wuh men of understanding; 8 use your own judgment upon my 15 
words. When we drink the cup of blessing, which we bless, are we not 16 
all partakers in the blood of Christ ? When we break the bread, are we 
not all partakers in the body of Christ? 9 For as the bread is one, so we, 17 
the many, are one body ; for of that one bread we all partake. If you 18 

sibility of failure even in those who had re- 6 See Numbers xvi. 41. The murmuring 

ceivetl the greatest advantages. of the Corinthians against the Apostle is com- 

1 St. Paul's meaning is, that, under the pared to the murmuring of Koran against 
allegorical representation of the Manna, the Moses. 

Water and the Rock are shadowed forth 7 The coming of Christ was " the end of 

spiritual realities : for the Rock is Christ, the the ages," i. e. the commencement of a new 

only source of living water (John iv.), and the period of the world's existence. So nearly 

Manna also is Christ, the true bread from the same phrase is used Heb. ix. 26. A simi- 

Heaven (John vi.). For the Rabbinical tradi- lar expression occurs five times in St. Matthew, 

tions about the rock, see Schottgen ; and on the signifying the coming of Christ to judgment. 

whole verse, see Prof. Stanley's excellent note. 8 " Wise men," the character peculiarly 

2 Viz. after the flesh-pots of Egypt. affected by the Corinthians. The word is per- 



8 Exod. xxxii. 6 (LXX.). haps used with a mixture of irony, as at 1 

4 Numbers xxv. 9, where twenty-four thou- Cor. iv. 10, and 2 Cor. xi. 19. 

sand is the number given. See the remarks 9 Literally, The cup of blessing ivhichwe bless, 

on p. 157, n. 2, on the speech at Antioch, and is it not a common participation in the blood of 

also the note on Gal. iii. 17. Christ? The bread ivhich we break, is it not a 

6 Numbers xxi. 6. common participation in the body of Christ 9 



444 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv, 

look to the carnal Israel, do you not see that those who eat of the sacri- 

x. 19 fices are in partnership with the altar ? What would I say then ? that an 

idol has any real being ? or that meat offered to an idol is really changed 

20 thereby ? Not so ; but I say, that when the heathen offer their sacrifices, 

" %g saxrifia to btmom t aitir not to (fkir ; " x and I would not have 

21 you become partners 2 with the demons. You cannot drink the cup of 
the Lord, and the cup of demons ; you cannot eat at the table of the 

22 Lord, and at the table of demons. Would we provoke the Lord to jeal- 
ousy ? Are we stronger than He ? 

23 " All things are lawful," 3 but not all things are expedient ; They must 

deny them- 

" all things are lawful," but not all things build up the church, selves even 

07 a i. lawful lmdul- 

24 Let no man seek his own, but every man his neighbor's good fh?nlnjure er 

25 Whatever is sold in the market, you may eat, nor need you science of 

* ' J , their weaker 

26 ask for conscience' sake whence it came : got tlje jeartg IS brethren - 

27 % l^rtr's, ant* % faltUSS fymof" 4 And if any unbeliever invites 
you to a feast, and you are disposed to go, eat of all that is set before you, 

28 asking no questions for conscience' sake ; but if any one should say to you, 
" This has been offered to an idol," eat not of that dish, for the sake of 

2$ him who pointed it out, and for the sake of conscience. 5 Thy neighbor's 
conscience, I say, not thine own ; for [thou mayest truly say] " why is 

30 my freedom condemned by the conscience of another ? and if I thank- 
fully partake, why am I called a sinner for that which I eat with thanks- 
giving ? " 6 

31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all for 

32 the glory of God. 7 Give no cause of stumbling, either to Jews or Gen- 

33 tiles, or to the Church of God. For so I also strive to please all men in 
all things, not seeking my own good, but the good of all, 8 that they may 

xi. 1 be saved. I beseech you follow my example, as I follow the example 
of Christ. 

1 Deut. xxxii. 17: "They sacrificed to * Psalm xxiv. 1 (LXX.). 

demons, not to God" (LXX). 5 The repeated quotation is omitted in the 

2 This is addressed to those who were in best MSS. 

the habit of accepting invitations to feasts cele- 6 Compare Rom. xiv. 16 : "Let not your 
brated in the temples of the heathen gods "sit- good be evil spoken of." Here, again, the hy- 
ting in the idol's temple" (viii. 10). These pothesis that St. Paul is quoting from the let- 
feasts were, in fact, acts of idolatrous worship ; ter of the Corinthians removes all difficulty, 
the wine was poured in libation to the gods 7 i. e. that the glory of God may be manifested 
("the cup of demons," v. 21), and the feast to men. 

was given in honor of the gods. 8 The phrase denotes not many, but the 

8 See vi. 12 and note. many, the whole mass of mankind. 



FIEST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



445 



uiTcustom I P ra ^ se y° u ? brethren, that * " you are always mindful of xi. 2 

appealing my teaching, and keep unchanged the rules which I delivered 

unveiled in 

theassem- to vou." But I would have you know that Christ is the 3 

blies for pub- J J 

uc worship. | iea( j Q £ ever y marL) an d the man is the head of the woman, 
as God is the head of Christ. If a man should pray or prophesy in the 4 
congregation with a veil over his head, he would bring shame upon his 
head 2 [by wearing the token of subjection] . But if a woman prays or 5 
prophesies with her head unveiled, she brings shame upon her head, as 
much as she that is shaven. I say, if she cast off her veil, let her shave 6 
her head at once ; but if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or 
shaven, let her keep a veil upon her head. 3 For a man ought not to veil 7 
his head, since he is the likeness of God, and the manifestation of God's 
glory. But the woman's part is to manifest her husband's glory. For 8 
the man was not made from the woman, but the woman from the man. 
Nor was the man created for the sake of the woman, but the woman for 9 
the sake of the man. Therefore, the woman ought to wear a sign 4 of 10 
subjection upon her head, because of the angels. 5 Nevertheless, in their 11 
fellowship with the Lord, man and woman may not be separated the one 
from the other. 6 For as woman was made from man, so is man also 12 
borne by woman ; and all things spring from God. Judge of this matter 13 
by your own feeling. Is it seemly for a woman to offer prayers to God 
unveiled ? Or does not even nature itself teach you that long hair is 14 
a disgrace to a man, but a glory to a woman ? for her hair has been 15 



1 This statement was probably made in the 
letter sent by the Corinthian Church to St. 
Paul. 

2 It appears from this passage that the 
Tallith which the Jews put over their heads 
when they enter their synagogues (see p. 154) 
was in the apostolic age removed by them 
when they officiated in the public worship. 
Otherwise St. Paul could not, while writing to 
a church containing so many born Jews as the 
Corinthian, assume it as evidently disgraceful 
to a man to officiate in the congregation with 
veiled head. It is true that the Greek practice 
was to keep the head uncovered at their re- 
ligious rites (as Grotius and Wetstein have 
remarked), but this custom would not have af- 
fected the Corinthian synagogue, nor have in- 
fluenced the feelings of its members. 

3 For the character of this veil (or hood), 
see Canon Stanley's note in loco. 



4 The word is often used for the domnao?* 
exercised by those in lawful authority over theii 
subordinates (see Luke vii. 8). Here it is used 
to signify the sign of that dominion. 

5 The meaning of this very difficult ex- 
pression seems to be as follows : — The angela 
are sent as ministering servants to attend upon 
Christians, and are especially present when the 
church assembles for public worship ; and 
they would be offended by any violation of 
decency or order. For other explanations, 
and a full discussion of the subject, the reader 
is referred to Prof. Stanley's note. 

6 In their relation to Christ, man and wo- 
man are not to be severed the one from the 
other. Compare Gal. iii. 28. St. Paul means 
to say that the distinction between the sexes is 
one which only belongs to this life. 



446 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

xi.16 given her for a veil. But if any one thinks to be contentious in de- 
fence of such a custom, let him know that it is disallowed by me, 1 and 
by all the Churches of God. 

17 [I said that I praised you, for keeping the rules which censure on 

their profana* 

were delivered to youl ; but while I give you this command- tion of the 

J J ' ° J Lord's Sup- 

ment I praise you not ; your solemn assemblies are for evil per * 

18 rather than for good. For first, I hear that there are divisions among 
you when your congregation assembles ; and this I partly believe. 

19 For there must needs be not divisions only, 2 but also adverse sects among 

20 you, that so the good may be tested and made known. Moreover, 3 when 

21 you assemble yourselves together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper ; for 
each begins to eat [what he has brought for] his own supper, before 
any thing has been given to others : and while some are hungry, others 

22 are drunken. 4 Have you, then, no houses to eat and drink in ? or do you 
come to show contempt for the congregation of God's people, and to 
shame the poor ? 5 What can I say to you ? Shall I praise you in this ? 

23 I praise you not. For I myself 6 received from the Lord that which I 
delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night when He was be- 

24 trayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and 
said — " Take, eat ; this is my body, which is broken for you : this do in 

25 remembrance of me." In the same manner also, He took the cup after 
supper, saying, " This cup is the new covenant in my blood : this do ye, 

26 as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat 
this bread and drink this cup, you openly show forth the Lord's death 

27 until He shall come again. Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread or 
drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of profaning 

28 the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so 

29 let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. For he who eats and 
drinks of it unworthily eats and drinks judgment against himself, not 

1 Literally, that neither I, nor the churches of entertainment of frequent occurrence among 
God, admit of such a custom. the Greeks, and known by the name of 

2 " There must be also, &c." Ipavoc. 

3 The second subject of rebuke is intro- 6 Literally, Those who have not houses to 
duced here. eat in s and who therefore ought to have re- 

4 For the explanation of this, see Chap. ceived their portion at the love-feasts from 
XIII. It should be observed that a common their wealthier brethren. 

meal, to which each of the guests contributed 6 The " I " is emphatic, 

his own share of the provisions, was a form of 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COBINTHIANS. 447 

• 

duly judging of the Lord's body. 1 For this cause many of you are weakxi.30 
and sickly, and many sleep. For if we had duly judged ourselves, we 31 
should not have been judged. But now that we are judged, we are 32 
chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned together with the 
world. Therefore, my brethren, when you are assembling to eat, wait for 33 
one another ; and if any one is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your 34 
meetings should bring judgment upon you. The other matters I will set 
in order when I come. 

on the s irit- Concerning those who exercise 2 Spiritual Gifts, brethren, Ixii. 1 
would not have you ignorant. You know that in the days 2 
of your heathenism you were blindly 3 led astray to worship dumb and 
senseless idols [by those who pretended to gifts from heaven]. This, 3 
therefore, I call to your remembrance ; that no man who is inspired by 
the Spirit of God can say " Jesus is accursed ; " and no man can say 
" Jesus is the Lord," unless he be inspired by the Holy Spirit. 4 More- 4 
over, there are varieties of Gifts, but the same Spirit gives them all ; and 
[they are given for] various ministrations, but all to serve the same 5 
Lord ; and the working whereby they are wrought is various, but all 6 
are wrought in all by the working of the same God. 5 But the gift where- 7 
by the Spirit becomes manifest is given to each for the profit of all. To 8 
one 6 is given by the Spirit the utterance of Wisdom, to another the 

1 If in this verse we omit, with the ma- extraordinary spiritual gifts which followed 
jority of MSS., the words " unworthily" and Christian baptism in that age proceeded in all 
" of the Lord," it will stand as follows : He cases from the Spirit of God, and not from the 
who eats and drinks of it, not duly judging of Spirit of Evil. This is St. Paul's answer to a 
[or discerning] the Body, eats and drinJcs judg- difficulty apparently felt by the Corinthians 
ment against himself The "not discerning" (and mentioned in their letter to him), whether 
is explained by Canon Stanley, " if he does some of these gifts might not be given by the 
not discern that the body of the Lord is in Author of Evil to confuse the Church. Prof, 
himself and in the Christian society ; " but Stanley observes that the words Jesus is ac- 
the more usual and perhaps more natural cursed and Jesus is the Lord (according to the 
explanation is, "if he does not distinguish reading of some of the best MSS., which pro- 
between the Eucharistic elements and a com- duces a much livelier sense) " were probably 
mon meal." well-known forms of speech ; the first for re- 

2 The adjective is here taken as masculine, nouncing Christianity (compare maledicere 
because this agrees best with the context, and Christo, Plin. Ep. x. 97), the second for pro- 
also because another word is used in this fessing allegiance to Christ at baptism." 
chapter for spiritual gifts. 5 j^ should be observed that the 4th, 5th, 

8 As ye chanced to be led at the will of your and 6 th verses imply the doctrine of the 

leaders, i. e. blindly. Trinity. 

* i. e. the mere outward profession of 6 On this classification of spiritual gifts, 

Christianity is (so far as it goes) a proof of see p. 372, note, 
the Holy Spirit's guidance. Therefore the 



448 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

• 

utterance of Knowledge x according to the working of the same Spirit, 
xii. 9 To another Faith 2 through the same Spirit. To another gifts of Healing 

10 through the same Spirit. To another the powers which work Miracles ; 
to another Prophecy ; to another the discernment of Spirits ; 3 to another 

11 varieties of Tongues ; 4 to another the Interpretation of Tongues. But 
all these gifts are wrought by the working of that one and the same 

12 Spirit, who distributes them to each according to His will. For as the 
body is one, and has many members, and as all the members, though 

13 many, 5 are one body ; so also is Christ. For in the communion of one 
Spirit we all were 6 baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gen- 
tiles, 7 whether slaves or freemen, and were all made to drink of the same 

14 Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If 8 the foot should 

15 say, " I am not the hand, therefore I belong not to the body," does it 

16 thereby sever itself from the body ? Or if the ear should say, " I am 
not the eye, therefore I belong not to the body," does it thereby sever 

17 itself from the body ? If the whole body were an eye, where would be 
the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the 

18 smelling ? But now God has placed the members severally in the body 

19 according to His will. If all were one member, where would be the 

20 body ? But now, though the members are many, yet the body is one. 

21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, " I have no need of thee ; " nor 

22 again the head to the feet, " I have no need of you." Nay, those parts 

23 of the body which are reckoned the feeblest are the most necessary, and 
those parts which we hold the least honorable, we clothe with the more 
abundant honor, and the less beautiful parts are adorned with the greater 

24 beauty ; whereas the beautiful need no adornment. But God has tem- 
pered the body together, and given to the lowlier parts the higher honor, 

25 that there should be no division in the body, but that all its parts should 

26 feel, one for the other, a common sympathy. And thus, if one member 

1 Knowledge (gnosis) is the term used 6 Some words of the Received Text are 
throughout this Epistle for a deep insight into omitted here by the best MSS. 

divine truth ; Wisdom is a more general term, 6 The past tense is mistranslated in A. V. as 

but here (as being opposed to gnosis) probably present. 7 See note on Rom. i. 16. 

means practical wisdom. 8 The resemblance between this passage 

2 That is, wonder-ivorlcing faith. See Ch. and the well-known fable of Menenius Agrippa 
XIII. (Liv. ii. 32) can scarcely be accidental; and 

8 See Ch. XIII. may perhaps be considered another proof that 

4 See Ch. XIII. for remarks on this and St. Paul was not unacquainted with classical 
the other gifts mentioned in this passage. literature. 



chap. xt. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 449 

suffer, every member suffers with it ; or if one member be honored, .. 

xn. 
every member rejoices with it. Now ye are together the body of Christ, 27 

and each one of you a separate member. And God has set the mem- 28 

bers in the Church, some in one place, and some in another: 1 first, 2 

Apostles; secondly, Prophets; thirdly, Teachers; afterwards Miracles; 

then gifts of Healing ; Serviceable Ministrations ; Gifts of Government ; 

varieties of Tongues. Can all be Apostles ? Can all be Prophets ? 29 

Can all be Teachers ? Can all work Miracles ? Have all the Gifts of 30 

Healing ? Do all speak with Tongues ? Can all interpret the Tongues ? 

But I would have you delight 3 in the best gifts ; and moreover, beyond 31 

them all, 4 1 will show you a path wherein to walk. 

superiority of Though I speak in all the tongues of men and angels, if Ixiii.l 

the extraor- have not love, I am no better than sounding brass or a tin- 

dinary Gi'ts ° 

of the spirit. ^\[ n g cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and 2 
understand all the mysteries, and all the depths of knowledge ; and 
though I have the fulness of faith, 5 so that I could remove mountains ; 
if I have not love, I am nothing. And though I sell all my goods to feed 3 
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, 6 if I have not love, 4 
it profits me nothing. Love is long suffering; love is kind ; love envies 
not ; love speaks no vaunts ; love swells not with vanity ; love offends not 5 
by rudeness ; love seeks not her own ; is not easily provoked ; bears no 
malice ; 7 rejoices not over 8 iniquity, but rejoices in the victory of 6 

1 The omission of the answering clause in the use of the words exceedingly sinful would 
the Greek renders it necessary to complete the not explain the expression an exceedingly path. 
sense by this interpolation. 6 i. e. the charism of wonder-working faith. 

2 On this classification, see p. 372, note ; See Ch. XIII. The " removal of mountains " 
on the particular charisms and offices men- alludes to the words of our Lord, recorded 
fcioned in it, see pp. 372-378. Matt. xvii. 20. 

8 The verb means originally to -feel intense 6 Some MSS. have " give my body that I 

eagerness about a person or thing : hence its may boast," which gives a satisfactory sense, 
different senses of love, jealousy, &c, are 7 Literally, does not reckon the evil [against the 

derived. Here the wish expressed is, that the evil-doer]. Compare 2 Cor. v. 19 : " not reck- 

Corinthians should take that delight in the oning their sins." The Authorized Version 

exercise of the more useful gifts, which hither- here, " thinketh no evil," is so beautiful that 

to they had taken in the more wonderful, not one cannot but wish it had been a correct 

that individuals should " covet earnestly " for translation. The same disposition, however, 

themselves gifts which God had not given is implied by the " believes all things " below, 
them. Compare xiv. 39, and observe that the 8 This verb sometimes means to rejoice in 

verb is a different one in xiv. 1. the misfortune of another, and the characteristic 

4 This seems the meaning here. The of love here mentioned may mean that it does 

phrase can scarcely be taken as an adjective not exult in the punishment of iniquity ; or 

with " path," as in A. V. Such an instance may simply mean that it does not delight in 

as Rom. vii. 13 is not parallel. In English the contemplation of wickedness. 



450 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xr. 

xiii. 

7 truth ; l foregoes all things, 2 believes all things, hopes all things, endure? 

8 all things. Love shall never pass away ; but Prophecies shall vanish, 

9 and Tongues shall cease, and Knowledge shall come to nought. For our 

10 Knowledge is imperfect, and our prophesying is imperfect. But when 

11 the perfect is come, the imperfect shall pass away. When I was a 
child, my words were childish, my desires were childish, my judgments 
were childish ; but being grown a man, I have done with the things of 

12 childhood. So now we see darkly, 3 by a mirror, 4 but then face to face ; 
now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as I now am 5 known. 

13 Yet while other gifts shall pass away, these three, Faith, Hope, and 
Love, abide ; and the greatest of these is Love. 

xiv.l Follow earnestly after Love ; yet delight in the spiritual ^/S^xer- 

cise of the 

2 gifts, but especially in the gift of Prophecy. For he who giftofproph- 
speaks in a Tongue speaks not to men, but to God ; for no foigLa. 

3 man understands him, but with his spirit he utters mysteries. But he 
who prophesies speaks to men, and builds them up, with exhortation and 

4 with comfort. He who speaks in a Tongue builds up himself alone ; but 

5 he who prophesies builds up the Church. I wish that you all had the 
gift of Tongues, but rather that you had the gift of Prophecy; for he 
who prophesies is above him who speaks in Tongues, unless he interpret, 

6 that the Church may be built up thereby. Now, brethren, if when I 
came to you I were to speak in Tongues, what should I profit you, unless 
I should [also] speak either in Revelation or in Knowledge, either in 

7 Prophesying or in Teaching ? Even if the lifeless instruments of sound, 
the flute or the harp, give no distinctness to their notes, how can we 

8 understand their music ? If the trumpet utter an uncertain note, how 

9 shall the soldier prepare himself for the battle ? So also if you utter 
unintelligible words with your tongue, how can your speech be under- 

10 stood ? you will but be speaking to the air. Perhaps there may be as 
many languages in the world [as the Tongues in which you speak], and 

1 Literally, rejoices when the Truth rejoices. 6 Literally, " I was known/' i. e. when in 

2 For the meaning, see note on ix. 12. this world, by God. The tense used retrospec- 
8 Literally, in an enigma ; thus we see God tively ; unless it may be better to take it as 

{e.g.) in nature, while even revelation only the aorist used in a perfect sense, which is not 
shows us His reflected likeness. There is, no uncommon in St. Paul's style, 
doubt, an allusion to Numbers xii. 8. 

4 Not " through a glass," but by means of a 
mirror. 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. * 451 

xiv. 
none of them is unmeaning. If, then, I know not the meaning of the 11 

language, I shall be as a foreigner to him that speaks it, and he will be 
accounted a foreigner by me. Wherefore, in your own case (since you 12 
delight in spiritual gifts) strive that your abundant possession of them 
may build up the Church. Therefore, let him who speaks in a Tongue 13 
pray that he may be able to interpret \ what he utters. For if I utter 14 
prayers in a Tongue, my spirit indeed prays, but my understanding bears 
no fruit. What follows, then ? I will pray indeed with my spirit, but I 15 
will pray with my understanding also ; I will sing praises with my spirit, 
but I will sing with my understanding also. For if thou, with thy spirit, 16 
offerest thanks and praise, how shall the Amen be said to thy thanksgiv- 
ing by those worshippers who take no part 2 in the ministrations, while 
they are ignorant of the meaning of thy words ? Thou indeed fitly 17 
offerest thanksgiving, but thy neighbors are not built up. I offer thanks- 18 
giving to God in private, 3 speaking in Tongues [to Him], more than any 
of you. Yet in the congregation I would rather speak five words with 19 
my understanding so as to instruct others than ten thousand words in a 
Tongue. Brethren, be not children in understanding ; but in malice be 20 
children, and in understanding be men. It is written in the Law, 4 21 

" Wlity men ai a%r ton%\xtn atttr ai\tx lip toil! Jf snxah nnta tljrs 
purple ; attir get for all tjmt %g hrill not \mx mt t smitfj % gTortr/' 

So that the gift of Tongues is a sign 5 given rather to unbelievers than to 22 
believers ; whereas the gift of Prophecy belongs to believers. When, 23 
therefore, the whole congregation is assembled, if all the speakers speak 
in Tongues, and if any who take no part in your ministrations, or who 
are unbelievers, should enter your assembly, will they not say that you 
are mad ? 6 But if all exercise the gift of Prophecy, then if any man 24 

1 This verse distinctly proves that the gift 6 That is, a condemnatory sign. 

of Tongues was not a knowledge of foreign Ian- 6 We must not be led, from any apparent 

guages, as is often supposed. See Ch. XIII. analogy, to confound the exercise of the gift 

2 Not the unlearned (A. V.), but him who of Tongues in the primitive Church with 
takes no part in the particular matter in hand. modern exhibitions of fanaticism, which bear 

3 This is evidently the meaning of the verse. a superficial resemblance to it. We must re- 
Compare verse 2, " He who speaks in a tongue member that such modern pretensions to this 
speaks not to himself but to God," and verse gift must of course resemble the manifesta- 
28, " Let him speak in private to himself and tions of the original gift in external features, be- 
God alone." cause these very features have been the objects 

* Is. xxviii. 11. Not exactly according to of intentional imitation. If, however, the in- 
the Hebrew or LXX. articulate utterances of ecstatic joy are followed 



452 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xt, 

who is an unbeliever, or who takes no part in your ministrations, should 
. enter the place of meeting, he is convicted in conscience by every speak- 

25 er, he feels himself judged by all, and * the secret depths of his heart are 
laid open ; and so he will fall upon his face and worship God, and report 

26 that God is in you of a truth. What follows, then, brethren ? If, when 
you meet together, one is prepared to sing a hymn of praise, another to 
exercise his gift of Teaching, another his gift of Tongues, another to deliv- 
er a Revelation, 2 another an Interpretation : let all be so done as to build 

27 up the Church. If there be any who speak in Tongues, let not more 
than two, or at the most three, speak [in the same assembly] ; and let 
them speak in turn ; and let the same interpreter explain the words of 

28 all. But if there be no interpreter, let him who speaks in Tongues keep 
silence in the congregation, and speak in private to himself and God 

29 alone. Of those who have the gift of Prophecy, let two or three speak 

30 [in each assembly], and let the rest 3 judge; but if another of them, 
while sitting as hearer, receives a revelation [calling him to prophesy], 

31 let the first cease to speak. For so you can each prophesy in turn, that 

32 all may receive teaching and exhortation ; and the gift of Prophecy does 

33 not take from the prophets 4 the control over their own spirits. For God 
is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 

5 In your congregation, as in all the congregations of the The women 

34 Saints, the women must keep silence ; for they are not per- date publicly 

in the congre- 

mitted to speak in public, but to show submission, as saith « ation - 

35 also the Law. 6 And if they wish to ask any question, let them ask it of 
their own husbands at home ; for it is disgraceful to women to speak in 

36 the congregation. [Whence is your claim to change the rules delivered 
to you ?] 7 Was it from you that the word of God went forth ? or are 



(as they were in some of Wesley's converts) 4 Literally, " the spirits of the prophets are 

by a life of devoted holiness, we should hesi- under the control of the prophets." This is a 

tate to say that they might not bear some reason why the rule given above can easily be 

analogy to those of the Corinthian Christians. observed. [This seems to modify what is said 

1 The word f ox "so" is omitted in best on p. 375. — h.] 

MSS. 5 This translation places a full-stop in the 

2 This would be an exercise of the gift of middle of the 33d verse, and a comma at the 
" prophecy." end of it. 

3 i. e. let the rest of the prophets judge 6 Gen. iii. 16:" Thy husband shall have 
whether those who stand up to exercise the the dominion over thee." 

gift have really received it. This is parallel to 7 The sentence in brackets, or something 

the direction in 1 Thess. v. 21. equivalent, is implied in the f) which begins 



chap. xv. FIEST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 453 

XIV. 

you the only church which it has reached ? Nay, if any think that he 37 
has the gift of Prophecy, or that he is a spiritual l man, let him acknowl- 
edge the words which I write for commands of the Lord. But if any 38 
man refuse this acknowledgment, let him refuse it at his peril. 

Therefore, brethren, delight in the gift of Prophecy, and hinder not 39 

the gift of Tongues. And let all be done with decency and order. 40 
The doctrine Moreover, brethren, I call to your remembrance the Glad- xv. I 

of the Resur- ' ' J * 

Dead e«t»b- tlie tidings which I brought you, which also you received, wherein 2 
its impugners. also you stand firm, whereby also you are saved, 2 if you still 
hold fast the words wherein I declared it to you ; unless, indeed, you 
believed in vain. For the first thing I taught you was that which I had 3 
myself been taught, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scrip- 
tures ; 3 and that He was buried, and that He rose 4 the third day from 4 
the dead, according to the Scriptures ; 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, 5 
and then by The Twelve ; after that He was seen by about five hundred 6 
brethren at once, of whom the greater part are living at this present 
time, but some are fallen asleep. 6 Next He was seen by James, and then 7 
by all the Apostles ; and last of all He was seen by me also, who am 8 
placed among the rest as it were by an untimely birth ; for I am the least 9 
of the Apostles, and am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I 
persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I 10 
am ; and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not fruitless ; but 
I labored more abundantly than all the rest ; yet not I, but the grace of 



the next. " Or was it from you/' *— i. e. " Or aorist : " He is risen," not " He was raised" or 

if you set up your judgment against that of other (more literally) He is awakened, not He was 

Churches, was it from you, Sfc." awakened ; because Christ, being once risen, 

1 " Spiritual," the epithet on which the dieth no more. But this present-perfect can- 
party of Apollos (the ultra-Pauline party) not here be retained in the English, 
especially prided themselves. See chap. iii. 6 Among the " Scriptures " here referred 
1-3 and Gal. vi. 1. to by St. Paul, one is the prophecy which he 

2 Literally, you are in the way of salvation. himself quoted in the speech at Antioch from 
The words which follow (the words wherein, Ps. xvi. 10. 

Sec.) were joined (in our first edition) with 6 Can we imagine it possible that St. Paul 

preached in the preceding verse, according to should have said this without knowing it to 

Billroth's view. But further consideration be true ? or without himself having seen some 

has led us to think that they may be more of these " five hundred brethren," of whom 

naturally made dependent on hold fast, as they " the greater part " were alive when he wrote 

are taken by De Wette, Alford, and others. these words? The sceptical (but candid and 

8 So our Lord quotes Is. liii. 12, in Luke honest) De Wette acknowledges this testimony 

xxii. 37. as conclusive. 

4 In the original it is the perfect, not the 



454 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xv. 

XV. 

11 God which was with me. So then, whether preached by me, or them, 
this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 

12 If, then, this be our tidings, that Christ is risen from the dead, how is 

13 it that some among you say, there is no resurrection of the dead ? But 

14 if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen ; and if 
Christ be not risen, vain is the message we proclaim, and vain the faith 

15 with which you heard it. Moreover, we are found guilty of false witness 
against God ; because we bore witness of God that He raised Christ from 

16 the dead, whom He did not raise, if, indeed, the dead rise not. For if 

17 there be no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself 1 is not risen. And 
if Christ be not risen, your faith is vain, you are still in 2 your sins. 

IS Moreover, if this be so, they who have fallen asleep in Christ perished 

19 when they died. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of 

20 all men most miserable. But now, Christ is risen from the dead ; the 

21 first-fruits 3 of all who sleep. For since by man came death, by man 

22 came also the resurrection of the dead. For as, in Adam, all men die, 

23 so, in Christ, shall all be raised to life. But each in his own order ; 
Christ, the first-fruits ; afterwards they who are Chrises at His appear- 

24 ing ; finally, the end shall come, when He shall give up His kingdom to 
God His Father, having destroyed all other dominion, and authority, and 

25 power. 4 For He must reign ¥ till J|* Jjatjj $nt all mtmitB UtibtT JpIS 

26 fed." 5 And last of His enemies, Death also shall be destroyed. For 

27 " He Jjatfx put ail ijjings UVfotX J}b feet/' 6 But in that saying, " all 
ijjmgS UTt $ui UVfotX Pitn/' it is manifest that God is excepted, who 

28 put all things under Him. And when all things are made subject to 
Him, then shall the Son also subject Himself to Him who made them 
subject, that God may be all in all. 

1 This argument is founded on the union therefore is, " As the single sheaf of first-fruits 
between Christ and His members : they so represents and consecrates all the harvest, so 
share His life, that, because He lives forever, Christ's resurrection represents and involves 
they must live also ; and conversely, if we that of all who sleep in Him." It should be 
deny their immortality, we deny His. observed that the verb is not present (as in 

2 Because we "are saved" from our sins A. V.), but past (not is become, but became), 
" by His life." (Rom. v. 10.) and that the best MSS. omit it. 

8 On the second day of the feast of Pass- 4 Compare Col. ii. 15 ; also Eph. i. 21. 

over a sheaf of ripe corn was offered upon the 5 Ps. ex. 1 (LXX.). Quoted, and similarly 

altar as a consecration of the whole harvest. applied, by our Lord himself, Matt. xxii. 44. 

Till this was done it was considered unlawful 6 Ps. viii. 6, nearly after LXX. Quoted 

to begin reaping. See Levit. xxiii. 10, 11, also as Messianic, Eph. i. 22, and Heb. ii. S. 

and Joseph. Antiq. iii. 10. The metaphor See the note on the latter place. 



CHAP. XT. 



FIEST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



455 



xv. 



Again, what will become of those who cause themselves to be baptized 29 
for the dead, 1 if the dead never rise again ? Why, then, do they submit 
to baptism for the dead ? 

And I too, why do I put my life to hazard every hour ? I protest by 30 
my 2 boasting (which I have [not in myself, but] in Christ Jesus our 31 
Lord) I die daily. If I ha?e fought (so to speak) with beasts at Ephe- 32 
sus, 3 what am I profited if the dead rise not? " %tt US t%t tmfr J&rittk, 
tot fn-morrobj bat fob." 4 Beware lest you be led astray; " Converse 33 
with evil men corrupts good manners" 5 Change your drunken revellings 6 
into the sobriety of righteousness, and live no more in sin ; for some of 34 
you know not God ; I speak this to your shame. 

But some one will say, " How are the dead raised up ? and with what 35 
body do they come ? " 7 Thou fool, the seed thou so west is not quick- 36 



1 The only meaning which the Greek seems 
to admit here is a reference to the practice of 
submitting to baptism instead of some person 
who had died unbaptized. Yet this explanation 
is liable to very great difficulties. (1) How 
strange that St. Paul should refer to such a 
superstition without rebuking it! Perhaps, 
however, he may have censured it in a former 
letter, and now only refers to it as an argu- 
mentum ad homines. It has, indeed, been 
alleged that the present mention of it implies 
a censure; but this is far from evident. (2) 
If such a practice did exist in the Apostolic 
Church, how can we account for its being dis- 
continued in the period which followed, when 
a magical efficacy was more and more ascribed 
to the material act of baptism? Yet the 
practice was never adopted except by some 
obscure sects of Gnostics, who seem to have 
founded their custom on this very passage. 

The explanations which have been adopted 
to avoid the difficulty, such as Jf over the 
graves of the dead," or " in the name of the 
dead (meaning Christ)," &c, are all inadmissi- 
ble, as being contrary to the analogy of the 
language. On the whole, therefore, the pas- 
sage must be considered to admit of no satis- 
factory explanation. It alludes to some prac- 
tice of the Corinthians, which has not been 
recorded elsewhere, and of which every other 
trace has perished. The reader who wishes to 
see all that can be said on the subject should 
consult Canon Stanley's note. 



2 We read " our " with Griesbach, on the 
authority of the Codex Alexandrinus. If 
" your " be the true reading, it can scarcely be 
translated (as has been proposed) " my boasting 
of you." For though instances may be ad- 
duced (as Rom. xi. 31) when a possessive pro- 
noun is thus used objectively, yet they never 
occur except where the context renders mis- 
take impossible. Indeed it is obvious that no 
writer would go out of his way to use a 
possessive pronoun in an unusual sense, when 
by so doing he would create ambiguity which 
might be avoided by adopting a usual form of 
expression. 

3 This is metaphorical, as appears by the 
qualifying expression translated in A. V., 
" after the manner of men." It must refer to 
some very violent opposition which St. Paul 
had met with at Ephesus, the particulars of 
which are not recorded. 

* Is. xxii. 13 (LXX.). 

5 St. Paul here quotes a line from The 
Thais, a comedy of Menander's : the line had 
probably passed into a proverbial expression. 
We see, from this passage, that the free-think- 
ing party at Corinth joined immoral practice 
with their licentious doctrine ; and that they 
were corrupted by the evil example of their 
heathen neighbors. 

6 Not awake (as in A. V.), but cease to be 
drunken. And below, do not go on sinning 
(present). 

» The form of this objection is conclusive 



406 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PA'&I* chap.sv. 

XV. 

37 ened into life till it hath partaken of death. And that which thou sowest 

has not the same body with the plant which will spring from it, but it is 

38 mere grain, of wheat, or whatever else it may chance to be. But God 
gives it a body according to His will ; and to every seed the body of its 

39 own proper plant. For all flesh is not the same flesh ; * [but each body 
is fitted to the place it fills] ; the bodies of men, and of beasts, of birds, 

40 and of fishes, differ the one from the other. And there are bodies which 
belong to heaven, and bodies which belong to earth ; but in glory the 

41 heavenly differ from the earthly. The sun is more glorious than the 
moon, and the moon is more glorious than the stars, and one star excels 
another in glory. So likewise is the resurrection of the dead ; [they will 

42 be clothed with a body fitted to their lot] ; it is sown in corruption, it 

43 is raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; 

44 it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power ; it is sown a natural 2 body, 
it is raised a spiritual body ; for as there are natural bodies, so there are 

45 also spiritual bodies. 3 And so it is written, " Cjtt first mm §>imm 
toas make n Ilbiltg S0ttl," 4 the last Adam was made a life-giving spirit. 

46 But the spiritual comes not till after the natural. The first man was made 

47 of earthly clay, the second man was the Lord from heaven. As is the 

48 earthly, such are they also that are earthly ; and as is the heavenly, such 

49 are they also that are heavenly ; and as we have borne the image of the 

50 earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. But this I say, 
brethren, that flesh and blood 5 cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 

against the hypothesis of those who suppose 8 The difference of reading does not ma- 

that these Corinthians only disbelieved the terially affect the sense of this verse. 

Resurrection of the body ; and that they be- 4 Gen. ii. 7, slightly altered from LXX. 

lieved the Resurrection of the dead. St. Paul The second member of the antithesis is not a 

asserts the Resurrection of the dead ; to which part of the quotation. 

they reply, " How can the dead rise to life 6 The importance of the subject justifies 

again, when their body has perished ?" This our quoting at some length the admirable 

objection he proceeds to answer, by showing remarks qf Dr. Burton (formerly Regius Pro- 

that individual existence may continue, with- fessor of Divinity at Oxford) on this passage, 

out the continuance of the material body. in the hope that his high reputation for learn- 

1 Prof. Stanley translates " no flesh is the ing and for unblemished orthodoxy may lead 
same flesh" which is surely an untenable propo- some persons to reconsider the loose and un- 
sition, and moreover inconsistent with the scriptural language which they are in the habit 
context ; though the words of the Greek no of using. After regretting that some of the 
doubt admit of such a rendering. early Fathers have (when treating of the 

2 For the translation here, see note on ii. Resurrection of the Body) appeared to contra- 
14. The reference to this of the following diet these words of St. Paul, Dr. Burton con- 
" soul" (in the quotation) should be observed, tinues as follows: — 

though it cannot be retained in English. " It is nowhere asserted in the New Testa- 



CHAP. XV. 



FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



457 



xv. 



neither can corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I declare to you a 51 
mystery ; we shall not 1 all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a 52 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet ; 
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 53 
and this mortal must put on immortality. 

But when this corruptible is clothed with incorruption, and this 54 
mortal is clothed with immortality, then shall be brought to pass the 
saying, which is written, " geatjr IS stodiobtti* Up XXI WxtorjT." 2 " ® 55 

toatfr, fofrm is % sting?" "® grata, iojjm is % biriorjj?" 3 56 

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; 4 but 57 



ment that we shall rise again with our bodies. 
Unless a man will say that the stalk, the 
blade, and the ear of corn, are actually the 
same thing with the single grain which is put 
into the ground, he cannot quote St. Paul as 
saying that we shall rise again with the same 
bodies ; or at least he must allow that the 
future body may only be like to the present 
one, inasmuch as both come under the same 
genus ; i. e. we speak of human bodies, and we 
speak of heavenly bodies. But St. Paul's 
words do not warrant us in saying that the 
resemblance between the present and future 
body will be greater than between a man and 
a star, or between a bird and a fish. Nothing 
can be plainer than the expression which he 
uses in the first of these two analogies, Thou 
sowest not that body that shall be (xv. 37). He 
says also, with equal plainness, of the body, 
It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual 
body : there is a natural body, and there is a 
spiritual body (ver. 44). These words require 
to be examined closely, and involve remotely 
a deep metaphysical question. In common 
language, the terms Body and Spirit are ac- 
customed to be opposed, and are used to 
represent two things which are totally distinct. 
But St. Paul here brings the two expressions 
together, and speaks of a sp iritual body. St. 
Paul, therefore, did not oppose Body to Spirit; 
and though the looseness of modern language 
may allow us to do so, and yet to be correct in 
our ideas, -it may save some confusion if we 
consider Spirit as opposed to Matter, and if 
we take Body to be a generic term, which com- 
prises both. A body, therefore, in the language 



of St. Paul, is something which has a distinct 
individual existence. 

" St. Paul tells us that every individual, 
when he rises again, will have a spiritual 
body: but the remarks which I have made 
may show how different is the idea conveyed 
by these words from the notions which some 
persons entertain, that we shall rise again with 
the same identical body. St. Paul appears ef- 
fectually to preclude this notion when he says, 
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom ef 
God" (ver. 50). — Burton's Lectures, pp. 429- 
431. 

1 The other reading "(adopted by Lach- 
mann) gives the opposite assertion, viz. " we 
shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed." It 
is easy to understand the motive which might 
have led to the substitution of this reading for 
the other ; a wish, namely, to escape the infer- 
ence that St. Paul expected some of that gen- 
eration to survive until the general resurrec- 
tion. 

2 Is. xxv. 8. Not quoted from the LXX., 
but apparently from the Hebrew, with some 
alteration. 

8 Hosea xiii. 14. Quoted, but not exactly, 
from LXX., which here differs from the 
Hebrew. 

4 Why is the law called " the strength of 
sin " ? Because the Law of Duty, being ac- 
knowledged, gives to sin its power to wound 
the conscience ; in fact, a moral law of pre- 
cepts and penalties announces the fatal conse- 
quences of sin, without giving us any power 
of conquering sin. Compare Bom. vii. 7-11. 



458 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xr. 

thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 

Christ, 
xv. 

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always 
abounding in the work of the Lord ; knowing that your labor is not in 

. vain, in the Lord. 

xvi. . 

1 Concerning the collection for the saints [at Jerusalem] I Direction* 

concerning 

would have you do as I have enjoined upon the churches of J. he c ? Ue j ct *? n 

2 Galatia. Upon the first day of the week, let each of you set ?£ n ^. hn3 * 
apart whatever his gains may enable him to spare ; that there may be 

3 no collections when I come. And when I am with you, whomsoever 
you shall judge to be fitted for the trust I will furnish with letters, 

4 and send them to carry your benevolence to Jerusalem ; or if there 
shall seem sufficient reason for me also to go thither, they shall „,*.„, 

° 7 * St. Paul's fu« 

5 go with me. But I will visit you after I have passed through ture P lans * 

6 Macedonia (for through Macedonia I shall pass), and perhaps I shall 
remain with you, or even winter with you, that you may forward me on 

7 my farther journey, whithersoever I go. For I do not wish to see you 
now for a passing l visit ; since I hope to stay some time with you, if the 

8 Lord permit. But I shall remain at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a door 

9 is opened to me both great and effectual ; and there are many adversaries, 

10 [against whom I must contend]. If Timotheus come to you, Timotheus. 
be careful to give him no cause of fear 2 in your intercourse with him, for 

11 he is laboring, as I am, in the Lord's work. Therefore, let no man de- 
spise him, but forward him on his way in peace, that he may come hither 
to me ; for I expect him, and the brethren with him. 

12 As regards the brother Apollos, I urged him much to visit Apoiios. 
you with the brethren, [who bear this letter] ; 3 nevertheless, he was 
resolved not to come to you at this time, but he will visit you at a more 
convenient season. 



1 i. e. St. Paul had altered his original in- and x. 1-12). He explains his reason for 

tention, which was to go from Ephesus by sea postponing his visit in 2 Cor. i. 23. It was 

to Corinth, and thence to Macedonia. For an anxiety to give the Corinthians time for 

this change of purpose he was reproached by repentance, that he might not be forced to use 

the Judaizing party at Corinth, who insin- severity with them. 

nated that he was afraid to come, and that he 2 The youth of Timotheus accovsts for 

dared not support the loftiness of his preten- this request. Compare 1 Tim. iv. 12. 
sions by corresponding deeds (see 2 Cor. i. 17, 8 See notes, pp. 403 and 460. 



chap. xv. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 459 

Xvi. 

Exhortations. Be watchful, stand firm in faith, be manful and stout- 13 
hearted. 1 Let all you do be done in love. 14 

Stephanas, You know, brethren, that tb£ house of Stephanas 2 were the 15 

Fortunatus, , : . 

and Achaicua. first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have taken on themselves 
the task of ministering to the saints. I exhort you, therefore, on your 16 
part, to show submission towards men like these, and towards all who 
work laboriously with them. I rejoice in the coming of Stephanas and 17 
Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they 3 have supplied all which you 
needed ; for they have lightened my spirit and yours. 4 To such render 18 
due acknowledgment. 

fromthe 118 ^he Churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla send 19 
Asia. mc< their loving salutation in the Lord, together with the Church 
which assembles at their house. All the brethren here salute you. 20 
Salute one another with the kiss of holiness. 5 

Autocrra h ^ ne salutation of me, Paul, with my own hand. Let him 21, 22 
who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ be accursed. CjjS ^Ottt 

tomtfy* 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you 23,24 
all in Christ Jesus. 7 

In the concluding part of this letter we have some indication of the 
Apostle's plans for the future. He is looking forward to a journey 
through Macedonia (xvi. 5), to be succeeded by a visit to Corinth (ib. 
2-7), and after this he thinks it probable he may proceed to Jerusalem 
(ib. 3, 4). In the Acts of the Apostles the same intentions 8 are ex- 

1 i. e. under persecution. iv. 5). Billroth thinks that he wrote it in 

2 See p. 349. Hebrew characters, as a part of the autograph 
8 Compare 2 Cor. xi. 9, and Phil. ii. 30. by which he authenticated this letter. See 

It cannot well be taken objectively, as " my the Hebrew and Greek together at the end of 

want of you; " not only because " my" would this chapter. Buxtorf (Lex. Chald. 827) says 

have been added, but also because the expres- it was part of a Jewish cursing formula, from 

sion is used in eight passages by St. Paul, the " Prophecy of Enoch " (Jud. 14); but this 

and in one by St. Luke, and the genitive con- view appears to be without foundation. In 

nected with the word for " want " is subjec- fact, it would have been most incongruous to 

tively used in seven out of these nine cases blend together a Greek word (ANATHEMA) 

without question, and ought, therefore, also with an Aramaic phrase (MARAN ATHA), 

to be so taken in the remaining two cases, and to use the compound as a formula of exe- 

where the context is not equally decisive. cration. This was not done till (in later ages 

4 Viz. by supplying the means of our inter- of the Church) the meaning of the terms them- 

course. 5 See note on 1 Thess. v. 25. selves was lost. 

6 Maran-Atha means " The Lord cometh," 7 The " Amen " is not found in the best 

and is used apparently by St. Paul as a kind MSS. 

of motto: compare " the Lord is nigh " (Phil. * The important application made in the 



460 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xt, 

pressed, with a stronger purpose of going to Jerusalem (xvi. 21), and with 
the additional conviction that after passing through Macedonia and 
Achaia, and visiting Palestine, he " must also see Rome " (ib.). He had 
won many of the inhabitants of Asia Minor and Ephesus to the faith : 
and now, after the prospect of completing his charitable exertions for the 
poor Christians of Judaea, his spirit turns towards the accomplishment 
of remoter conquests. Far from being content with his past achieve- 
ments, or resting from his incessant labors, he felt that he was under a 
debt of perpetual obligation to all the Gentile world. 1 Thus he express- 
es himself, soon after this time, in the Epistle to the Roman Christians, 
whom he had long ago desired to see (Rom. i. 10-15), and whom he 
hopes at length to visit, now that he is on his way to Jerusalem, and is 
looking forward to a still more distant and hazardous journey to Spain 
(ib. xv. 22-29). The path thus dimly traced before him, as he 
thought of the future at Ephesus, and made more clearly visible, when 
he wrote the letter at Corinth, was made still more evident 2 as he pro- 
ceeded on his course. Yet not without forebodings of evil, 3 and much 
discouragement, 4 and mysterious delays, 5 did the Apostle advance on his 
courageous career. But we are anticipating many subjects which will 
give a touching interest to subsequent passages of this history. Im- 
portant events still detain us in Ephesus. Though St. Paul's compan- 
ions 6 had been sent before in the direction of his contemplated journey 
(Acts xix. 22), he still resolved to stay till Pentecost (1 Cor. xvi. 8). A 
"great door" was open to him> and there were many " adversaries," 
against whom he had yet to contend. 

ANA GEM A NHK pO 

Anathema Mar an -Aiha . 1 

Hotob Paulina of these coincidences between a note, the probability that Titus was one of 

the Acts and Corinthians, and again of those those who went to Corinth with the First 

referred to below between the Acts and Ro- Epistle. See 1 Cor. xvi. 11, 12; 2 Cor. xii. 

mans, need only be alluded to. 18. We find that this is the view of Mac- 

1 "lama debtor both to Greeks and Bar- knight. Transl, frc, of the Apost. Epistles, vol. 
barians." Rom. i. 14. h P- 451. If this view is correct, it is interest- 

2 By the vision at Jerusalem (Acts xxiii. ing to observe that Titus is at first simply 
11 ), and on board the ship (xxvii. 23, 24). spoken of as " a brother," —but that gradually 

3 Compare what he wrote to the Romans he rises into note with the faithful discharge 
(Rom. xv. 30, 31) with what he said at Mile- of responsible duties. He becomes eminently 
tus (Acts xx. 22, 23), and with the scene at conspicuous in the circumstances detailed be- 
Ptolemais (ib. xxi. 10-14). low, Ch. XVII., and in the end he shares with 

4 The arrest at Jerusalem. Timothy the honor of associating his nam© 
6 The two-years' imprisonment at Caesarea, with the pastoral Epistles of St. Paul. 

and the shipwreck. 7 See note, p. 459. 

6 See p. 404. We have mentioned there, in 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Description of Ephesus. — Temple of Diana. — Her Image and Worship. — Political Constitu- 
tion of Ephesus. — The Asiarchs. — Demetrius and the Silversmiths. — Tumult in the 
Theatre. — Speech of the Town-Clerk. — St. Paul's Departure. 

THE boundaries of the province of Asia, 1 and the position of its chief 
city Ephesus, 2 have already been placed before the reader. It is 
now time that we should give some description of the city itself, with a 
notice of its characteristic religious institutions, and its political arrange- 
ments under the Empire. 

No cities were ever more favorably placed for prosperity and growth 
than those of the colonial Greeks in Asia Minor. They had the advan- 
tage of a coast-line full of convenient harbors, and of a sea which was 
favorable to the navigation of that day ; and, through the long approaches 
formed by the plains of the great western rivers, they had access to the 
inland trade of the East. Two of these rivers have been more than once 
alluded to, — the Hermus and the Maeander. 3 The valley of the first 
was bounded on the south by the ridge of Tmolus ; that of the second 
was bounded on the north by Messogis. In the interval between these 
two mountain-ranges was the shorter course of the river Cayster. 4 A few 
miles from the sea a narrow gorge is formed by Mount Pactyas on the 
south, which is the western termination of Messogis, and by the preci- 
pices of Gallesus on the north, the pine-clad summits 5 of which are more 
remotely connected with the heights of Tmolus. This gorge separates 
the Upper " Caystrian meadows " 6 from a small alluvial plain 7 by the 

1 p. 205". 2 p. 410. Steep succeeded steep, as we advanced, and 

3 See above, pp. 405, 410. 4 See p. 410. the path became more narrow, slippery, and 

6 " Our road lay at the foot of Gallesus, uneven . . . the known sureness of foot of 

beneath precipices of a stupendous height, our horses being our confidence and security 

abrupt and inaccessible. In the rock are by fearful precipices and giddy heights." — p. 

many holes inhabited by eagles ; of which 103. For the Cayster and the site of Ephesus, 

several were soaring high in the air, with see p. 107. The approach from Sardis, by 

crows clamoring about them, so far above us which St. Paul is supposed to have come (see 

as hardly to be discernible." — Chandler, p. above, p. 405J, was on this side: and part of 

111. Of another journey he says : " We rode the pavement of the road still remains, 
among the roots of Gallesus, or the Aleman, 6 For the " Asian meadow," see above, p. 

through pleasant thickets abounding with gold- 205. 

finches. The aerial summits of this immense 7 The plain is said by Mr. Arundell to be 

mountain towered above us, clad with pines. about five miles long ; and the morass has 

461 



462 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap. xn. 

sea. Partly on the long ridge of Coressus, which is the southern boun- 
dary of this plain, — partly on the detached circular eminence of Mount 
Prion, — and partly on the plain itself, near the windings of the Cayster, 
and about the edge of the harbor, — were the buildings of the city. 
Ephesus was not so distinguished in early times as several of her Ionian 
sisters ; l and some of them outlived her glory. But, though Phocaea 
and Miletus sent out more colonies, and Smyrna has ever remained a 
flourishing city, yet Ephesus had great natural advantages, which were 
duly developed in the age of which we are writing. Having easy access 
through the denies of Mount Tmolus to Sardis, and thence up the valley 
of the Hermus far into Phrygia, 2 — and again, by a similar pass through 
Messogis to the Maeander, being connected with the great road through 
Iconium to the Euphrates, 3 — it became the metropolis of the province of 
Asia under the Romans, and the chief emporium of trade on the nearer 
side of Taurus. The city built by Androclus and his Athenian followers 
was on the slope of Coressus ; but gradually it descended into the plain, 
in the direction of the Temple of Diana. The Alexandrian age produced 
a marked alteration in Ephesus, as in most of the great towns in the 
East ; and Lysimachus extended his new city over the summit of Prion 
as well as the heights of Coressus. The Roman age saw, doubtless, a 
still further increase both of the size and magnificence of the place. To 
attempt to reconstruct it from the materials which remain would be 
a difficult task, 4 — far more difficult than in the case of Athens, or even 
Antioch ; but some of the more interesting sites are easily identified. 
Those who walk over the desolate site of the Asiatic metropolis see piles 
of ruined edifices on the rocky sides and among the thickets of Mount 
Prion : 5 they look out from its summit over the confused morass which 
once was the harbor, 6 where Aquila and Priscilla landed ; and they visit 

advanced considerably into the sea since the Though St. Paul may never have seen thera, 
flourishing times of Ephesus. they are interesting as connected with Epa- 

1 The Ephesian Diana, however, was the phras and his other converts. 

patroness of the Phocean navigators, even * A plan of the entire city, with a descrip- 

when the city of Ephesus was unimportant. tive memoir, has been prepared by E. Ealkener, 

2 In this direction we imagine St. Paul to Esq., architect, but remains unpublished, 
have travelled. See above, p. 405. 5 Hamilton's Researches in Asia Minor, p. 

3 We have frequently had occasion to men- 23. Compare Chandler. 

tion this great road. See pp. 231-234, 405. 6 " Even the sea has retired from the scene 

It was the principal line of communication of desolation, and a pestilential morass, cov- 

with the eastern provinces ; but we have con- ered with mud and rushes, has succeeded to 

jectured that St. Paul did not travel by it, the waters which brought up the ships laden 

because it seems probable that he never was with merchandise from every country." — Arun- 

at Colossse. See p. 405. A description of the dell's Seven Churches, p. 27. Another occa- 

route by Colossi and Laodicea will be found sion will occur for mentioning the harbor, 

in Arundell's Asia Minor. The view he gives which was very indifferent. Some attempts 

of the cliffs of Colossae should be noticed. to improve it were made about this time. 



CHAP. XVI, 



EPHESUS, 



463 



in its deep recesses the dripping marble-quarries, where the marks of the 
tools are visible still. 1 On the outer edge of the same hill they trace the 
enclosure of the Stadium, 2 which may have suggested to St. Paul many 
of those images with which he enforces Christian duty, in the first letter 
written from Ephesus to Corinth. 3 Farther on, and nearer Coressus, the 
remains of the vast Theatre 4 (the outline of the enclosure is still dis- 
tinct, though the marble seats are removed) show the place where the 
multitude, roused by Demetrius, shouted out, for two hours, in honor of 
Diana. 5 Below is the Agora, 6 through which the mob rushed up to the 
well-known place of meeting. And in the valley between Prion and 
Coressus is one of the Gymnasia, 7 where the athletes were trained for 
transient honors and a perishable garland. Surrounding and crowning 
the scene are the long Hellenic walls of Lysimachus, following the ridge 
of Coressus. 8 On a spur of the hill, they descend to an ancient tower, 
which is still called the Prison of St. Paul. 9 The name is doubtless 
legendary : but St. Paul may have stood here, and looked over the city 
and the plain, and seen the Cayster winding towards him from the base 
of Gallesus. 10 Within his view was another eminence, detached from the 



1 Chandler. A curious story is told of the 
discovery of this marble. A shepherd named 
Pixodorus was feeding his flock on the hill : 
two of his rams fighting, one of them missed 
his antagonist, and with his horn broke a 
crust of the whitest marble. The Ephesians 
were at this time in search of stone for the 
building of their temple. The shepherd ran 
to his fellow-citizens with the specimen, and 
was received with joy. His name was changed 
into Evangelus (giver of glad-tidings), and 
divine honors were afterwards paid to him. 

2 See Chandler, who measured the area, 
and found it 687 feet in length. The side 
next the plain is raised on vaults, and faced 
with a strong wall. 

a 1 Cor. ix. 24-27. 

* " Of the site of the theatre, the scene of 
the tumult raised by Demetrius, there can be 
no doubt, its ruins being a wreck of immense 
grandeur. I think it must have been larger 
than the one at Miletus, and that exceeds any 
I have elsewhere seen in scale, although not in 
ornament. Its form alone can now be spoken 
of, for every seat is removed, and the prosce- 
nium is a hill of ruins." — Fellows's Asia 
Minor, p. 274. The Theatre of Ephesus is 
said to be the largest known of any that have 
remained to us from antiquity. 

5 Acts xix. The second edition contains a 



view (from Laborde), combining the steps of 
the theatre with a general prospect towards the 
sea. See also the art. Ephesus in the Diet, of 
the Bible. 

6 The Agora, with its public buildings, 
would naturally be between the hill-side on 
which the theatre and stadium stood, and the 
harbor. For the general notion of a Greek 
Agora, see the description of Athens. 

7 See an engraving of these ruins in the 
second volume of Ionian Antiquities, published 
by the Dilettanti Society. 

8 " An interesting feature in these ruins is 
the Hellenic wall of Lysimachus, ranging 
along the heights of Coressus. It extends for 
nearly a mile and three-quarters, in a S. E. 
and N. W. direction, from the heights imme- 
diately to the S. of the gymnasium to the 
tower called the Prison of St. Paul, but which 
is in fact one of the towers of the ancient wall. 
... It is defended and strengthened by nu- 
merous square towers of the same character at 
unequal distances." — Hamilton's Researches, 
vol. ii. p. 26. An engraving of one of the 
gateways is given, p. 27. 

9 Hamilton, as above. 

10 « This eminence (a root of Coressus run- 
ning out towards the plain) commands a lovely 
prospect of the river Cayster, which there 
crosses the plain from near Gallesus, with a 



464 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvi. 

city of that day, but which became the Mohammedan town when ancient 
Ephesus was destroyed, and nevertheless preserves in its name a record 
of another Apostle, the " disciple " St. John. 1 

But one building at Ephesus surpassed all the rest in magnificence and 
in fame. This was the Temple of Artemis or Diana, which glittered in 
brilliant beauty at the head of the harbor, and was reckoned by the an- 
cients as one of the wonders of the world. The sun, it was said, saw 
nothing in his course more magnificent than Diana's Temple. Its honor 
dated from a remote antiquity. Leaving out of consideration the earliest 
temple, which was contemporaneous with the Athenian colony under 
Androclus, or even yet more ancient, we find the great edifice, which 
was anterior to the Macedonian period, begun and continued in the 
midst of the attention and admiration both of Greeks and Asiatics. The 
foundations were carefully laid, with immense substructions, in the 
marshy ground. 2 Architects of the highest distinction were employed. 3 
The quarries of Mount Prion supplied the marble. 4 All the Greek 
cities of Asia contributed to the structure ; and Croesus, the king of 
Lydia, himself lent his aid. The work thus begun before the Persian 
war was slowly continued even through the Peloponnesian war ; and its 
dedication was celebrated by a poet contemporary with Euripides. 5 But 
the building, which had been thus rising through the space of many 
years, was not destined to remain long in the beauty of its perfection. 
The fanatic Herostratus set fire to it on the same night in which Alex- 
ander was born. This is one of the coincidences of history, on which 
the ancient world was fond of dwelling : and it enables us, with more 
distinctness, to pursue the annals of " Diana of the Ephesians." The 
temple was rebuilt with new and more sumptuous magnificence. The 
ladies of Ephesus contributed their jewelry to the expense of the resto- 
ration. The national pride in the sanctuary was so great, that, when 
Alexander offered the spoils of his eastern campaign if he might inscribe 
his name on the building, the honor was declined. The Ephesians 
never ceased to embellish the shrine of their goddess, continually adding 
new decorations and subsidiary buildings, with statues and pictures by 
the most famous artists. This was the temple that kindled the enthusi- 
asm of St. Paul's opponents (Acts xix.), and was still the rallying-point 

small but full stream, and with many luxuri- 3 The first architect was Theodoras of 

ant meanders." — Chandler. Samos. He was succeeded by Chersiphon of 

1 Ayasaluk, which is a round hill like Gnossus, then by his son Metagenes. The 
Prion, but smaller. Its name is said to be a building was completed by Demetrius and 
corruption of 6 &ytoQ QeoTioyog, " the holy Paeonius. 

Theologian." Sup. 89. 4 See above. 

2 Pliny says that it was built in marshy 5 Timothens. 
ground, lest it should be injured by earth- 
quakes. 



CBAP. XVI. 



TEMPLE OF DIANA. 465 



of Heathenism in the days of St. John and Polycarp. In the second 
century we read that it was united to the city by a long colonnade. But 
soon afterwards it was plundered and laid waste by the Goths, who came 
from beyond the Danube in the reign of Gallienus. 1 It sank entirely 
into decay in the age when Christianity was overspreading the Empire ; 
and its remains are to be sought for in mediaeval buildings, in the col- 
umns of green jasper which support the dome of St. Sophia, or even in 
the naves of Italian cathedrals. 2 

Thus the Temple of Diana of Ephesus saw all the changes of Asia 
Minor, from Croesus to Constantine. Though nothing now remains on the 
spot to show us what or even where it was, there is enough in its written 
memorials to give us some notion of its appearance and splendor. The 
reader will bear in mind the characteristic style which was assumed by 
Greek architecture, and which has suggested many of the images of the 
New Testament. 3 It was quite different from the lofty and ascending 
form of those buildings which have since arisen in all parts of Christian 
Europe, and essentially consisted in horizontal entablatures resting on 
vertical columns. In another respect, also, the temples of the ancients 
may be contrasted with our churches and cathedrals. They were not 
roofed over for the reception of a large company of worshippers, but 
were in fact colonnades 4 erected as subsidiary decorations round the cell 
which contained the idol, and were, through a great part of their space, 
open to the sky. The colonnades of the Ephesian Diana really consti- 
tuted an epoch in the history of Art, for in them was first matured that 
graceful Ionic style, the feminine beauty of which was more suited to the 
genius of the Asiatic Greek, than the sterner and plainer Doric, in 
which the Parthenon and Propylaea of Athens were built. The scale on 
which the Temple was erected was magnificently extensive. It was 425 
feet in length and 220 in breadth*; and the columns were 60 feet high. 
The number of columns was 127, each of them the gift of a king ; and 
36 of them were enriched with ornament and color. The folding-doors 
were of cyprus-wood ; the part which was not open to the sky was roofed 
over with cedar ; and the staircase was formed of the wood of one single 
vine from the island of Cyprus. The value and fame of the Temple 
were enhanced by its being the treasury where a large portion of the 
wealth of Western Asia was stored up. 5 It is probable that there was no 

1 Arundell's Seven Churches, p. 46. court of St. Ambrogio at Milan, which is a 

2 Ibid. p. 47. colonnade west of the Church, itself enclosing 
8 See, for instance, Gal. ii. 9, Rev. iii. 12, a large oblong space not roofed over. 

also 1 Tim. iii. 15; comparing what has been 6 A German writer says that the temple of 

said above, p. 195. the Ephesian Diana was what the Bank of 

4 A friend suggests one parallel in Chris- England is in the modern world, 
tian architecture, viz. the Atrium, or western 
30 



466 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xti, 

religious building in the world in which was concentrated a greater 
amount of admiration, enthusiasm, and superstition. 

If the Temple of Diana at Ephesus was magnificent, the image enshrined 
within the sumptuous enclosure was primitive and rude. We usually con- 
ceive of this goddess, when represented in art, as the tall huntress, eager 
in pursuit, like the statue in the Louvre. Such was not the form of the 
Ephesian Diana, though she was identified by the Greeks with their own 
mountain-goddess, whose figure we often see represented on the coins of 
this city. 1 What amount of fusion took place, in the case of this worship, 
between Greek and Oriental notions, we need not inquire. The image 
may have been intended to represent Diana in one of her customary 
characters, as the deity of fountains; 2 but it reminds us rather of the 
idols of the far East, and of the religions which love to represent the 
life of all animated beings as fed and supported by the many breasts of 
nature. 3 The figure which assumed this emblematic form above was 
terminated below in a shapeless block. The material was wood. A bar 
of metal was in each hand. The dress was covered with mystic devices, 
and the small shrine, where it stood within the temple, was concealed by 
a cu rtain in front. Yet, rude as the image was, it was the object of the 
utmost veneration. Like the Palladium of Troy — like the most ancient 
Minerva of the Athenian Acropolis, 4 — like the Paphian Yenus 5 or 
Cybele of Pessinus, 6 to which allusion has been made, — like the Ceres 
in Sicily mentioned by Cicero, 7 — it was believed to have "fallen down 
from the sky" (Acts xix. 35). Thus it was the object of the greater 
veneration from the contrast of its primitive simplicity with the mod- 
ern and earthly splendor which surrounded it ; and it was the model 
on which the images of Diana were formed for worship in other 
cities. 

One of the idolatrous customs of the ancient world was the use of 
portable images or shrines, which were little models of the more cele- 
brated objects of devotion. They were carried in processions, on journeys 

1 Hence she is frequently represented as coin at the end of Ch. XIV. gives a general 
the Greek Diana on coins of Ephesus. Some notion of the form of the image. 

of these are given in the larger editions. 4 See above in the description of Athens, 

2 This is the opinion of Guhl, whose elab- p. 309. 

orate work on ancient Ephesus is referred to 5 See the description of Paphos above, p. 

several times in the larger editions. 140. 

3 The form of the image is described by 6 See Herodian, as referred to above, p. 
Jerome : " Scribebat Paulus ad Ephesios Dia- 235. 

nam colentes, non hanc venatricem, quae 7 Cic. in Verr. v. 187. To this list we may 

arcum tenet atque succincta est, sed illam add, without any misrepresentation, the house 

multimammiam, quam Grseci Troh)[iaoT7}v vo- of our Lady of Loretto. See the Quarterly 

«,ant." —Prooem. ad Eph. Representations in Review for September, 1853, and the Chris- 

ancient sculpture are very frequent. The tian Remembrancer for April, 1855. 



chap. xvi. WOESHIP OF DIANA. 467 

and military expeditions, 1 and sometimes set up as household gods in 
private dwellings. Pliny says that this was the case with the Temple of 
the Cnidian Venus ; and other Heathen writers make allusion to the 
" shrines " of the Ephesian Diana, which are mentioned in the Acts (xix. 
24). The material might be wood, or gold, or " silver." The latter 
material was that which employed the hands of the workmen of Demetrius. 
From the expressions used by St. Luke, it is evident that an extensive and 
lucrative trade grew up at Ephesus, from the manufacture and sale of 
these shrines. Few of those who came to Ephesus would willingly go away 
without a memorial of the goddess, and a model of her temple ; 2 and, 
from the wide circulation of these works of art over the shores of the 
Mediterranean, and far into the interior, it might be said, with little 
exaggeration, that her worship was recognized by the " whole world" 3 
(Acts xix. 27). 

The ceremonies of the actual worship at Ephesus were conducted by 
the members of a twofold hierarchy. And here again we see the traces 
of Oriental rather than Greek influences. The Megabyzi, the priests 
of Diana, were eunuchs from the interior, under one at their head, who 
bore the title of high priest, and ranked among the leading and most 
influential personages of the city. Along with these priests were asso- 
ciated a swarm of virgin priestesses, consecrated, under the name of 
Melissae, to the service 4 of the deity, and divided into three classes, and 
serving, like the priests, under one head. And with the priests and 
priestesses would be associated (as in all the great temples of antiquity) 
a great number of slaves, who attended to the various duties connected 
with the worship, down to the care of sweeping and cleaning the Temple. 
This last phrase leads us to notice an expression used in the Acts of the 
Apostles, concerning the connection of Ephesus with the Temple of 
Diana. The term " Neocoros" or " Temple-sweeper" Qveaxogog, xix. 35), 
originally an expression of humility, and applied to the lowest menials 
engaged in the care of the sacred edifice, 5 became afterwards a title of 
the highest honor, and was eagerly appropriated by the most famous 

1 We may compare Cicero's words of the Inscriptions might be quoted to the same 
Roman legionary eagle, Cut. i. 9. effect. 

2 We cannot be sure, in this case, whether 4 These priestesses belonged to the class of 
by the word used here is meant the whole " sacred slaves." This class of devotees was 
temple, or the small shrine which contained common in the great temples of the Greeks. 
the image. Perhaps its form is that repre- Different opinions have been expressed on the 
sented on the first coin engraved in Mr. Aker- character of those at Ephesus : but, knowing 
man's paper in the Numismatic Chronicle. what we do of Heathenism, it is difficult to 

3 We find the image of the Ephesian have a favorable view of them. 

Diana on the coins of a great number of 6 The term properly denotes " sweeper of 

other cities and communities, e.g. Hierapo- the temple," and is nearly synonymous with the 
lis, Mytilene, Perga, Samos, Marseilles, &c. Latin "aedituus," or the French " sacristan." 



468 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xti. 

cities. 1 This was the case with Ephesus in reference to her national 
goddess. The city was personified as Diana's devotee. The title " Neo- 
coros " was boastfully exhibited on the current coins. 2 Even the free 
people of Ephesus were sometimes named " Neocoros" 3 Thus, the town- 
clerk could with good reason begin his speech by the question, — " What 
man is there that knows not that the city of the Ephesians is neocoros 
of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which came down from 
heaven ? " 

The Temple and the Temple-services remained under the Romans as 
they had been since the period of Alexander. If any change had taken 
place, greater honor was paid to the goddess, and richer magnificence 
added to her sanctuary, in proportion to the wider extent to which her 
fame had been spread. Asia was always a favored province, 4 and Ephe- 
sus must be classed among those cities of the Greeks, to which the 
conquerors were willing to pay distinguished respect. 5 Her liberties and 
her municipal constitution were left untouched, when the province was 
governed by an officer from Rome. To the general remarks which have 
been made before in reference to Thessalonica, 6 concerning the position 
of free or autonomous cities under the Empire, something more may be 
added here, inasmuch as certain political characters of Ephesus appear 
on the scene which is described in the sacred narrative. 

We have said, in the passage above alluded to, that free cities under 
the Empire had frequently their senate and assembly. There is abun- 
dant proof that this was the case at Ephesus. Its old constitution was 
democratic, as we should expect in a city of the Ionians, and as we are 
distinctly told by Xenophon : and this constitution continued to subsist 
under the Romans. The senate, of which Josephus speaks, 7 still met in 
the Senate-house, which is noticed by another writer, 8 and the position of 
which was probably in the Agora below the Theatre. 9 We have still 



1 Primarily the term was applicable to per- which is mentioned below, p. 471, n. 2. There 
sons, but afterwards it was applied to communi- the Town-Clerk is called Munatius, and he is 
ties, and more especially in the Eoman period. also Asiarch. It is worth while to observe. 
A city might be Neocoros with respect to several that these are all Koman names. 

divinities, and frequently the title had regard 4 The circumstances under which this prov- 

to the defiled emperor. ince came under the Roman power were such 

2 See, for instance, that engraved at the as to provoke no hostility. See pp. 206, 207. 
end of this chapter. A great number of these 6 See p. 288. 

coins are described in Mr. Akerman*s paper, 6 See pp. 288-291, and compare p. 253. 

in the Num. Chr. 7 Ant. xiv. 10, 12, also 2, 5, and xvi. 6, 

3 On the opposite page an inscription is 4, 7. 

given containing the words Neocoros, Proconsul, 8 Ach. Tat. viii. 

and Town-Clerk. The Proconsul is Peducius 9 See the allusion to the Agora above, p» 

Priscinus, the Town-Clerk is Tiberius Clau- 468. 

dins Italicus. The other inscription is that 



chap. xvi. GOVERNMENT OF EPHESUS. 4G0 

more frequent notices of the demus or people, and its assembly. 1 Where- 
ever its customary place of meeting might be when legally and regularly 
convoked (j-woyup Ixnl^aia^ Acts xix. 39), the theatre 2 would be an obvious 
place of meeting, in the case of a tumultuary gathering, like that which 
will presently be brought before our notice. 

Again, like other free cities, Ephesus had its magistrates, as Thessa- 
lonica had its politarchs (pp. 289 and 290), and Athens its archons. 
Among those which our sources of information bring before us are 
several with the same titles and functions as in Athens. 3 One of these 
was that officer who is described as " town-clerk " in the authorized 
version of the Bible (jgafifiatevg, Acts xix. 35). Without being able to 
determine his exact duties, or to decide whether another term, such as 
" Chancellor," or " Recorder," would better describe them to us, 4 we may 
assert, from the parallel case of Athens, 5 and from the Ephesian records 
themselves, that he was a magistrate of great authority, in a high and 
very public position. He had to do with state-papers; he was keeper of 
the archives ; he read what was of public moment before the senate and 
assembly ; he was present when money was deposited in the Temple : 
and when letters were sent to the people of Ephesus, they were officially 
addressed to him. Thus, we can readily account for his name appearing 
so often on the coins 6 of Ephesus. He seems sometimes to have given 
the name to the year, like the archons at Athens, or the consuls at Rome. 
Hence no magistrate was more before the public at Ephesus. His very 
aspect was familiar to all the citizens ; and no one was so likely to be 
able to calm and disperse an angry and excited multitude. (See Acts 
xix. 35-41.) 

If we turn now from the city to the province of which it was the 
metropolis, we are under no perplexity as to its relation to the imperial 
government. From coins and from inscriptions, 7 from secular writers 
and Scripture itself (Acts xix. 38), we learn that Asia was a proconsular 
province. 8 We shall not stay to consider the question which has been 
raised concerning the usage of the plural in this passage of the Acts ; for 



1 In Josephus xiv., xvi. (as above), the sen- 4 In Luther's Bible the term " Canzler" \t 
ate and assembly are combined. We find used. 

(%zof in inscriptions, and on coins, also 6 There were several ypanixaTelg at Athens. 

kiitikrjcia. The senate is sometimes (3ovA,7j, Some of them were state-officers of high ini 

sometimes yepovaia. portance. 

2 For illustrations of the habit of Greek 6 The first coin described in Mr. Akerman's 
assemblies to meet in theatres, we may refer to paper exhibits to us the same man as apxiepevg 
what Tacitus says of Vespasian at Antioch, and ypa/z^amV. 

Hist. ii. 80 ; also to Joseph. Wars, vii. 3. 7 g ee> f or instance, the coin p. 477, and the 

3 For instance, besides the archons, strategi, inscription opposite. 

gymnasiarchs, &c. 8 gee a previous account of this province. 



470 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. 2CV1. 



it is not necessarily implied that more than one proconsul was in Ephesus 
at the time. 1 But another subject connected with the provincial arrange- 
ments requires a few words of explanation. The Roman citizens in a 
province were, in all legal matters, under the jurisdiction of the procon- 
sul ; and for the convenient administration of justice, the whole country 
was divided into districts, each of which had its own assize town {forum 
or conventus')? The proconsul, at stated seasons, made a circuit through 
these districts, attended by his interpreter (for all legal business in the 
Empire was conducted in Latin), 3 and those who had subjects of litigation, 
or other cases requiring the observance of legal forms, brought them 
before him or the judges whom he might appoint. Thus Pliny, after the 
true Roman spirit, in his geographical description of the Empire, is 
always in the habit of mentioning the assize-towns, and the extent of the 
shires which surrounded them. In the province of Asia he takes especial 
notice of Sardis, Smyrna, and Ephesus, and enumerates the various 
towns which brought their causes to be tried at these cities. The official 
visit of the proconsul to Ephesus was necessarily among the most impor- 
tant ; and the town-clerk, in referring to the presence of the proconsuls, 
could remind his fellow-citizens in the same breath that it was the very 
time of the assizes (ayoomoi ayovrai, Acts xix. 38) . 4 

We have no information as to the time- of the year 5 at which the 
Ephesian assizes were held. If the meeting took place in spring, they 
might then be coincident with the great gathering which took place at 
the celebration of the national games. It seems that the ancient festival 
of the United Ionians had merged into that which was held in honor of 
the Ephesian Diana. 6 The whole month of May was consecrated to the 



1 "There are deputies (proconsuls)." It is 
enough to suppose that we have here simply 
the generic plural, as in Matt. ii. 20. In the 
Syriac version the word is in the singular. 
Some suppose that this was the time when the 
proconsulship was (so to speak) in commission 
under Celer and iElius, as mentioned by Taci- 
tus (Ann. xiii. 1). A more probable conjec- 
ture is that some of the governors of the 
neighboring provinces, such as Achaia, Cilicia, 
Cyprus, Bithynia, Pamphylia, might be pres- 
ent at the public games. The governors of 
neighboring provinces were in frequent com- 
munication with each other. See p. 423. 

2 Conventus was used both for the assize- 
town and the district to which its jurisdiction 
extended. It was also used to denote the 
actual meeting for the assizes. 

3 See pp. 404 and 423. 

* We are not, however, absolutely forced to 



assume that the assizes were taking place at 
this particular time. See the note of Canon 
Wordsworth, who gives the substance of the 
whole passage thus : " Assize-days or court- 
days come round, and Proconsuls attend, be- 
fore whom tbe cause may be tried." The 
phrase ayopaiove [yfiepac] ayeiv is equivalent to 
Caesar's conventus agere, and Cicero's forum 
agere. We find the same Greek phrase in Strabo. 

5 We find Caesar in Gaul holding the con- 
ventus in winter ; but this was probably be- 
cause he was occupied with military proceed- 
ings in tbe summer, and need not be regarded 
as a precedent for other provinces. 

6 What the festival of Delos was for the 
islands, the Panionian festival was for the 
mainland. But Ephesus seems ultimately to 
have absorbed and concentrated this celebra- 
tion. These games were called Artemisia, 
Ephesia, and CEcumenica. 



CHAP. XVI. 



THE ASIARCHS. 471 



glory of the goddess ; and the month itself received from her the name 
of Artemision. ' The Artemisian festival was not simply an Ephesian 
ceremony, but was fostered by the sympathy and enthusiasm of all the 
surrounding neighborhood. As the Temple of Diana was called " the 
Temple of Asia," so this gathering was called "the common meeting of 
Asia." l From the towns on the coast and in the interior, the Ionians 
came up with their wives and children to witness the gymnastic and 
musical contests, and, to enjoy the various amusements, which made the 
days and nights of May one long scene of revelry. To preside over these 
games, to provide the necessary expenses, and to see that due order was 
maintained, annual officers were appointed by election from the whole 
province. About the time of the vernal equinox, each of the principal 
towns within the district called Asia chose one of its wealthiest citizens, 
and, from the whole number thus returned, ten were finally selected to 
discharge the duty of Asiarchs. 2 We find similar titles in use in the 
neighboring provinces, and read, in books or on inscriptions and coins, 
of Bithyniarchs, Galatarchs, Lyciarchs, and Syriarchs. But the games 
of Asia and Ephesus were pre-eminently famous ; and those who held 
there the office of " Presidents of the Games " were men of high distinc- 
tion and extensive influence. Receiving no emolument from their office, 
but being required rather to expend large sums for the amusement of 
the people and their own credit, 3 they were necessarily persons of wealth. 
Men of consular rank were often willing to receive the appointment, and 
it was held to enhance the honor of any other magistracies with which 
they might be invested. They held for the time a kind of sacerdotal 
position ; and when, robed in mantles of purple and crowned with gar- 
lands, they assumed the duty of regulating the great gymnastic contests, 
and controlling the tumultuary crowd in the theatre, they might literally 
be called the " Chief of Asia " (Acts xix. 31). 

These notices of the topography and history of Ephesus, of its religious 
institutions, and political condition under the Empire, may serve to clear 
the way for the narrative which we must now pursue. We resume the his- 



1 We find this expressed on coins. In in- in previous years and retained the title, like 
scriptions the temple appears as " the temple the High Priest at Jerusalem. Among the 
of Asia." Ephesian inscriptions one is given opposite 

2 'Aaiapxai, Acts xix., translated "Chief p. 469, containing the words Asiarch and Town- 
of Asia " in the A. V. From what is said in Clerk. " Twice Asiarch " appears on a coin of 
Eusebius {H. E. iv. 15) of one Asiarch pre- Hypressa, represented in Ak. Num. III. p. 51. 
siding at the martyrdom of Polycarp, it has 3 Compare the case of those who dis- 
been needlessly supposed that in this passage charged the state-services or liturgies at Athens 
of the Acts we are to consider all but one to Such was often the position of the Roman 
have been assessors of the chief Asiarch, or aediles : and the same may ~ie said of the county 
else those to be meant who had held the office sheriffs in England. 



472 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap,xtt. 

tory at the twenty-second verse of the nineteenth chapter of the Acts, where 
we are told of a continued stay l in Asia after the burning of the books of 
the magicians. 2 St. Paul was indeed looking forward to a journey 
through Macedonia and Achaia, and ultimately to Jerusalem and Rome 
(v. 21) ; and in anticipation of his departure he had sent two of his com- 
panions into Macedonia before him (v. 22). The events which had pre- 
viously occurred have already shown us the great effects which his 
preaching had produced both among the Jews and Gentiles. 3 And those 
which follow show us still more clearly how wide a " door " 4 had been 
thrown open to the progress of the gospel. The idolatrous practices of 
Ephesus were so far endangered, that the interests of one of the preva- 
lent trades of the place were seriously affected ; and meanwhile St. 
Paul's character had risen so high, as to obtain influence over some of 
the wealthiest and most powerful personages in the province. The scene 
which follows is entirely connected with the religious observances of the 
city of Diana. The Jews 5 fall into the background. Both the danger 
and safety of the Apostle originate with the Gentiles. 

It seems to have been the season of spring when the occurrences took 
place which are related by St. Luke at the close of the nineteenth chap- 
ter. 6 We have already seen that he purposed to stay at Ephesus " till 
Pentecost ;" 7 and it has been stated that May was the " month of Diana," 
in which the great religious gathering took place to celebrate the games. 8 
If this also was the season of the provincial assize (which, as we have 
seen, is by no means improbable), the city would be crowded with various 
classes of people. Doubtless those who employed themselves in making 
the portable shrines of Diana expected to drive a brisk trade at such a 
time ; and when they found that the sale of these objects of superstition 
was seriously diminished, and that the preaching of St. Paul was the 
cause of their merchandise being depreciated, " no small tumult arose 
concerning that way " in which the new teacher was leading his disciples 
(v. 23). A certain Demetrius, a master-manufacturer in the craft, sum- 
moned together his workmen, along with other artisans who were occu- 
pied in trades of the same kind — (among whom we may perhaps reckon 
" Alexander the coppersmith " (2 Tim. iv. 14), against whom the Apostle 
warned Timothy at a later period), — and addressed to them an inflam- 
matory speech. It is evident that St. Paul, though he had made no open 



1 "He himself staid in Asia for a sea- dress at Miletus (xx. 19), St. Paul speaks 
son." especially of the temptations which befeU him 

2 Related above, Acts xix. 18-20. by the " lying-in-wait of the Jews." 
8 See Ch. XIV. * 1 Cor. xvi. 9. 6 vv. 21-41. 

8 Yet it seems that the Jews never ceased 7 See the end of the preceding chapter. 

from their secret machinations. In the ad- 8 See above. 



chap. xvi. DEMETBIUS AND THE SILVERSMITHS. 4V3 

and calumnious attack on the divinities of the place, as was admitted 
below (v. 37), had said something like what he had said at Athens, that 
we ought not to suppose that the deity is " like gold or silver carved with 
the art and device of man" (Acts xvii. 29), and that " they are no gods 
that are made with hands " (v. 26). Such expressions, added to the fail- 
ure in the profits of those who were listening, gave sufficient materials for 
an adroit and persuasive speech. Demetrius appealed first to the interest 
of his hearers, 1 and then to their fanaticism. 2 He told them that their 
gains were in danger of being lost- — and, besides this, that " the temple 
of the great goddess Diana " (to which we can imagine him pointing as 
he spoke) 3 was in danger of being despised, and that the honor of their 
national divinity was in jeopardy, whom not only " all Asia," 4 but " all 
the civilized world," 5 had hitherto held in the highest veneration. Such 
a speech could not be lost, when thrown like fire on such inflammable 
materials. The infuriated feeling of the crowd of assembled artisans 
broke out at once into a cry in honor of the divine patron of their city 
and their craft, — " Great is Diana of the Ephesians." 6 

The excitement among this important and influential class of opera- 
tives was not long in spreading through the whole city. 7 The infection 
seized upon the crowds of citizens and strangers ; and a general rush was 
made to the theatre, the most obvious place of assembly. 8 On their way, 
they seem to have been foiled in the attempt to lay hold of the person of 
Paul, 9 though they hurried with them into the theatre two of the 
companions of his travels, Caius and Aristarchus, whose home was in 
Macedonia. 10 A sense of the danger of his companions, and a fearless 
zeal for the truth, urged St. Paul, so soon as this intelligence reached 
him, to hasten to the theatre and present himself before the people ; but 

1 See vv. 25, 26. ? v. 29. 

2 See v. 27. 8 See aoove, p. 463. 

3 See what is said above on the position of 9 Something of the same kind seems to 
the Temple. It would probably be visible have happened as at Thessalonica (Acts xvii. 
from the neighborhood of tbe Agora, where 5, 6), when the Jews sought in vain for Paul 
we may suppose Demetrius to have harangued and Silas in the house of Jason, and therefore 
the workmen. dragged the host and some of the other Chris- 

4 v. 27. Compare vv. 10 and 26 ; also 1 tians before the magistrates. Perhaps the 
Cor. xvi. 19. Seep. 413. , house of Aquila and Priscilla may have been 

5 "The world," v. 27. Compare the town- a Christian home to the Apostle at Ephesus, 
clerk's words below, v. 35. like Jason's house at Thessalonica. See Acts 

6 In an inscription which contains the words xviii. 18, 26, with 1 Cor. xvi. 19; and com- 
ypapfiaTEvs and uvdvTrarog, we find special men- pare Rom. xvi. 3, 4, where they are said to 
tion of " the great goddess Diana before the city," have " laid down their necks" for St. Paul's 
and extracts might be given from ancient life. 

authors to the same effect. In illustration of 10 The Greek word is the same in Acts xix. 

this latter phrase, compare what has been said 29, and 2 Cor. viii. 19. See what is said 
of the Lystrian Jupiter, p. 168. above of these companions of St. Paul, p. 404. 



474 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xti. 

the Christian disciples used all their efforts to restrain him. Perhaps 
their anxious solicitude might have been unavailing * on this occasion, as 
it was on one occasion afterwards, 2 had not other influential friends in- 
terposed to preserve his safety. And now was seen the advantage which 
is secured to a righteous cause by the upright character and unflinching 
zeal of its leading champion. Some of the Asiarchs, 3 whether converted 
to Christianity or not, had a friendly feeling towards the Apostle ; and 
well knowing the passions of an Ephesian mob when excited at one of 
the festivals of Asia, they sent an urgent message to him to prevent him 
from venturing into the scene of disorder and danger. 4 Thus he reluc- 
tantly consented to remain in privacy, while the mob crowded violently 
into the theatre, filling the stone seats, tier above tier, and rending the 
air with their confused and fanatical cries. 5 

It was indeed a scene of confusion ; and never perhaps was the char- 
acter of a mob more simply and graphically expressed, than when it is 
said, that " the majority knew not why they were come together" (v. 32). 
At length an attempt was made to bring the expression of some articulate 
words before the assembly. This attempt came from the Jews, who seem 
to have been afraid lest they should be implicated in the odium which 
had fallen on the Christians. By no means unwilling to injure the Apos- 
1le's cause, they were yet anxious to clear themselves, and therefore they 
" put Alexander forward " to make an apologetic speech 6 to the multi- 
tude. If this man was really, as we have suggested, " Alexander the 
coppersmith," he might naturally be expected to have influence with 

1 The imperfect (v. 30) simply expresses 5 " Some cried one thing and some an- 

the attempt. 2 See Acts xxi. 13. other," v. 32. An allusion has been made 

3 For the office of the Asiarchs, see above, (p. 118) to the peculiar form of Greek theatres, 
p. 471. in the account of Herod's death at Csesarea. 

4 v. 31. The danger in which St. Paul From the elevated position of the theatre at 
was really placed, as well as other points in Ephesus, we may imagine that many of the 
the sacred narrative, is illustrated by the ac- seats must have commanded an extensive view 
count of Polycarp's martyrdom. " The pro- of the city and the plain, including the Tem- 
consul, observing Polycarp filled with confi- pie of Diana. 

dence and joy, and his countenance brightened 6 Our view of the purpose for which Alex- 

with grace, was astonished, and sent the her- ander was put forward will depend upon 

aid to proclaim, in the middle of the stadium, whether we consider him to have been a Jew, 

" Polycarp confesses that he is a Christian. or a Christian, or a renegade from Christianity. 

When this was declared by the herald, all the It is most natural to suppose that he was a 

multitude, Gentiles and Jews, dwelling at Jew, that the Jews were alarmed by the tu- 

Smyrna, cried out, ' This is that teacher of mult, and anxious to clear themselves from 

Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer blame, and to show they had nothing to do 

of our gods; he that teaches multitudes not to with St. Paul. As a Jew, Alexander would 

sacrifice, not to worship.' Saying this, they be recognized as an enemy to idolatry, and 

cried out, and asked Philip the Asiarch to let naturally the crowd would not hear him. 
a lion loose upon Polycarp." Euseb. H. E. 
iv. 15. 



chap, xvi, SPEECH OF THE TOWN-CLERK. 475 

Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen. But when he stood up and " raised 
his hand " l to invite silence, he was recognized immediately by the mul- 
titude as a Jew. It was no time for making distinctions between Jews 
and Christians ; and one simultaneous cry arose from every mouth, 
" Great is Diana of the Ephesians ; " and this cry continued for two 
hours. 

The excitement of an angry multitude wears out after a time, and a 
period of re-action comes, when they are disposed to listen to words of 
counsel and reproof. And, whether we consider the official position of 
the " Town-clerk," or the character of the man as indicated by his 
speech, we may confidently say that no one in the city was so well suited 
to appease this Ephesian mob. The speech is a pattern of candid argu- 
ment and judicious tact. He first allays the fanatical passions of his 
listeners by this simple appeal : 2 " Is it not known everywhere that 
this city of the Ephesians is Neocoros of the great goddess Diana and of 
the image that came down from the sky? " The contradiction of a few 
insignificant strangers could not affect what was notorious in all the 
world. Then he bids them remember that Paul and his companions had 
not been guilty of approaching or profaning the temple, 3 or of outraging 
the feelings of the Ephesians by calumnious expressions against the god- 
dess. 4 And then he turns from the general subject to the case of Deme- 
trius, and points out that the remedy for any injustice was amply 
provided by the assizes which were then going on, — or by an appeal to 
the proconsul. And reserving the most efficacious argument to the last, 
he reminded them that such an uproar exposed the city of Ephesus to 
the displeasure of the Romans : for, however great were the liberties 
allowed to an ancient and loyal city, it was well known to the whole 
population, that a tumultuous meeting which endangered the public 
peace would never be tolerated. So, having rapidly brought Ins argu- 
ments to a climax, he tranquillized the whole multitude, and pronounced 
the technical words which declared the assembly dispersed. (Acts xix. 
41.) The stone seats were gradually emptied. The uproar ceased (ib. 
xx. 1), and the rioters separated to their various occupations and amuse- 
ments. 

Thus God used the eloquence of a Greek magistrate to protect His 
servant, as before He had used the right of Roman citizenship (p. 268), 



1 The phrase is not quite identical with 3 The rendering in the Authorized Version, 
that used of St. Paul (Acts xiii. 16, xxi. 40), "robbers of churches," is unfortunate. Wic- 
and of St. Peter (Acts xii. 17). See the re- lif has, more correctly, " sacrilegious." 
marks already made on the former passage. * " Blasphemers of your goddess." 

2 For the Neocorate of Ephesus and its 
notoriety, see above, pp. 467, 468. 



476 THE LIFE AND EPISTLEtf OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvi. 

and the calm justice of a Roman governor (p. 365). And, as in the 
cases of Philippi and Corinth, 1 the narrative of St. Paul's sojourn 
at Ephesus concludes with the notice of a deliberate and affectionate 
farewell. The danger was now over. With gratitude to that Heavenly 
Master who had watched over his life and his works, and with a 
recognition of that love of his fellow-Christians, and that favor of the 
" Chief of Asia," which had been the instruments of his safety, he 
gathered together the disciples (Acts xx. 1), and in one last affectionate 
meeting — most probably in the school of Tyrannus — he gave them his 
farewell salutations, and commended them to the grace of God, and 
parted from them with tears. 

This is the last authentic account which we possess, — if we except 
the meeting at Miletus (Acts xx.), — of any personal connection of St. 
Paul with Ephesus ; for although we think it may be inferred from the 
Pastoral Epistles that he visited the metropolis of Asia again at a later 
period, yet we know nothing of the circumstances of the visit, and even 
its occurrence has been disputed. The other historical associations of 
Christianity with this city are connected with a different Apostle and a 
later period of the Church. Legend has been busy on this scene of 
apostolic preaching and suffering. Without attempting to unravel what 
is said concerning others who have lived and died at Ephesus, 2 we are 
allowed to believe that the robber-haunts 3 in the mountains around have 
witnessed some passages in the life of St. John, that he spent the last 
year of the first century in this " metropolis of the Asiatic Churches," 4 
and that his body rests among the sepulchres of Mount Prion. Here we 
may believe that the Gospel and Epistles were written, which teach us 
that " love " is greater than " faith and hope " (1 Cor. xiii. 13) ; and 
here, — though the " candlestick " is removed, according to the prophetic 
word (Rev. ii. 5), — a monument yet survives, in the hill strewn with 
the ruins of many centuries, 5 of him who was called " John the 

1 Acts xvi. 40, xviii. 18. the meaning of the term "Theologian," or 

2 It is said that Timothy died at Ephesus, " Divine," as applied to St. John, see Stan-^ 
and was buried, like St. John, on Mount ley's Sei-mons, p. 271. 

Prion. It has been thought better to leave in 

reverent silence all that has been traditionally Note. — (See the coin on p. 477.) — From 

said concerning the Mother of our blessed Ak. Num. III. p. 55. This coin is peculiarly 

Lord. interesting for many reasons. It has a rep- 

3 Euseb. H. E. iii. 23, which should be resentation of the temple, and the portrait 
compared with 2 Cor. xi. 26. See p. 145. and name of Nero, who was now reigning; 

4 Stanley's Sermons, fyc, on the Apostolic and it exhibits the words veuKopog (Acts 
Age, p. 250. See the whole sermon, and the xix.) and avdvirarog (ib.). The name of the 
essay which follows it. Proconsul is Aviola. It is far from impossible 

6 Ayasaluk. See above, p. 464, n. 1. For that he might hold that office while St. Paul 



, 



chap.xti. COIN OF EPHESUS. 477 

Theologian," because he emphatically wrote of the " Divinity of our 
Lord." 




Coin of Epheaus.i 



was at Ephesus («. e. from the autumn of 54 same family was consul in the year 54, wliefl 
to the spring of 57). We learn from Seneca, Claudius died, and Nero became emperor. 
Tacitus, and Suetonius, that a member of the * See last note of p. 476. 



CHAPTER XVIL 



St. Paul at Troas. — He passes over to Macedonia. — Causes of his Dejection. — He meets 
Titus at Philippi. — Writes the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. — Collection for the Poor 
Christians in Judsea. — Liberality of the Macedonians. — Titus. — Journey by Illyricum to 
Greece. 

AFTER his mention of the affectionate parting between St. Paul and 
the Christians of Ephesus, St. Luke tells us very little of the Apos- 
tle's proceedings during a period of nine or ten months ; — that is, from 
the early summer of the year a. d. 57, to the spring of a. d. 58. 1 All 
the information which we find in the Acts concerning this period is com- 
prised in the following words : — " He departed to go into Macedonia, and 
when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he 
came into Greece, and there abode three months." 2 Were it not for the 
information supplied by the Epistles, this is all we should have known of 
a period which was, intellectually at least, the most active and influential 
of St. Paul's career. These letters, however, supply us with many addi- 
tional incidents belonging to this epoch of his life ; and, what is more 
important, they give us a picture drawn by his own hand of his state of 
mind during an anxious and critical season ; they bring him before us in 
his weakness and in his strength, in his sorrow and in his joy ; they 
show the causes of his dejection and the source of his consolation. 

In the first place, we thus learn what we should, a priori, have expected, 
— that he visited Alexandria Troas on his way from Ephesus to Macedonia. 
In all probability he travelled from the one city to the other by sea, as 
we know he did 3 on his return in the following year. Indeed, in coun- 
tries in such a stage of civilization, the safest and most expeditious route 
from one point of the coast to another is generally by water rather than 
by land ; 4 for the " perils in the sea," though greater in those times than 

1 The date of the year is according to the 8 Except the small space from Troas to 
calculations of Wieseler, of which we shall Assos by land, Acts xx. 13, 14. 

say more when we come to the period upon 4 At the same time, it should be remembered 

which they are founded. The season at which that this was the most populous part of one of 

he left Ephesus is ascertained by St. Paul's the most peaceful provinces, and that one 

own words (1 Cor. xvi. 8) compared with Acts of the great roads passed by Smyrna and Per- 

xx. 1. The time of his leaving Corinth on gamus between Ephesu6 and Troas. A de- 

his return appears from Acts xx. 6. scription of the country will be found in Eel- 

2 Acts xx. 1-3. Jows's Asia Minor, ch. i. and ii. 

478 




■ 7T& 



£ :_ 




r 



eHAP.yvn. ST. PAUL AT TROAS, 479 

in ours, yet did not so frequently impede the voyager as the " perils of 
rivers " and " perils of robbers " which beset the traveller by land. 

We, are not informed who were St. Paul's companions in this journey ; 
but as we find that Tychicus and Trophimus (both Ephesians) were with 
him at Corinth (Acts xx. 4) during the same apostolic progress, and 
returned thence in his company, it seems probable that they accompanied 
him at his departure. We find both of them remaining faithful to him 
through all the calamities which followed ; both exerting themselves in 
his service, and executing his orders to the last ; both mentioned as his 
friends and followers, almost with his dying breath. 1 

In such company, St. Paul came to Alexandria Troas. We have already 
described the position and character of this city, whence the Apostle of 
the Gentiles had set forth when first he left Asia to fulfil his mission, — 
the conversion of Europe. At that time, his visit seems to have been 
very short, and no results of it are recorded ; but now he remained for 
a considerable time ; he had meant to stay long enough to lay the founda- 
tion of a Church (see 2 Cor. ii. 12), and would have remained still long- 
er than he did, had it not been for the non-arrival of Titus, whom he had 
sent to Corinth from Ephesus either with or soon after the First Epistle. 
The object of his mission 2 was connected with the great collection now 
going on for the Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem, but he was also 
enjoined to enforce the admonitions of St. Paul upon the Church of Cor- 
inth, and endeavor to defeat the efforts of their seducers; and then lo 
return with a report of their conduct, and especially of the effect upon 
them of the recent Epistle. Titus was desired to come through Macedonia, 
and to rejoin St. Paul (probably) at Troas, where the latter had intend- 
ed to arrive shortly after Pentecost ; but now that he was forced to leave 
Ephesus prematurely, he had resolved to wait for Titus at Troas, expect- 
ing, however, his speedy arrival. In this expectation he was disappointed ; 
week after week passed, but Titus came not. The tidings which St. Paul 
expected by him were of the deepest interest ; it was to be hoped that he 
would bring news of the triumph of good over evil at Corinth : yet it 
might be otherwise ; the Corinthians might have forsaken the faith of 
their first teacher, and rejected his messenger. While waiting in this 
uncertainty, St. Paul appears to have suffered all the sickness of hope 
deferred. " My spirit had no rest, because I found not Titus my bro- 

1 In the 2d Epistle to Timothy. For Ty- carried another letter to the Corinthians ; if so, 
chicus, see Acts xx. 4; Eph. vi. 21 ; Col. iv. it may be referred to in 2 Cor. ii. 3, and 2 Cor. 
7 ; 2 Tim. iv. 12 ; Tit. Hi. 12. For Trophi- viii. 8 ; passages which some have thought too 
mus, see Acts xx. 4, Acts xxi. 29 ; 2 Tim. strong for the supposition that they only refer 
iv. 20. to the First Epistle. 

2 It is not impossible that Titus may have 



480 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap, xvn. 



ther." l Nevertheless, his personal anxiety did not prevent his laboring 
earnestly and successfully in his Master's service. He " published the 
Glad-tidings of Christ " 2 there as in other places, probably preaching as 
usual, in the first instance, to the Jews in the Synagogue. He met with 
a ready hearing ; " a door was opened to him in the Lord." 3 And thus 
was laid the foundation of a Church which rapidly increased, and which 
we shall find him revisiting not long afterwards. At present, indeed, he 
was compelled to leave it prematurely ; for the necessity of meeting 
Titus, and learning the state of things at Corinth, urged him forward. 
He sailed, therefore, once more from Troas to Macedonia (a voyage 
already described 4 in our account of his former journey), and, landing 
at Neapolis, proceeded immediately to Philippi. 5 

We might have supposed that the warmth of affection with which he 
was doubtless welcomed by his converts here would have soothed the 
spirit of the Apostle, and restored his serenity. For, of all his converts, 
the Philippians seem to have been the most free from fault, and the most 
attached to himself. In the Epistle which he wrote to them, we find no 
censure, and much praise ; and so zealous was their love for St. Paul, 
that they alone (of all the Churches which he founded) forced him from 
the very begiuning to accept their contributions for his support. Twice, 
while he was at Thessalonica, 6 immediately after their own conversion, 
they had sent relief to him. Again they did the same while he was at 
Corinth, 7 working for his daily bread in the manufactory of Aquila. 
And we shall find them afterwards cheering his Roman prison by similar 
proofs of their loving remembrance. 8 We might suppose from this that 
they were a wealthy Church ; yet such a supposition is contradicted by 
the words of St. Paul, who tells us that " in the heavy trial which had 
proved their steadfastness, the fulness of their joy had overflowed out 
of the depth of their poverty, in the richness of their liberality." 9 In fact, 



i 2 Cor. ii. 13. * 2 Cor. ii. 12. 

3 2 Cor. ii. 12. 4 See Ch. IX. 

5 Philippi (of which Neapolis was the port) 
was the first city of Macedonia which he 
would reach from Troas. See pp. 248-251. 
The importance of the Philippian Church 
would, of course, cause St. Paul to halt there 
for some time, especially as his object was to 
make a general collection for the poor Chris- 
tians of Jerusalem. Hence the scene of St. 
Paul's grief and anxiety (recorded, 2 Cor. vii. 
5, as occurring when he came into Macedonia) 
must have been Philippi ; and the same place 
seems (from the next verse) to have witnessed 
his consolation by the coming of Titus. So 



(2 Cor. xi. 9) we find "Macedonia" used as 
equivalent to Philippi (see note 7, below). We 
conclude, therefore, that the ancient tradition 
(embodied in the subscription of 2 Cor.), ac- 
cording to which the Second Epistle to the 
Corinthians was written from Philippi, is cor- 
rect. 

6 Phil. iv. 16. And see below, p. 512. 

7 2 Cor. xi. 9. The Macedonian contribu- 
tions there mentioned must have been from 
Philippi, because Philippi was the only Church 
which at that time contributed to St Paul's 
support (Phil. iv. 15). 

8 PhiL iv. 16. 

9 2 Cor. viii. 2. 



chap.xvh. HIS KECEPTION IN MACEDONIA. 481 

they had been exposed to very severe persecution from the first. " Unto 
them it was given," so St. Paul reminds them afterwards, — " in the 
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His 
sake." 1 Perhaps, already their leading members had been prosecuted 
under the Roman law 2 upon the charge which proved so fatal in after 
times, — of propagating a " new and illegal religion " (religio nova et 
illicita) ; or, if this had not yet occurred, still it is obvious how severe 
must have been the loss inflicted by the alienation of friends and connec- 
tions ; and this would be especially the case with the Jewish converts, 
such as Lydia, 3 who were probably the only wealthy members of the 
community, and whose sources of wealth were derived from the com- 
mercial relations which bound together the scattered Jews throughout 
the Empire. What they gave, therefore, was not out of their abundance, 
but out of their penury ; they did not grasp tenaciously at the wealth 
which was slipping from their hands, but they seemed eager to get rid 
of what still remained. They " remembered the words of the Lord 
Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." St. 
Paul might have addressed them in the words spoken to some who 
were like minded with them : — "Ye had compassion of me in my 4 bonds, 
and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have in 
heaven a better and an enduring substance." 

Such were the zealous and loving friends who now embraced their 
father in the faith ; yet the warmth of their welcome did not dispel the 
gloom which hung over his spirit ; although amongst them 5 he found 
Timotheus also, his " beloved son in the Lord," the most endeared to 
him of all his converts and companions. The whole tone of the Second 
Epistle to Corinth shows the depression under which he was laboring ; 
and he expressly tells the Corinthians that this state of feeling lasted, not 
only at Troas, but also after he reached Macedonia. u When first I 

1 Phil. i. 29. had been despatched on some commission into 

2 It must be remembered that Philippi was Macedonia shortly before Easter, and St. Paul 
a Colonia. had then expected (but thought it doubtful) 

3 Lydia had been a Jewish proselyte before that he would reach Corinth and return thence 
her conversion. [We cannot assume that she to Ephesus ; and that he would reach it after 
was a permanent resident at Philippi. See the reception at Corinth of the First Epistle to 
Acts xvi. 14. — h.] the Corinthians (1 Cor. xvi. 10, 11). This,. 

4 Or " on those in bonds," if we adopt the however, Timotheus seems not to have done ; 
reading of the best MSS. See note on Heb. for it was Titus, not Timotheus, who broughtr 
x. 34. to St. Paul the first tidings of the reception of 

6 This we infer because Timotheus was with the Eirst Epistle at Corinth (2 Cor. vii. 6-11). 

him when he began to write the Second Epistle Also, had Timotheus reached Corinth, he would 

to Corinth (2 Cor. i. 1), which (forthe reasons have been mentioned 2 Cor. xii. IS. Hence it 

mentioned in p. 480, n. 5) we believe to have would appear that Timotheus must have been 

been written at Philippi. Now Timotheus ■ retained in Macedonia. 
81 



482 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvii. 

came into Macedonia," he says, " my flesh had no rest ; without were 
fightings, within were fears." And this had continued until " God, 
who comforts them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of 
Titus." 

It has been sometimes supposed that this dejection was occasioned by 
an increase of the chronic malady under which St. Paul suffered ; 1 and 
it seems not unlikely that this cause may have contributed to the result. 
He speaks much, in the Epistle written at this time from Macedonia, of 
the frailty of his bodily health (2 Cor. iv. 7 to 2 Cor. v. 10, and also 
2 Cor. xii. 7-9, and see note on 2 Cor. i. 8) ; and, in a very affecting pas- 
sage, he describes the earnestness with which he had besought his Lord 
to take from him this " thorn in the flesh," — this disease which contin- 
ually impeded his efforts, and shackled his energy. We can imagine how 
severe a trial, to a man of his ardent temper, such a malady must have 
been. Yet this alone would scarcely account for his continued depres- 
sion, especially after the assurance he had received, that the grace of 
Christ was sufficient for him, — that the vessel of clay 2 was not too fra- 
gile for the Master's work, — that the weakness of his body would but 
the more manifest the strength of G-od's Spirit; 3 The real weight which 
pressed upon him was the " care of all the Churches ; " the real cause 
of his grief was the danger which now threatened the souls of his con- 
verts, not in Corinth only, or in Galatia, but everywhere throughout the 
Empire. We have already described the nature of this danger, and 
seen its magnitude : we have seen how critical was the period through 
which the Christian Church was now passing. 4 The true question 
(which St. Paul was enlightened to comprehend) was no less than this ; 
— whether the Catholic Church should be dwarfed into a Jewish sect ; 
whether the religion of spirit and of truth should be supplanted by the 
worship of letter and of form. The struggle at Corinth, the result of 
which he was now anxiously awaiting, was only one out of many similar 
struggles between Judaism 5 and Christianity. These were the " fight- 
ings without " which filled him with " fears within ; " these were the 
agitations which " gave his flesh no rest," and " troubled him on every 
side." 6 

1 We need not notice the hypothesis that St. 5 That the great opponents of St. Paul at 
Paul's long-continued dejection was caused by Corinth were Judaizing emissaries, we have en- 
the danger which he incurred on the day of the deavored to prove below ; at the same time a 
tumult in the theatre at Ephesus ; a supposition complication was given to the struggle at Cor- 
most unworthy of the character of him who inth by the existence of another element of 
sustained such innumerable perils of a more error in the free-thinking party, whose theo- 
deadly character with unshrinking fortitude. retic defence of their practical immorality we 

2 See 2 Cor. iv. 7. have already noticed. 

3 2 Cor. xii. 7-9. * Pp. 384-389. 6 2 Cor. vii. 5. 



chap.xvh. OPPONENTS OF ST. PAUL. 483 

At length the long-expected Titus arrived at Philippi, and relieved the 
anxiety of his master by better tidings than he had hoped to hear. 1 The 
majority of the Corinthian Church had submitted to the injunctions of 
St. Paul, and testified the deepest repentance for the sins into which they 
had fallen. They had passed sentence of excommunication upon the 
incestuous person, and they had readily contributed towards the collec- 
tion for the poor Christians of Palestine. But there was still a minority, 
whose opposition seems to have been rather imbittered than humbled by 
the submission which the great body of the Church had thus yielded. 
They proclaimed, in a louder and more contemptuous tone than ever, 
their accusations against the Apostle. They charged him with craft in 
his designs, and with selfish and mercenary motives ; — a charge which 
they probably maintained by insinuating that he was personally interested 
in the great collection which he was raising. We have seen 2 what 
scrupulous care St. Paul took to keep his integrity in this matter above 
every shade of suspicion ; and we shall find still further proof of this as 
we proceed. Meanwhile it is obvious how singularly inconsistent this 
accusation was, in the mouths of those who eagerly maintained that Paul 
could be no true Apostle, because he did not demand support from the 
Churches which he founded. The same opponents accused him likewise 
of egregious vanity, and of cowardly weakness ; they declared that he 
was continually threatening without striking, and promising without per- 
forming ; always on his way to Corinth, but never venturing to come ; 
and that he was as vacillating in his teaching as in his practice ; refusing 
circumcision to Titus, yet circumcising Timothy ; a Jew among the Jews, 
and a Gentile among the Gentiles. 

It is an important question, to which of the divisions of the Corinthian 
Church these obstinate opponents of St. Paul belonged. From the 
notices of them given by St. Paul himself, it seems certain that they 
were Judaizers (see 2 Cor. xi. 22); and still further, that they were of 
the Christine section of that party (see 2 Cor. xi. 7). It also appears that 
they were headed by an emissary from Palestine (2 Cor. xi. 4), who had 
brought letters of commendation from some members of the Church at 

1 Wieseler is of opinion that before the com- to topics which, in the earlier portion of the 

ing of Titus St. Paul had already resolved to Epistle, he appeared to have dismissed ; and 

send another letter to the Corinthians, perhaps from the manner in which the arrival of 

by those two brethren who travelled with Titus Titus is mentioned at 2 Cor. vii. 4-7. On 

soon after, bearing the Second Epistle ; and this hypothesis some other person from Cor- 

that he wrote as far as the 2d verse of the 7th inth must have brought intelligence of the first 

chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthi- impression produced on the Corinthians by the 

am before the appearance of Titus. He infers Epistle which had just reached them ; and 

this from the change of tone which takes place Titus conveyed the further tidings of their 

at this point, and from St. Paul's returning subsequent conduct. 2 1 Cor. xvi 3. 



484 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xvil. 

Jerusalem, 1 and who boasted of his pure Hebrew descent, and his especial 
connection with Christ himself. 2 St. Paul calls him a false apostle, a 
minister of Satan disguised as a minister of righteousness, and hints that 
he was actuated by corrupt motives. He seems to have behaved at 
Corinth with extreme arrogance, and to have succeeded, by his overbear- 
ing conduct, in impressing his partisans with a conviction of his impor- 
tance, and of the truth of his pretensions. 3 They contrasted his confident 
bearing with the timidity and self-distrust which had been shown by St. 
Paul. 4 And they even extolled his personal advantages over those of 
their first teacher ; comparing his rhetoric with Paul's inartificial speech, 
his commanding appearance with the insignificance of Paul's " bodily 
presence." 5 

Titus, having delivered to St. Paul this mixed intelligence of the state 
of Corinth, was immediately directed to return thither (in company with 
two deputies specially elected to take charge of their contribution by the 
Macedonian Churches), 6 in order to continue the business of the collec- 
tion. St. Paul made him the bearer of another letter, which is addressed 
(still more distinctly than the First Epistle), not to Corinth only, but to 
all the Churches in the whole province of Achaia, including Athens and 
Cenchrea, and perhaps also Sicyon, Argos, Megara, Patrae, and other 
neighboring towns ; all of which probably shared more or less in the 
agitation which so powerfully affected the Christian community at 
Corinth. The twofold character 7 of this Epistle is easily explained by 
the existence of the majority and minority which we have described in 
the Corinthian Church. Towards the former the Epistle overflows with 
love ; towards the latter it abounds with warning and menace. The 
purpose of the Apostle was to encourage and tranquillize the great body 
of the Church ; but, at the same time, he was constrained to maintain 
his authority against those who persisted in despising the commands of 
Christ delivered by his mouth. It was needful, also, that he should 
notice their false accusations; and that (undeterred by the charge of 
vanity which they brought) 8 he should vindicate his apostolic character 

1 See 2 Cor. iii. 1 . It may safely be assumed often said) that the portion before chap. x. is 
that Jerusalem was the headquarters of the addressed to the obedient section of the Church, 
Judaizing party, from whence their emissaries and that after chap. x. to the disobedient. Po- 
were despatched. Compare Gal. ii. 12; Acts lemical passages occur throughout the earlier 
xv. 1, and xxi. 20. portion also; see i. 15-17, ii. 17, iii. 1, v. 12 

2 See 2 Cor. xi. 22. &c. 

3 See 2 Cor. xi. 18-20, and the note there. 8 It is a curious fact, and marks the per- 

4 1 Cor. ii. 3. sonal character of this Epistle, that the verb 

5 2 Cor. x. 10, 16. for "boast" and its derivatives occur twenty- 
e See notes on 2 Cor. viii. 18, 22. nine times in it, and only twenty-six times in 
7 This twofold character pervades the whole all the other Epistles of St. Paul put tc 

Epistle; , it is incorrect to say (as has been gether. 



CHAP.xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COEIXTHIANS. 485 

by a statement of facts, and a threat of punishment to be inflicted on the 
contumacious. With these objects, he wrote as follows : — 

SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 1 i.l 

salutation. PAUL, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and 

Timotheus the Brother, TO THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH IS IN 
CORINTH, AND TO ALL THE SAINTS THROUGHOUT THE 
WHOLE PROVINCE OF ACHAIA. 

Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and from our 2 
Lord Jesus Christ. 
Thanksgiving Thanks be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 3 

for his deliv- 

|rtatdan g™r father of compassion, and the God of all comfort, who con- 4 
iarAsia . n * soles me 2 in all my tribulation, thereby enabling me to com- 
fort those who are in any affliction, with the same comfort wherewith I 
am myself comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ 3 have 5 
come upon me above measure, so by Christ also my consolation is above 
measure multiplied. But if, on the one hand, I am afflicted, it is for 6 
your consolation and salvation (which works in you a firm endurance of 
the same sufferings which I also suffer ; 4 so that my hope is steadfast on 
your behalf) ; and if, on the other hand, I am comforted, it is for your 
consolation, 5 because I know that as you partake of my sufferings, so you 7 

1 St. Paul has given us the following par- (5.) Some of the other topics mentioned in 

ticulars to determine the date of this Epis- 1 Cor. are again referred to, especially the 

tie : — punishment of the incestuous offender, in such 

(1.) He had heen exposed to great danger a manner as to show that no long interval had 

in Proconsular Asia, i. e. at Ephesus (2 Cor. elapsed since the first Epistle, 
i. 8). This had happened Acts xix. 23-41. 2 For the translation here, see the reasons 

(2.) He had come thence to Troas, and given in the note on 1 Thess. i. 2. It is evi- 

(after some stay there) had passed over to dent here that St. Paul considers himself alone 

Macedonia. This was the route he took, Acts the writer, since Timotheus was not with him 

xx. 1. during the danger in Asia; and, moreover, he 

(3.) He was in Macedonia at the time of uses "I" frequently, interchangeably with 

writing (2 Cor. ix. 2, the verb is in the present "we" (see verse 23) ; and when he includes 

tense), and intended (2 Cor. xiii. 1) shortly to others in the "we " he specifies it, as in verse 

visit Corinth. This was the course of hi9 19. See, also, other proofs in the note on vi. 

journey, Acts xx. 2. 11. 

(4.) The same collection is going on which 3 Compare Col. i. 24. 

is mentioned in 1 Cor. (see 2 Cor. viii. 6, and * This is the order given by the MS. au- 

2 Cor. ix. 2) ; and which was completed during thorities. 

his three months' visit to Corinth (Rom. xv. 5 Here we follow Griesbach's text, on the 

26), and taken up to Jerusalem immediately authority of the Alexandrian and other MSS., 

after, Acts xxiv. 17. and on grounds of context. 



486 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap, xvn 



i. 8 partake also of my comfort. For I would have you know, brethren, con- 
cerning the tribulation which befell me in the province of Asia, 1 that I 
was exceedingly pressed down by it beyond my strength to bear, so as to 
9 despair even of life. Nay, by my own self I was already doomed to 

10 death ; that I might rely no more upon myself, but upon God who raises 
the dead to life ; who delivered me from a death so grievous, and does 
yet deliver me ; in whom I have hope that He will still deliver me for 

11 the time to come ; you also helping me by your supplications for me, that 
thanksgivings may from many tongues be offered up on my behalf, for 
the blessing gained to me by many prayers. 2 

12 For this is my boast, the testimony of my conscience, that I self-defence 
have dealt with the world, and above all with you, in godly ?£ SoS of ccu " 

double-deal- 
llOnesty and singleness of mind, 3 not in the strength of carnal ^g- 

13 wisdom, but in the strength of God's grace. For I write nothing else to 
you bat what you read openly, 4 yea, and what you acknowledge inwardly, 

14 and I hope that even to the end you will acknowledge, 5 as some of you 6 
have already acknowledged, that I am your boast, even as you are min<*, 
in the day of the Lord Jesus. 7 

15 And in this confidence it was my wish to come first 8 to Reason for 
you, that [afterwards] you might have a second benefit ; and men? onSS 6 " 

visit to 

16 to go by you into Macedonia, and back again from Macedonia cormth. 



1 It lias been questioned whether St. Paul 
here refers to the Ephesian tumult of Acts 
xix. ; and it is urged that he was not then in 
danger of his life. But had he been found by 
the mob during the period of their excitement, 
there can be little doubt that he would have 
been torn to pieces, or perhaps thrown to wild 
beasts in the Arena ; and it seems improbable 
that within so short a period he should again 
bave been exposed to peril of his life in the 
same place, and that nothing should have been 
said of it in the Acts. Some commentators 
have held (and the view has been ably advo- 
cated by Dean Alford) that St. Paul refers to 
a dangerous attack of illness. With this 
opinion we so far agree that we believe St. 
Paul to have been suffering from bodily illness 
when he wrote this Epistle. See the prelimi- 
nary remarks above. St. Paul's statement here 
that he was " self-doomed to death " certainly 
looks very like a reference to a very dangerous 
illness, in which he had despaired of recover/. 



2 Literally, that from many persons the gift 
given to me by means of many may have thanks 
returned for it on my behalf. 

3 St. Paul here alludes to his opponents, 
who accused him of dishonesty and inconsis- 
tency in his words and deeds. From what 
follows, it seems that he had been suspected 
of writing privately to some individuals in 
the church, in a different strain from that of 
his public letters to them. 

4 The word properly means you read aloud, 
viz. when the Epistles of St. Paul were pub- 
licly read to the congregation. Compare I 
Thess. v. 27. 

5 There is a play upon the words here, 
which it is difficult in English to imitate. 

6 Compare chap. ii. 5, and Rom. xi. 25 

7 i. e. the day when the Lord Jesus ivill 
come again. 

8 i. e. before visiting Macedonia. See p. 418, 
note. 



chap.xvh. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 487 

to you, and by you to be forwarded on my way to Judaea. Am I accused, i. 17 
then, of forming this purpose in levity and caprice ? or is my purpose car- 
nal, to please all, by saying at once both yea and nay? 1 Yet as God 18 
is faithful, my words to you are 2 no [deceitful] mixture of yea and nay. 
For when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was proclaimed among you by 10 
us (by me, I say, and Silvanus, and Timotheus), in Him was found no 
wavering between yea and nay, but in Him was yea alone ; for all the 20 
promises of God have in Him the yea [which seals their truth] ; where- 
fore also through Him the Amen [which acknowledges their fulfilment] 
is uttered to the praise of God by our voice. 3 But God is He who keeps 21 
both us and you steadfast to His anointed, and we also are anointed 4 by 
Him. And He has set His seal upon us, and has given us the Spirit to 22 
dwell in our hearts, as the earnest 5 of His promises. But for my 6 own 23 
part, I call God to witness, as my soul shall answer for it, that I gave up 
my purpose 7 of visiting Corinth because I wished to spare you. I speak 24 
not 8 as though your faith was enslaved to my authority, but because I 
desire to help your joy ; 9 for your faith is steadfast. But I determined 10 ii. 1 
not again ll to visit you in grief ; for if I cause you grief, who is there to 2 
cause me joy, but those whom I have grieved ? And for this very reason 3 

1 This translation (the literal English being, 21, and 22, include Silvanus and Timotheus, 
do I purpose my purposes carnally, that both yea, as is expressly stated verse 19. 

yea, and nay, nay, may be [found] with me ?) ap- 5 Literally, the earnest money, i. e. a small sum 

pears to give the full force, as much as that of which was paid in advance, as the ratification 

Chrysostom : " or must I hold to the purposes of a bargain ; a custom which still prevails in 

which I have formed from fleshly fear, lest I be many countries. The gift of the Holy Spirit 

accused of changing my yea into nay?" which is in this life is said by St. Paul to be the earnest 

advocated by Winer, but which does not agree of their future inheritance ; he repeats the ex- 

with the context. pression 2 Cor. v. 5, and Eph. i. 14, and 

2 We follow here Lachmann, Tischendorf, expresses the same thing under a different meta- 
and the best MSS. phor*Rora. viii. 23. 

3 In the present edition we have adopted 6 Thu * I " here is emphatic. 
Lachmann's reading. The Amen was that in 7 Thr A. V. "not yet" is a mistake for 
which the whole congregation joined at the " no longer." 

close of the thanksgiving, as described in 1 8 St. Paul adds this sentence to soften what 
Cor. xiv. 16. It should also be remembered might seem the magisterial tone of the preced- 
es Canon Stanley observes), that it is the ing, in which he had implied his power to 
Hebrew of "yea." punish the Corinthians. 

* The commentators do not seem to have 9 i. e. I desire not to cause you sorrow, but 

remarked here the verbal connection. [This to promote your joy. 

has been noticed by Prof. Stanley, since the ' 10 This can scarcely mean for my own sake,, 

above was first published.] The anointing as Billroth and others propose to translate it. 

spoken of as bestowed on the Apostles was that n This alludes to the intermediate visit 

grace by which they were qualified for their which St. Paul paid to Corinth. See p. 418, 

office. The " we " and " us " in verses 20, note. 



488 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xvn. 

I wrote l to you instead of coming, that I might not receive grief from 
those who ought to give me joy ; and I confide in you all that my joy is 
ii. 4 yours. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart, 
with many tears ; not to pain you, but that you might know the abun- 
dance of my love. 

5 As concerns him 2 who has caused the pain, it is not me that Pardon of 

theincestuoui 

he has pained, but some of you ; 3 [some, I say,] that I may P ers ° n - 

6 not press too harshly upon all. For the offender 4 himself, this punish- 
ment, which has been inflicted on him by the sentence of the majority,* 

7 is sufficient without increasing it. On the contrary, you ought rather to 
forgive and comfort him, lest he should be overwhelmed by the excess of 

8 his sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you fully to restore him to your love. 

9 For the very end which I sought when I wrote before was to test you in 
this matter, and learn whether you would be obedient in all things. But 

10 whomsoever you forgive, I forgive also; for whatever 6 I have forgiven, 

11 I have forgiven on your account in the sight 7 of Christ, that we 8 may not 
be overreached by Satan ; for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

12 When I had come to Troas to publish the Glad-tidings of cause of his 

leaving Troas. 

13 Christ, and a door was opened to me in the Lord, I had no rest 

in my spirit because I found not Titus my brother ; so that I parted from 

14 them, 9 and came from thence into Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who 
leads me on from place to place in the train of his triumph, to celebrate 
his victory over the enemies of Christ ; 10 and by me sends forth the 



1 1. e. the First Ep. Cor. xxii. 22, and 1 Cor. v. 5. It is not adequately 

2 Literally, " if any man has caused pain; " represented by the English "suck a man." 

a milder expression, which would not in Eng- 5 Not "many" (A. V.) ; but the majority. 

lish bear so definite a meaning as it doe^ in See, for the punishment, 1 Cor. v. 4. 

the Greek. 6 The best MSS. have the neuter, not the 

3 Such is the meaning according to the masculine. 

punctuation we adopt. For the sense of one 7 Compare Proverbs viii. 30 (LXX.). The 

phrase, see chap. i. 14, and Rom. xi. 25. expression is used somewhat differently in 

AVith regard to the sentiment, St. Paul intends iv. 6. 

to say that not all the Corinthian Church had 8 The we of this verse appears to include 

been included in his former censure, but only the readers, judging from the change of per- 

ihat part of it which had supported the offend- son before and after. They would all be 

er; and therefore the pain which the offender "overreached by Satan" if he robbed them of 

had drawn down on the Church was not * a brother. 

inflicted on the whole Church, but only on 9 Namely, from the Christians of Troas. 

that erring part of it. 10 The verb here used (which is mistrans- 

4 The expression is used elsewhere for a lated in A. V.) means to lead a man as captivt 
•definite offending individual. Compare Acts in a triumphal procession ; the full phrase mean$ : 



chap. xvn. 



SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 



489 



Defence of 
the manner 
in which he 
discharged 
his apostolic 
office, and its 
glory con- 
trasted with 
that of the 
Mosaic dis- 
pensation. 



16 
17 



knowledge of Him, a steam of fragrant incense, throughout the world. 
For Christ's is the fragrance 1 which I offer up to God, whether among ii.15 
those in the way of salvation, 2 or among those in the way of perdition ; 
hut to these it is an odor of death, to those of life. 3 

And [if some among you deny my sufficiency] who, then, 
is sufficient for these things ? For I seek not profit (like 
most) 4 by setting the word of God to sale, 5 but I speak from 
a single heart, from the command of God, as in God's pres- 
ence, and in fellowship with Christ. Will you say that I am iii. 1 
again beginning to commend myself ? Or think you that I 
need letters of commendation (like some other men) either to you, or 
from you ? Nay, ye are yourselves my letter of commendation, a letter 2 
written on 6 my heart, known and read 1 by all men ; a letter 8 coming 3 
manifestly from Christ, and committed to my charge ; written not with 
ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not upon tablets of stone, 9 
but upon the fleshly tablets of the heart. But through Christ have I 4 
this confidence 10 before God ; not thinking myself sufficient to gain wis- 5 
dom by my own reasonings, 11 as if it came from myself, but drawing my 
sufficiency from God. For He it is who has made me suffice for the 6 



to lead captive in a triumph over the enemies of 
Christ. The metaphor is taken from the tri- 
umphal procession of a victorious general. 
God is celebrating His triumph over His ene- 
mies ; fee Paul (who had been so great an op- 
ponent of the Gospel) is a captive following in 
the train of the triumphal procession, yet (at 
the same time, by a characteristic change of 
metaphor) an incense-bearer, scattering in- 
cense ( which was always done on these occa- 
sions) as the procession moves on. Some of 
the conquered enemies were put to death 
when the procession reached the Capitol; to 
them tbe smell of the incense was " an odor of 
death unto death ; " to the rest who were 
spared, " an odor of life unto life." The meta- 
phor appears to have been a favorite one with 
St. Paul ; it occurs again Col. ii. 15. 

1 Literally, Christ's fragrance am I, unto God. 

2 Not " ivho are saved" (A. V.). See note 
on 1 Cor. i. 18. 

3 Literally, w these it is an odor of death, end' 
ing in death ; to those an odor of life, ending in 
life. 



4 The mistranslation "many" (A.V.) ma- 
terially alters the sense. He evidently alludes 
to his antagonists at Corinth ; see p. 483, and 
xi. 13. 

6 Literally, to sell by retail, including a notion 
of fraud in the selling. Compare the similar 
imputations against his Judaizing adversaries 
in 1 Thess. ii. 3. 

6 It is possible that in using the plural here 
St. Paul meant to include Timotheus ; yet as 
this supposition does not agree well with the 
context, it seems better to suppose it used 
merely to suit the plural form of the pro- 
noun. 

7 The paronomasia cannot well be here imi- 
tated in English. Compare i. 14. 

8 Literally, being manifestly shown to be a letter 
of Christ conveyed by my ministration. 

9 Like the law of Moses. 

10 Viz. of his sufficiency. Compare ii. 16; 
iii. 5, 6. 

u Literally, to reach any conclusion by my oum 
reason. 



490 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvd. 

ministration of a new covenant, a covenant not of letter, but of spirit ; 
iii. 7 for the letter kills, 1 but the spirit makes the dead to live. Yet if a 
glory was shed upon the ministration of the law of death (a law written 
in letters, and graven upon stones), 2 so that the sons of Israel could not 
fix their eyes on the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, 

8 although its brightness was soon to fade ; 3 how far more glorious must 

9 the ministration of the spirit be ! For if the ministration of doom had 
glory, far more must the ministration of righteousness abound in glory. 4 

10 Yea, that which then was glorious has no glory now, because of 5 the sur- 

11 passing glory wherewith it is compared. For if a glory shone upon that 
which was doomed to pass away, much more doth glory rest 6 upon that 

12 which remains forever. Therefore, having this hope, I speak and act 

13 without disguise ; and not like Moses, who spread a veil over his face, 
that 7 the sons of Israel might not see the end of that fading brightness. 

14 But their minds were blinded ; yea, to this day, when they read in their 
synagogues 8 the ancient covenant, the same veil rests thereoa, nor 9 can 

15 they see beyond it that the law is done away in Christ ; but even now, 
when Moses is read in their hearing, a veil 10 lies upon their heart. 

e ; 6,17 But when their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is rent away. 11 Now 

the Lord is the Spirit ; and where the Spirit of the Lord abides, there 

18 bondage gives place to freedom ; and we all, while with face unveiled 

we behold in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are ourselves transformed 



1 For the meaning, compare Kom. vii. 9- 8 In their synagogues is implied in the term 
11. used here. Compare Acts xv. 21. 

2 Literally, if the ministration of death in let- 9 We take the phrase absolutely ; literally, 
ters, graven upon stones, was born in glory. it being not unveiled [i. e. not revealed to them] thai 

3 See note on 1 Cor. ii. 6. it [the ancient covenant] is done away in Christ 
* The whole of this contrast between the " Done away " is predicated, not of the veil, but 

glory of the new and the old dispensations of the old covenant. Compare the preceding 

appears to confirm the hypothesis that St. verse and verses 7 and 1 1 . 
Paul's chief antagonists at Corinth were of the 10 Perhaps there may be here an allusion to 

Judaizing party. the Tallith, which (if we may assume this prac- 

6 Literally , for that which has been glorified in tice to be as old as the apostolic age) was worn 

this particular has not been glorified, because of the in the synagogue by every worshipper, and was 

glory which surpasses it. literally a veil hanging down over the breast. 

6 " Rest upon — Shine upon." The preposi- See p. 154, and compare the note on 1 Cor. 
tions in the original give this contrast. xi. 4. 

7 See Exod. xxxiv. 35. St. Paul here (as u Alluding to Exod. xxxiv. 34, where it is 
usual) blends the allegorical with the historical said, " When Moses went in before the Lord, 
view of the passage referred to in the Old Tes- he rent away the veil." The most natural 
tament. subject of the verb " turn " is " heart." 



IV. 



cHAP.xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 491 

continually x into the same likeness ; and the glory which shines upon 
us 2 is reflected by us, even as it proceeds from the Lord, the Spirit. 

Therefore having this ministration, 3 1 discharge it with no faint-hearted 1 
fears, remembering the mercy which 1 4 received. I have renounced the 2 
secret dealings of shame, I walk not in the paths of cunning, I 5 adulter- 
ate not the word of God ; but openly setting forth the truth, as in the 
sight of God, I commend myself to the conscience of all men. But if 3 
there be still a veil 6 which hides my Glad-tidings from some who hear 
me, it is among those 7 who are in the way of perdition ; whose unbeliev- 4 
ing minds the God of this world 8 has blinded, and shut out the glorious 
light of the Glad-tidings of Christ, who is the image of God. For I pro- 5 
claim not myself, but Christ Jesus as Lord and Master, 9 and myself your 
bondsman for the sake of Jesus. For God, who called forth light out of Q 
darkness, has caused His light to shine in my heart, that [upon others 
also} might shine forth the knowledge of His glory manifested in the face 
of Jesus Christ.! 
in sickness But this treasure is lodged in a body of fragile clay, 11 that so 7 

and in danger ° J ° J9 

tefrom ti!e h tne surpassing might [which accomplishes the work] should be 
curist,°and God's, and not my own. I am hard pressed, yet not crashed ; 8 

the hope of 

eternal life, perplexed, yet not despairing ; persecuted, yet not forsaken ; 9 
struck down, yet not destroyed. 12 In my body I bear about continually 10 
the dying of Jesus, 13 that in my body the life also of Jesus might be 

1 The tense is present. 8 See note on 1 Cor. i. 20. 

2 "From glory" indicates the origin of 9 "Lord" is the correlative of "slave "here; 
this transformation, viz. the glory shining on us; compare Eph. vi. 5. 

" To glory," the effect ; viz. the reflection of 10 For the meaning of " shine forth," com- 

that glory by us. For the metaphor, compare pare verse 4. 

1 Cor. xiii. 12, and note. We observe in both n The whole of this passage, from this 

passages that even the representation of divine point to chap. v. 10, shows (as we have before 

truth given us by Christianity is only a re- observed) that St. Paul was suffering from 

flection of the reality. bodily illness when he wrote. See also chap. 

3 Viz. " the ministration of the Spirit." xii. 7-9. 

(iii. 8.) 12 Observe the force of the present tense of 

4 Viz. in his conversion from a state of Jew- all these participles, implying that the state of 
ish unbelief. things described was constantly going on. 

5 St. Paul plainly intimates here (as he 13 "Lord "is not found in the best MSS. 
openly states xi. 17) that some oth«i teachers The word translated "dying" here (as Prof, 
were liable to these charges. See also ii. 17, Stanley observes) is properly the deadness of a 
and the note. corpse ; as though St. Paul would say, " my body 

6 In the participle used here, there is a refer- is no better than a corpse; yet a corpse which 
ence to the preceding word " veil." shares the life-giving power of Christ's resuirec- 

7 Compare ii. 15,16. tion" 



492 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP.XVU. 



iv.ll shown forth. For I, in the midst of life, am daily given over to death for 
the sake of Jesus, that in my dying flesh the life whereby Jesus con- 
quered death * might show forth its power. 

12 So, then, death working in me works life 2 in you. Yet having the 

13 same spirit of faith whereof it is written " Jf hueibbtir, Uvfo thtxtfoxt 

14 irib" U Spfcah/' 3 1 also believe, and therefore speak. For I know that 
He who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead shall raise me also by 

15 Jesus, and shall call me into His presence together with you ; for all 
[my sufferings] are on your behalf, that the mercy which has abounded 
above them all might call forth your thankfulness ; that so the fulness 
of praise might be poured forth to God, not by myself alone, but multi- 

16 plied by many voices. 4 Wherefore I faint not ; but though my outward 

17 man decays, yet my inward man is renewed from day to day. For my 
light afflictions, which last but for a moment, work for me a weight of 

18 glory, immeasurable and eternal. Meanwhile I look not to things seen, 
but to things unseen : for the things that are seen pass away ; but the 

v 1 things that are unseen endure forever. Yea, I know that if the tent 5 
which is my earthly house be destroyed, I have a mansion built by God, a 

2 house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. And herein I groan 
with earnest longings, desiring to cover* 6 my earthly raiment with the 

3 robes of my heavenly mansion. (If, indeed, I shall be found 7 still clad in 



1 Literally, the life, as well as the death, of 
Jesus. 

2 Literally, while death works in me, life works 
in you. I. e. the mortal peril to which St. 
Paul exposed himself was the instrument of 
bringing spiritual life to his converts. 

s Ps. cxvi. 10(LXX.). 

4 The literal translation would be, that the 
favor which has abounded might, through the 
thanksgiving of the greater number, overflow to 
the praise of God. This takes the preposition 
as governing "thanksgiving" and the verb as 
intransitive ; and it must be remembered that 
this verb is used twenty-six times by St. Paul, 
and only three times transitively. If, how- 
ever, we make it transitive here, the sense will 
be, migJtt by means of the greater number cause 
tlie ilmnksg'wing to overflow, frc. ; which does 
not materially alter the sense. Compare the 
similar sentiment at chap. i. 11. 

6 The shifting tent is h^e opposed to endur- 



ing mansion ; the vile body of .flesh and blood, to 
the spiritual body of the glorified saint. 

6 There is much force in " clothe upon " as 
distinguished from " clothe." 

7 Literally, " If indeed I shall be found clad, 
and not stripped of my clothing ;" i. e. "If, at 
the Lord's coming, I shall be found still living 
in the flesh." We know from other passages 
that it was a matter of uncertainty with St. 
Paul whether he should survive to behold the 
second coming of Christ or not. Compare 
1 Thess. iv. 15, and 1 Cor. xv. 51. So, in the 
next verse, he expresses his desire that his 
fleshly body should be transformed into a 
spiritual body, without being "unclad" by 
death. The metaphor of " nakedness " as 
combined with " tent " seems suggested by the 
oriental practice of striking the tent very early 
in the morning, often before the travellers are 
dressed. So we read in M'Cheyne's account 
of his journey through the desert, "When 



chap.xvii. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 493 

my fleshly garment.) For we who are dwelling in the tent groan and v. 4 
are burdened ; not desiring to put off our [earthly] clothing, but to put 
over it [our heavenly] raiment, that this our dying nature might be swal- 
lowed up by life. And He who has prepared me for this very end is God, 5 
who has given me the Spirit as the earnest of my hope. Therefore, I am 6 
©ver of good courage, knowing that while my home is in the body, I am 
in banishment from the Lord ; (for I walk by faith, not by sight). Yea, 7, 8 
my heart fails me not, but I would gladly suffer banishment from the 
body, and have my home with Christ. 1 Therefore I strive earnestly that, 9 
whether in banishment or at home, I may be pleasing in His sight. For 10 
we must all be made manifest 2 without disguise before the judgment-seat 
of Christ, that each may receive according to that which he has done in 
the body, either good or evil. 

Springs Knowing therefore the fearfulness of the Lord's judgment, 11 
of hhurespon- though I seek to win men, 3 yet my uprightness is manifest in 

sibility to 

Christ, whose the sight of God ; and I hope also that it is manifested by the 

commission o ? r j 

bt 6 union' an witness of your consciences. I write not thus to repeat my 12 

with whom 1.41 1T c 

his whole own commendation, 4 but that I may furnish you with a ground 

nature has 7 J J ° 

changed of boasting on my behalf, that you may have an answer for 
those whose boasting is in the outward matters of sight, not in the inward 
possessions of the heart. For if I be mad, 5 it is for God's cause ; if 13 
sober, it is for yours. For the love of Christ constrains me, because I 14 
thus have judged, 6 that if one died for all, then all died [in HimJ ; 7 and 15 
that He died for all, that the living might live no longer to themselves, 
but to Him, who, for their sakes, died and rose again. 8 

morning began to dawn, our tents were taken ing to win men," and " trying to please men." 

down. Often we have found ourselves shelter- See Gal. i. 10, and the note. 

less before being fully dressed." (Life of 4 This alludes to the accusation of vanity 

M'Cheyne, p. 92.) It should be observed that brought against him by his antagonists; com- 

the original denotes simply dressed, clad, the an- pare iii. 1. 

tithesis to naked. Prof. Stanley's translation, 6 i. e. if I exalt myself (his opponents called 

" in the hope that after having put on our him beside himself with vanity^, it is for God's 

heavenly garment we shall be found not naked, cause; if I humble myself it is for your salces. 

but clothed," involves a paralogism, being tan- 6 Or perhaps "/ thus judged, viz. at the 

tamount to saying, " in the hope that after time of my conversion ; " if we suppose th^ 

having clothed ourselves we shall be found to aorist used in its strict sense. 

have clothed ourselves." 7 The original cannot mean all were aeait 

1 Literally, the Lord. ( A. V. ), but all died. The death of all for whom 

2 The translation in the Authorized Ver- He died, was virtually involved in His death, 
sion is incorrect. 8 The best commentary on the 14th and 

3 He was accused by the Judaizers of " try- 15th verses is Gal. ii. 20. 



494 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PATJX. chap.xvtt, 

v. 16 I 1 therefore, from henceforth, view no man carnally ; yea, though once 

17 my view of Christ was carnal, 2 yet now it is no longer carnal. Whoso- 
ever, then, is in Christ, is a new creation ; his old being has passed away, 

18 and behold, all has become new. But all comes from God, for He it is 
who reconciled me to Himself by Jesus Christ, and charged me with the 

19 ministry of reconciliation ; for 3 God was in Christ reconciling the world 
to Himself, reckoning their sins no more against them, and having 

20 ordained me to speak the word of reconciliation. Therefore I am an 
ambassador for Christ, as though God exhorted you by my voice ; in 

21 Christ's stead I beseech you, be ye reconciled to God. For Him who 
knew no sin God struck with the doom of sin 4 on our behalf ; that we 

vi. 1 might be changed into the righteousness of God in Christ. Moreover, as 
working 5 together with Him, I also exhort you, that the grace which you 

2 have received from God be not in vain. For He saith : " Jf frafre frearfr 

i\tt irt nn acceptable txmt, Httir in % img of safirattoit jrabt f sux- 

tOXtfo thtt" 6 Behold, now is the acceptable time ; behold, now is the 
day of salvation. 

3 For I take heed to give no cause of stumbling, lest blame 2r^eS5S- 

4 should be cast on the ministration wherein I serve ; but in all wSVehad 

discharged 

things I commend myself 7 as one who ministers to God's ser- w« duty, ana 

° J appeal to the 

vice ; in steadfast endurance, in afflictions, in necessities, in hfj'SJnverta. 

5 straitness of distress, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, 

6 in sleepless watchings, in hunger and thirst ; in purity, in knowledge, in 
long-suffering, in kindness, in [the gifts of] the Holy Spirit, in love 

7 unfeigned ; speaking the word of truth, working with the power of God, 
fighting with the weapons of righteousness, both for attack and for 



1 The pronoun is emphatic. 4 The word " sin " is used, for the sake of 

2 We agree with Billroth, Neander, and De parallelism with the " righteousness " which fol- 
Wette, that this cannot refer to any actual lows. God made Christ " Sin" that we might 
knowledge which St. Paul had of our Lord be made " Righteousness." 

when upon earth; it would probably have 5 See note on 1 Cor. iii. 9. / also exhort re- 
been "Jesus" had that been meant ; moreover, fers to the preceding, as though God exhorted 
the preceding phrase does not refer to personal you. 6 Is. xlix. 8 (LXX.). 
knowledge, but to a carnal estimate. For other 7 An allusion apparently to the "commend 
reasons against such an interpretation, see myself" and the " commendatory letters " of 
p. 62. St. Paul's view of Christ was carnal iii. 1 ; as though he said, I commend myself, not 
when he looked (like other Jews) for a Messiah by word, but by deed. [The stress is not on 
who should be an earthly conqueror. " myself" here, as in the former case. The 
8 " To wit that," " because that," pleonastic. order of the word shows this. — h.] 



CHAP.xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COEINTHIANS. 495 

vi. 
defence ; through good report and evil, through honor and through 8 

infamy ; counted as a deceiver, yet being true ; as unknown [by men] , 9 
yet acknowledged l [by God] ; as ever dying, yet behold I live ; as chas- 
tened by suffering, yet not destroyed ; as sorrowful, yet ever filled with 10 
joy ; as poor, yet making many rich ; as having nothing, yet possessing 
all things. 

Corinthians, my 2 mouth has opened itself to you freely, — my heart n 
is enlarged towards you. You find no narrowness in my love, but the 12 
narrowness is in your own. I pray you therefore in return for my affec- J.3 
tion (I speak as to my children), let your hearts be opened in like 
manner. 

Exhortation Cease to yoke yourselves unequally in ill-matched inter- 14 
party c"fhe C01lrse w ^h unbelievers ; for what fellowship has righteousness 
sEunaiifei- with unrighteousness ? what communion has light with dark- 15 

lowship with 

heathen vice. ness ? w hat concord has Christ with Belial ? what partnership 
has a believer with an unbeliever? what agreement has the temple of 16 
God with idols ? For ye are yourselves a temple of the living God, as 

God said : " Jf totll btotll m %m, antr foalk itt %m, attfcr | torll ht 
iljeir @oir, antr %g sjjall fee mg people." 8 Wherefore, ft €om 17 
out {torn amcmg %m aitir ht gr s*parafe, nnxfy i^e |fori>, antr louclj 
trot % itntleatt tjjing, anb Jf toill xtmht gnu." 4 And " | foiii ht 18 
rata gou a fa%r, antr gou sjjall be mg sons antr iraug{)ters, saiifj 

tlje Ifortr ^Imtgljtg." 5 Having therefore these promises, my beloved, vu \ 1 
let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement, either of flesh or spirit, 
and perfect our holiness, in the fear of God 

afthe a t?din n g8 6 ^ ve me a favorable hearing. I have wronged no man, I 2 
by TituTffom have ruined 7 no man, I have defrauded no man ; I say not 3 

Corinth. 

1 For the meaning, see 1 Cor. xiii. 12. and Jer. xxxi. 9, and xxxii. 38, contain the sub- 

2 Observe, as a confirmation of previous re- stance of it. St. Paul, as usual, quotes from 
marks as to St. Paul's use of the singular and memory. 

plural pronouns, verses 11,13; also vii. 2, 3, 4. 6 It is not impossible that the preceding part 

8 Levit. xxvi. 11, 12 (according to LXX., of the Epistle may have been written, as Wiese- 

with slight variations). ler supposes, before the coming of Titus. See 

4 Isaiah lii. 11 (according to LXX., with al- above, p. 483, n. 1. But the opening words of 
terations) ; the words " I will receive you " not this section are obviously connected with verses 
being either in the LXX. or the Hebrew there, 12, 13, of the preceding chapter. The section 
though found in Ezek. xx. 34. from vi. 14 to vii. 1 is entirely unconnected with 

5 This passage is not to be fonud exactly in what precedes and follows it. 

the Old Testament, although 2 Sam. vii. 14, 7 St. Paul appears frequently to use the 



496 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap. xvu. 

this to condemn you [as though I had myself been wronged by you], for 
v «- I have said before that I have you in my heart, to live and die with you. 

4 Great is my freedom towards you, great is my boasting of you ; I am 
filled with the comfort which you have caused me ; I have more than an 

5 overweight of joy for all the affliction which has befallen me. When 
first I came into Macedonia my flesh had no rest, but I was troubled on 

6 every side ; .without were fightings, within were fears. But God, who 
comforts them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus ; 

7 and not by his coming only, but by the comfort which he felt on your 
account, and the tidings which he brought of your longing for my love, 
your mourning for my reproof, your zeal for my cause ; so that my sor- 

8 row has been turned into joy. For though I grieved you in my letter, 1 
I do not regret it ; but though I did regret it (for I see that grief was 

9 caused you by that letter, though but for a season), I now rejoice ; not 
because you were grieved, but because your grief led you to repent- 
ance ; 2 for the grief I caused you was a godly sorrow ; so that I might 

10 nowise harm you [even when I grieved you] . For the work of godly 
sorrow is repentance not to be repented of, leading to salvation ; but the 

It work of worldly sorrow is death. Consider what was wrought among 
yourselves when you were grieved with a godly sorrow ; what earnest- 
ness it wrought in you, yea, what eagerness to clear yourselves from 
blame, what indignation, 3 what fear, 4 what longing, 5 what zeal, 6 what 
punishment of wrong. You have cleared yourselves altogether from 

12 every stain of guilt in this matter. Know, therefore, that although I 

original word in this sense (compare 1 Cor. same tense has to serve the purpose both of 

iii. 17), and not in the ordinary meaning of aorist and perfect. See note on Rom. v. 5. 

corrupt. We may remark here, that there is no [See note on Gal. ii. 10. This grammatical 

need to suppose these aorists used aoristically question is discussed in the Cambridge Journal 

(as they would be in classical Greek), since St. of Classical and Sacred Philology. — h.] 

Paul constantly used the aorist for the perfect. 1 Viz. 1 Cor., unless we adopt the hypothesis 

Even those commentators who are most anx- that another letter had been written in the in- 

ious to force upon the Hellenistic of the New terval, according to the view mentioned p. 479, 

Testament the nice observance of this classical n. 2. 

distinction, are obliged sometimes to give up 2 The text of the whole passage, here 

their consistency and translate the aorist as per- adopted, is the same as that of Prof. Stanley, 

feet. In fact, the aorist is continually joined but punctuated differently. 

with " now " (e. g. Matt. xxvi. 65 ; John xiii. 3 Indignation against the offender. 

31 ; Rom. xi. 31 ; Eph. iii. 5), which is of course 4 Fear of the wrath of God. 

decisive. It is not wonderful that there should 5 Longing for restoration to St. Paul's ap- 

be this ambiguity in the Hellenistic use of proval and love. 

Greek tenses, considering that in Latin the 6 Zeal on behalf of right, and against wrong. 



chap.xvu. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 497 

wrote tc [rebuke] you, it was not so much to punish the wrong-doer, nor 
to avenge him * who suffered the wrong, but that my earnest zeal for you 
in the sight of God might be manifest to yourselves. 2 

This, therefore, is the ground of my comfort; but 3 besides my conso- 13 
lation on your account, I was beyond measure rejoiced by the joy of 
Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever 14 
boast of you I may have made to him, I have not been put to shame. 
But as all I ever said to you was spoken in truth, so also my boasting of 
you to Titus has been proved a truth. And his heart is more than ever 15 
drawn towards you, while he calls to mind the obedience of you all, and 
the fear and trembling 4 wherewith you received him. I rejoice that in 16 
all things you give me ground for courage. 5 

Explanations I desire, brethren, to make known to you the manifestation viii.l 
concenifne° ns of God's grace, which has been given in 6 the churches of Mace- 

the collection 

for the poor donia. For in the heavy trial which has proved their stead- 2 

Christians in J r 

.Terusaiem.s f as t nesS) the fulness of their joy has overflowed, out of the 
depth of their poverty, in the richness of their liberality. 7 They have 3 
given (I bear them witness) not only according to their means, but beyond 
their means, and that of their own free will ; for they besought me with 4 
much entreaty that they might bear their part 8 in the grace of ministering 
to the saints. And far beyond my hope, they gave their very selves to the 5 
Lord first, and to me also, by the will of God. So that I have desired 6 
Titus [to revisit you], that as he caused you to begin this work before, so 
he may lead you to finish it, that this grace may not be wanting 9 in you ; 7j 



1 Viz. the father of the offender. We need 5 The great importance attached by St. Paul 
not be perplexed at his wife's forming another to this collection, as manifested in the present 
connection during his lifetime, when we con- section of this Epistle, maybe explained not 
sider the great laxity of the law of divorce merely by his desire to fulfil his share of the 
among the Greeks and Romans, agreement mentioned, Gal. ii. 10, but also by 

2 If we adopt the other reading (which his hope that such a practical proof of his love 
transposes "you" and "us"), it will give the would reconcile the Judaizing Christians at 
sense, that your zeal for me might be manifested to Jerusalem to himself and his Gentile converts. 
yourselves ; which might be perhaps another See the conclusion of our preceding chapter, 
(though an obscure) way of saying, in order to 6 The original here cannot mean " bestowed 
bring out your zeal for me, so that you might all on " (A. V.). 

perceive how the majority felt for me. 7 See note on 2 Cor. ix. 11. 

s The reading of the best MSS. gives this 8 The omission here is required by the best, 

order. MSS. 

4 For the meaning of this phrase, see 1 Cor. 9 Literally, this arace as well as other graces.. 

ii. 3. 

82 



498 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvu. 

but that, as you abound in all gifts, in faith and utterance, and knowl- 
... edge, and earnest zeal, and in the love which joins 1 your hearts with 
8 mine, so you may abound in this grace also. I say not this by way of 

command ; but by the zeal of others I would prove the reality of your 
9 love. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how, though 

He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that you, by His poverty, 

10 might be made rich. And I give you my advice in this matter ; for it 
becomes you to do thus, inasmuch as you began not only the contribution, 
but the purpose of making it, before others, 2 in the year which is passed. 

11 Now, therefore, fulfil your purpose by your deeds, that as you then 
showed your readiness of will, so now you may finish the work, according 

12 to your means. For if there be a willing mind, the 3 gift is acceptable 

13 when measured by the giver's power, and needs not to go beyond. Nor 
[is this collection made] that others may be eased, and you distressed, but 

14 to make your burdens equal, that as now your abundance supplies their 
need, your own need may [at another time] be relieved in equal measure 

15 by their abundance, as it is written, — " ||.e tljat gatjxertfcr mut\ {mb 

16 ttotljmg 0frer; atttr |e i^at gatljmtr little jmtr no lath." 4 But 

thanks be to God, by whose gift the heart of Titus has the same zeal as 

17 my own on your behalf; for he not only has consented to my desire, but 
is himself very zealous in the matter, and departs 5 to you of his own 

18 accord. And I have sent as his companion the brother who is with him, 
whose praise in publishing the Glad-tidings 6 is spread throughout all the 

19 churches ; who has moreover been chosen by the churches [of Macedo- 
nia] to accompany me in my journey (when I bear this gift, which I have 

1 If we follow the Received Text, this is, lit- the act is looked upon, according to the classi- 
erally, the love which springs from you and dwells cal idiom, from the position of the reader. 

in me ; if with Lachmann's text we transpose 6 The word here cannot refer, as some have 

the pronouns, it will be, the love which I have imagined, to a written Gospel ; it is of constant 

awakened in your hearts. [Lachmann's second occurrence in the New Testament (occurring 

edition returns to the Received Text. — h.] sixty times in St. Paul's writings, and sixteen 

2 " Began before ;" viz. before the Macedo- times in the other books), but never once in 
man churches. The meaning is that the Co- the supposed sense. Who the deputy here 
rinthians had been the first not only to make mentioned was we have no means of ascertain- 
the collection, but to propose it. ing. Probably, however, he was either Luke 

3 Literally, it is acceptable according to that (Acts xx. 6), or one of those, not Macedonians 
which it possesses, not that which it possesses not. (ix. 4), mentioned Acts xx. 4; and possibly 

4 Exodus xvi. 18, quoted according to LXX. may have been Trophimus. See Acts xxi. 29. 
The subject is the gathering of the manna. We may notice the coincidence between the 

5 The tense in the original is past, because phrase here and in Acts xix. 29. 



CHAP.xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 499 

undertaken to administer) ; that the Lord might be glorified, and that l I ... 
might undertake the task with more good will. For I guard myself 20 
against all suspicion which might be cast upon me in my administration 
of this bounty with which I am charged ; being ¥ pr0tribxttt 0f gO0u" 21 
«p0rt " not only " m % SXflljt 0f % iforir," but also " ht % siglji 
0f XCLtVi" 2 The brother 3 whom I have sent likewise with them is one 22 
whom I have put to the proof in many trials, and found always zealous 
in the work, but who is now yet more zealous from the full trust which 
he has in you. Concerning Titus, then (on the one hand), he is partner 23 
of my lot, and fellow-laborer with me for your good ; concerning our 
brethren (on the other hand), they are ambassadors of the churches — 
a manifestation of the glory of Christ. Show them, therefore, the proof 24 
of your love, and justify my boasting on your behalf, in the sight of the 
churches. 4 For of your ministration to the saints [at Jerusalem] it is ix. 1 
needless that I should write to you ; since I know the forwardness of your 2 
mind, and boast of it to the Macedonians on your behalf, saying that 
Achaia has been ready ever since last year ; and the knowledge of your 
zeal has roused the most of them. But I have sent the brethren, 5 lest 3 
my report of you in this matter should be turned into an empty boast ; 
that you may be truly ready, as I declared you to be. Lest, perchance, 4 
the Macedonians who may come with me to visit you should find you not 
yet ready, and so shame should fall upon me (for I will not say upon you) 
in this ground of my boasting. 6 Therefore, I thought it needful to desire 5 
these brethren to visit you before my coming, and to arrange beforehand 
the completion of this bounty which you before promised to have in 



1 The reading of the best MSS. gives the 4 " To them " is contrasted with " to the 
sense as follows, — to promote my willingness of saints " in the following verse ; the connection 
mind, i. e. to render me more willing to undertake being, Show kindness to the deputies ; for as to 
the administration of the alms, which St. Paul the collection, I need not ash you to show zeal 
would have been unwilling to do without coad- for that, frc. The " and " in the last clause is 
jutors elected by the contributors, lest he should omitted by all the best MSS. 

incur unworthy suspicions. 6 Viz. Titus and the other two. 

2 The quotation is from Prov. iii. 4 (LXX.), 6 Literally the word means, the groundwork 
cited also Rom. xii. 17. on which some superstructure is founded. His 

3 Thex*e is even less to guide us in our con- appeal to the Macedonians was grounded on 
jectures as to the person here indicated than this readiness of the Corinthians. If (with 
m the case of the other deputy mentioned the best MSS.) we omit " of my boasting," 
above. Here, also, the emissary was elected the meaning will be unaltered. Compare xi. 
by some of the Churches who had contributed to 17, and note on Heb. iii. 14. 

the collection. He may have been either Luke, 
Gains, Tycbicus, or Trophimus (Acts xx. 4). 



500 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xyji 

. readiness ; so it be really given by your bounty, not wrung from your 

6 covetousness. But remember, lie x who sows sparingly shall reap sparing- 

7 ly ; and he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. Let each do 
according to the free choice of his heart ; not grudgingly, or of necessity ; 

8 for " @0fr Lrfxetjj K t^mful gtiier/' 2 And God is able to give you an 
overflowing measure of all good gifts, that all your wants of every kind 
may be supplied at all times, and you may give of your abundance to 

9 every good work. As it is written,— " Kjjfj JJ00tr mUU \v&\ Btuitmb 

atoafr, jj* fmijr jjiimt ia % pcaar; {rig xxtfyitQMnd'n timmmtff 

10 faxtbtX-"* And He who furnisheth " M&S to % BttfokX, UV& bxttib 
far fyz f00fr 0f XttUXt" 4 will furnish 5 you with plenteous store of seed, 

11 and bless your righteousness with fruits of increase ; being enriched with 
all good things, that you may give ungrudgingly ; 6 causing thanksgivings 

12 to God from T those to whom I bear your gifts. For the ministration of 
this service not only fills up the measure of the necessities of the saints, 

13 but also overflows beyond it, in many thanks to God ; while they 8 praise 
God for the proof thus given of the obedience wherewith you have con- 
sented to the Glad-tidings of Christ, and for the single-mindedness of your 

14 liberality both to them, and to all. Moreover, in their prayers for you 
they express the earnest longings of their love towards you, caused by the 

15 surpassing grace of God manifested in you. Thanks be to God for His 
unspeakable gift ! 

x. 1 Now I, Paul, myself exhort you by the meekness and gj own tr <fha?- 
gentleness of Christ — (I, who am mean, forsooth, and lowly services with 

1 The same expression occurs Gal. vi. 7. 5 In the best MSS. the verbs in this verse 

2 Prov. xxii. 8 (according to LXX., with are future, not optative. 

slight variation). 6 The word here properly denoting singlc- 

3 Ps. cxii. 9 (LXX.). The subject of the ness means, when applied to the mind, a dis- 
verb " scattered " in the psalm is " the good position free from arrieres-pense'es, either of 
man " (in the fifth verse), which St. Paul duplicity, selfishness, or grudging • thus it 
leaves to be supplied by the memory of his might naturally acquire the meaning of liberal- 
readers. To represent the quotation accurate- ity, which it has in the eighth and ninth chap- 
ly to an English reader, it is necessary to insert ters in this Epistle, and perhaps in Rom. 
this word, otherwise it would seem as if xii. 8. 

" God " were the subject of the verb. 7 Literally, that you may give with liberality ; 

4 These words are an exact quotation from which works thanksgiving to God by my instrv* 
Isaiah lv. 10 (LXX.). Ignorance of this fact mentality. 

has caused an inaccuracy in A. V. The literal 8 Literally, they, by the proof of this minis- 

translation of the remainder of the verse is, — tration, praising God, i. e. being caused to praise 

" Furnish and make plenteous your seed, and God for the obedience, &c. 
increase the fruits springing from your righteous- 



chap. xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 501 

faS^teachSrs * n ou ^ war( ^ presence, 1 while I am among you, yet treat you 
ciatedlum". boldly when I am absent)- — I beseech you (I say), that you x. 2 
will not force me to show, when I am present, the bold confidence in my 
power, wherewith I reckon to deal with some who reckon 2 me by the 
standard of the flesh. For, though living in the flesh, my warfare is 3 
not waged according to the flesh. For the weapons which I wield are 4 
not of fleshly weakness, but mighty in the strength of God to overthrow 
the strongholds of the adversaries. Thereby can I overthrow the reason- 5 
ings of the disputer, and pull down all lofty bulwarks that raise them- 
selves against the knowledge of God, and bring every rebellious thought 
into captivity and subjection to Christ. And when the obedience of 6 
your 3 church shall be complete, I am ready to punish all who may be 
disobedient. 4 

Do you look at matters of outward advantage ? If there be any among 7 
you who confidently assumes that he belongs [above the rest] to Christ 5 
let him reckon anew by his own reason, 6 that if he belong to Christ, so 
do I no less. For although I were to boast somewhat highly concerning 8 
the authority which the Lord has given me (not to cast you down, but to 
build you up), my words would not be shamed by the truth. I say this, 9 
lest you should imagine that I am writing empty threats. " For his 10 
letters," says one, 7 " are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is 

1 The phraseology is similar here, and in v. sary from the Judaizers of Palestine, who is 
12 and x. 7. Compare also x. 10. especially referred to in this chapter. 

2 Literally, who reckon me as walking accord- 6 In the former edition this phrase was 
ing to the flesh. The verses which follow ex- translated consider. Dr. Alford has expressed 
plain the meaning of the expression. an opinion that this translation is " surely 

3 " Your." Compare ii. 5. He means that inadmissible," and that it " entirely omits of 
the disobedient minority would be chastised. himself." Yet it is in fact equivalent to his 

4 [We should notice in verses 3-6 the com- own translation, " let him reckon out of his 
pleteness of the military allegory. The image own mind," (for what is considering but reek- 
is that of a campaign, against rebels: rock- onlng out of one's own mind?) Nevertheless it 
forts (such as those on St. Paul's own Cilician must be admitted that the former translation 
coast) must be cast down : and when the gen- did not give sufficient emphasis to " of himself." 
eral obedience of the country is secured, those 7 Literally, " says he ; " but it is occasion- 
who are still rebellious must be summarily ally used impersonally for " they say ; " yet 
punished. We should observe too the new as, in that sense, the plural would be more 
turn given to one phrase (not casting down, but naturally used, the use of " says he " and of 
building up) in verse 8, and even in xiii. 10. " such a man," in the next verse, seems to point 
See also xii. 19. — h.] to a single individual at the head of St. Paul's 

6 The party who said " I of Christ." (1 opponents. See last note and p. 484, and com- 

Cor. i. 12.) See Ch. XIII, As we have pare the use of " such a man " for the single 

remarked above, p. 484, this party at Corinth incestuous person (2 Cor. ii. 7), and for St. 

leems to have »een formed and led by an emis- Paul himself (2 Cor. xii. 2). 



502 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xtii. 

x. 11 weak, and his speech contemptible." Let such a man assure himself 
that the words which I write while absent I will bear out by my deeds 

12 when present. 1 For I venture not to number or compare myself with 
certain of the self-commenders ; nay, they, measuring themselves by 
themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are guilty of 

13 folly. 2 But I, for my part, will not let my boasting carry me beyond 
measure, but will confine it within that measure given me by God, who 

14 made my line reach even to you. For I stretch not myself beyond due 
bounds (as though I reached you not) ; for I have already come as far 

15 even as Corinth 3 to publish the Glad-tidings of Christ. I am not boast- 
ing beyond measure, in the labors of others ; 4 but I hope that as your 
faith goes on increasing among 5 yourselves, I shall be still further 

16 honored within my appointed limits, by bearing the Glad-tidings to the 
countries beyond you ; not by boasting of work made ready to my hand 

17 within another man's limit. Meantime, " |f £ IIjeI fcaaste% lei Ijtm 

18 hottsi III ijjjfc §JJrb\" 6 For a man is proved worthy, not when he com- 
mends himself, but when he is commended by the Lord. 

xi. 1 Would that ye could bear with me a little in my folly ! Yea, ye 

2 already bear with me. For I love you with a godly jealousy, because I 
betrothed you to one only husband, even to Christ, that I might present 

3 you unto Him in virgin purity ; but I fear lest, as Eve was beguiled by the 
craftiness of the serpent, so your imaginations should be corrupted, and 
you should be seduced from your single-minded faithfulness to Christ. 

4 For if he that comes among you is preaching another Jesus, whom I 
preached not, or if you are receiving [from him] another Spirit, which 
you received not before, or a new Glad-tidings, which you accepted not 

5 before, you would do well to bear with me ; 7 for I reckon myself no whit 

1 Literally, Let such a man reckon, that such apparently been caused by the difficulty of the 
as I am in word by letters while absent, such will Hellenistic form. 

/ be also in deed when present." 3 " You/' 

2 The Greek word here is a Hellenistic 4 This was the conduct of St Paul's Juda- 
form of the 3d pi. ind. present, and occurs izing antagonists. 

Mat. xiii. 13. Hence we need not take it here 5 Instead of " by you " we translate "in 

for the dative plural. If the latter view were you," and connect it with " increased." 

correct, the translation would be, " but I meas- 6 Quoted, according to the sense, from Jer. 

ure myself by my own standard, and compare ix. 24 (LXX.) ; " in the Lord" being substi- 

myself with myself alone, unwise as I am." tuted for a longer phrase. Quoted also 1 Cor. 

But this translation presents several difficul- i. 31. 

ties, both in itself, and considered in reference 7 Lachmann (with the Vatiran Manu- 

to the context. Lachmann's reading has script) has the verb in the present, which 



CHAP.xvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 503 

XI. 

behind your super-eminent Apostles. 1 Yea, though I be unskilled in the 6 
arts of speech, yet I am not wanting in the gift of 2 knowledge ; but I 
have manifested 3 it towards you in all things, and amongst all men. Or 7 
is it a sin [which must rob me of the name of Apostle], 4 that I proclaimed 
to you, without fee or reward, the Glad-tidings of God, and abased 5 
myself that you might be exalted ? Other churches I spoiled, and took 8 
their wages to do you service. And when I was with you, though I was 9 
in want, I pressed not upon any of you ; for the brethren, 6 when they 
came from Macedonia, supplied my needs ; and I kept and will keep 
myself altogether from casting a burden upon you. As the truth of 10 
Christ iv in me, no deed of mine shall rob me 7 of this boasting in the 
region of Achaia. And why ? Because I love you not ? God knows 11 
my love. But what I do I will continue to do, that I may cut off all 12 
ground from those who wish to find some ground of slander ; and let 
them show the same cause for their boasting as I for mine. 8 For men 13 
like these are false Apostles, deceitful workmen, clothing themselves in 
the garb of Christ's Apostles. And no wonder ; for even Satan can 14 
transform himself into an angel of light. It is not strange, then, if his 15 
servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness ; but their end 
shall be according to their works. 

makes the coincidence with v. 1 more exact; factories in those times) his fellow-workmen in 

but if we keep the aorist, it may hear the sense Aquila's tent-manufactory were slaves. Com- 

here given it, on the same principle on which pare PhiL iv. 12, " I know how to he abased." 
erat is often used for esset, and fuerat for fuisset. 6 Probably Timotheus and Silvanus, who 

We understand " bear with me" (not "bear may have brought the contribution sent by 

with him," with most commentators), because the Philippians. The A. V. "which came" 

tins agrees better with the context (the prepo- is incorrect. 

sition "for" following), and with the first verse 7 According to the true reading here the 

of the chapter. literal English would be, " this boasting shall not 

1 This phrase (which occurs only in this be stopped for me." 

Epistle) is ironical, as is evident from the 8 The literal English of this difficult pas- 
epithet "the super- apostolic Apostles." He sage is, "thai they, in the ground of their boasting, 
refers to the Judaizing emissaries from Pales- mag be found even as I." Be Wette refers 
tine who had arrived at Corinth. "wherein they glory " to the Apostolic Office. 

2 The gift of " Gnosis" was a deep insight We take it more generally. A more obvious 
into spiritual truth. See Ch. XIH. p. 372, way would be to take the phrase (with Chnys- 
note. ostom and the older interpreters) to mean 

3 This is according to the reading, sup- their abstaining from receiving maintenance ; 
ported by the preponderating weight of MS. but we know that the false teachers at Corinth 
authority. did not do this (compare v. 20 below), but, 

4 Seep. 381. on the contrary, boasted of their privilege, 
6 i. e. by working with his hands for his and alleged that St. Paul, by not claiming it, 

daily bread. See p. 337. In all probability showed his consciousness that he was not 
(judging from what wr know of other manu- truly sent by Christ. See 1 Cor. ix. 



504 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xv:i 



XI. 



16 I entreat you all once more * not to count me for a fool ; or, if yon 
think me such, yet bear with me in my folly, that I, too, may boast a 

17 little of myself. But, in so doing, I speak not in the spirit of the Lord, 
but, as it were, in folly, while we stand upon this ground 2 of boasting; 

18 for, since many are boasting in the spirit of the flesh, I will boast like- 

19 wise. And I know that you bear kindly with fools as beseems the wise. 3 

20 Nay, you bear with men though they enslave you, though they devour 
you, though they entrap you, though they exalt themselves over you, 

21 though they smite you on the face, to degrade you. 4 I say that I was 
weak ; 5 and yet, if any have ground of boldness, I too (I speak in folly) 

22 have ground to be as bold as they. Are they Hebrews ? so am I. Are 

23 they sons of Israel ? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham ? so am I. 
Are they servants of Christ ? (I speak as though I were beside myself) 
such, far more, am I. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, 

24 in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. (Five times I received from 

25 Jews the forty stripes save one ; thrice I was scourged with the Roman 
rods ; once I was stoned ; thrice I suffered shipwreck ; 6 a night and a day 

26 have I spent in the open 7 sea.) In journeyings often ; in perils of rivers, 
in perils of robbers ; in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the 
heathen ; in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the 

27 sea ; in perils among false brethren. In toil and weariness, often in sleep- 
less watchings ; in hunger and thirst, often without bread to eat ; in cold 

28 and nakedness. And besides all the rest, 8 there is the crowd 9 which 

29 presses upon me daily, and the care of all the churches. Who is weak, 10 



1 Literally, " / say once more, let none count 
me," &c. 

2 Sec note on 2 Cor. ix. 4. 

8 This is ironical. So "ye are wise " in 
1 Cor. iv. 10. 

4 Literally, in the way of degradation. The 
punctuation we adopt gives a simpler and 
anore natural sense than that adopted in the 
tfirst edition ; and it also better suits the use 
•of the pleonastic phrase here and in 2 Cor. v. 
(19 and 2 Thess. ii. 2. 

5 - This refers to the acknowledgments he 
!has previously made of weakness in outward 
advantages, e. g. at xi. 6 and x. 1. 

6 The five Jewish scourgings, two of the 
three Roman beatings with rods (one being 
:at Philippi), and the three shipwrecks, are all 
•unrecorded in the Acts. The stoning was at 



Lystra. "What a life of incessant adventure 
and peril is here disclosed to us ! And when 
we remember that he who endured and dared 
all this was a man constantly suffering from 
infirm health (see 2 Cor. iv. 7-12, and 2 Cor. 
xii. 7-10, and Gal. iv. 13, 14), such heroic 
self-devotion seems almost superhuman. 

7 Probably in a small boat (or perhaps on 
a plank), escaping from one of the wrecks. 

8 Not " those things that are without " as in 
A. V. 

9 For this meaning of the word compare 
Acts xxiv. 12. If we adopt another reading, 
which has the greater weight of existing MSS. 
in its favor, but patristic authority against it, 
the meaning will be nearly the same ; see 
Canon Stanley's note. 

10 For the way in which St. Paul shared 



chap.xvh. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 505 

but I share his weakness ? Who is caused to fall, but I burn with indig- . 

' ° XI. 

nation ? If I must needs boast, I will boast of my weakness. God, who 30,31 
is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He who is blessed forever, knows 
that I lie not. 1 

In Damascus, the governor under Aretas, 2 the king, kept watch over 32 
the city with a garrison, purposing to apprehend me ; and I was let down 33 
by the wall, through a window, in a basket, and thus [not by my strength, 
but by my weakness] I escaped his hands. It is not for me, then, toxii. 1 
boast. 3 

But I will come also to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know 4 
a man who was caught up fourteen years ago (whether in the body or 2 
out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth), caught up, I say, in the 
power of Christ, 5 even to the third heaven. And I know that such a man 3 
(whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell ; God knoweth) 
was caught up into Paradise, 6 and hear<J unspeakable words, which it is 4 
not lawful for man to utter. Of such a man I will boast ; but of myself 5 
I will not boast, save in the tokens of my weakness. If I should choose 6 
to boast, I should not be guilty of empty vanity, for I should speak the 
truth ; but I forbear to speak, that I may not cause any man to think of 

the weakness of the "weaker brethren," see ious to himself? This seems the best view, 

p. 390, and the passages there referred to. but it is far from satisfactory. There is some- 

1 This solemn oath, affirming his veracity, thing most disappointing in his beginning thus 
probably refers to the preceding statements of to relate in detail the first in that series of 
his labors and dangers. Compare Gal. i. 20. wonderful escapes of which he had just before 
If, however, we should suppose that the next given a rapid sketch, and then suddenly and 
two verses were originally intended to be the abruptly breaking off; leaving our curiosity 
beginning of a narrative of all his sufferings roused and yet ungratified. We cannot agree 
from the beginning, then we might refer the with De Wette in considering the Damascene 
asseveration to such intended narrative. escape to be introduced as the climax of all 

2 For the historical questions connected the other perils mentioned, nor in referring to 
with this incident, see p. 93. [A note on the it the solemn attestation of v. 31. 

word Ethnarch will be found on p. 100. — h.] 4 The mistranslation of the verb in A. V. 

3 We prefer the reading of the Textus (knew for know) very seriouly affects the sense : 
Receptus (which is also adopted by Chrysostom nor is there any thing in the Greek correspond - 
and by Tischendorf) to that of the Vatican ing to " about." 

Manuscript, adopted by Lachmann. On the 5 We take " in Christ " with " caught up," 

other hand, for what follows we take Lach- which would have come immediately after the 

mann's reading, on the authority of the Co- date, had it not been intercepted by the paren- 

dex Vaticanus, instead of the Textus Receptus. thetic clause. To translate " a Christian man " 

The whole passage is most perplexing, from (as some commentators have done) is hardly 

the obscurity of its connection with what pre- justified by such analogies as " they that are 

cedes and what follows. Why did St. Paul in Christ." 

mention his escape from Damascus in so much 6 Compare Luke xxiii. 43, To-day shalt 

detail ? Was it merely as an event ignomin- thou be with me in Paradise, and Rev. ii. 7. 



506 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvii. 

» me more highly than when he sees my deeds or hears my teaching. 1 

7 And lest, through the exceeding greatness of these revelations, I should 
be lifted up with pride, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, 2 a mes- 

8 senger of Satan, to buffet me, to keep down my pride. And thrice I 

9 besought the Lord 3 concerning it, that it might depart from me. But 
He hath said to me, " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is 
mighty 4 in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, will I boast rather in my 
weakness than in my strength, that the strength of Christ may rest upon 

10 me, and dwell in me. 5 Therefore I rejoice in signs of weakness, in out- 
rage, in necessities, in persecutions, in straitness of distress, endured for 
Christ ; for when I am weak, then am I strong. 6 

11 I have been guilty of folly, but you forced me to it ; for I ought myself 
to have been commended by you : for I came no whit behind your super- 

12 eminent 7 Apostles, though I be of no account. The marks, at least, of 
an Apostle were seen in the deed^ which I wrought among you, in signs, 
and wonders, and miracles, with steadfast endurance of persecution. 8 

13 Wherein had you the disadvantage of other churches, unless, indeed, that 
I did not burden you with my own maintenance ? forgive me this wrong. 

14 Behold I am now for the third time 9 preparing to visit you, and I purpose 
to cast no burden upon you ; for I seek not your substance, but yourselves. 
Since children should not lay up wealth for parents, but parents for chil- 

15 dren. Nay, rather, most gladly will I spend, yea, and myself be spent, 
for your souls, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be 
loved. 

16 But though it be granted that I did not burden you myself, yet per- 

17 chance this was my cunning, whereby I entrapped your simplicity. Did 
I defraud you of your wealth by some of the messengers whom I sent to 

1 He alludes to the low opinion expressed 6 The full meaning is, to come to a place for 
by his adversaries at Corinth of his personal the purpose of fixing one's tent there. Compare 
qualifications and teaching; compare x. 10. (with the whole verse) iv. 7. 

2 The original is perhaps not adequately rep- 6 i. e. the more he was depressed by suffer- 
resented by the word thorn, although the thorns ing and persecution, the more was he enabled 
of the East are far more formidable than those to achieve by the aid of Christ. See a very 
of England. Stake is probably a more accu- striking sermon of A. Mo nod (in his Discourw 
rate translation. See Prof. Stanley's note on sur St. Paul) on this text. 

the passage. A painful bodily infirmity is 7 See note on xi. 5. 

meant. See Gal. iv. 13, 14, and p. 236. 8 The word here (in St. Paul's language) 

3 That is, the Lord Jesus, as appears by means steadfastness under persecution. Some 
" Christ " in the next verse. of the persecutions referred to are recorded in 

4 Has its full development. Acts xviii. * See note on xiii. I. 



chap.xvu. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 507 

xii. 
you ? I desired Titus to visit you, and with him I sent the brother, his 18 

fellow-traveller. Did Titus defraud you ? Did we not act in the same 

spirit ? Did we not walk in the same steps ? 

He warns the Do y° u again imagine that it is before you I defend myself? 19 

immoral mi- Nav, before God I speak, in Christ ; but all, beloved, for vour 

nority that he J 7 r ' * 

Srafned to 1 " sa kes, that you may be built up. For I fear lest perchance 20 
PAhey persist when I come I should find you not such as I could wish, and 

in their dis- 
obedience, that you also should find me other than you desire. I fear to 

find you full of strife, jealousies, passions, intrigues, 1 slanderings, back- 

bitings, vaunting, sedition. I fear lest, when I come, my God will again 21 

humble me 2 by your faults, and I shall mourn over many among those 

who have sinned before, 3 and who have not repented of the uncleanness, 

and fornication, and wantonness which they committed. 

I now come to you for the third time. 4 " (But ttf % m01ltlj 0f tto0xiii.l 

DX ffjTO ba%tnm&8 Sljall *teg krorb fa ZQV&XVNto" 5 I have warned 2 

you formerly, and I now forewarn you, as when 6 1 was present the 

second time, so now, while I am absent, saying to those who had sinned 

before [my last visit], and to all the rest of the offenders, — " If I come 

again I will not spare." 7 Thus you shall have the proof you seek of 3 

the power of Christ, who speaks in me ; for He shows no weakness towards 

you, but works mightily among you. For although He died upon the \ 

cross through the weakness of the flesh, 8 yet now He lives through the 

power of God. And so I, too, share the weakness of His body ; 9 yet I 



1 For tht word here, see note on Rom. ii. 8. upon due evidence/' Or else (perhaps), " I 

2 Literally, humble me in respect of you. See shall now assuredly fulfil ray threats." 

on this verse p. 418, note. 6 This passage, in which the word for "I 

3 Sinned "before:" viz. before my last write" is omitted by the best MSS., seems 
Tisit. conclusive for the intermediate journey. What 

4 " This third time I am coming to you." would be the meaning of saying, " I forewarn 
This could scarcely mean merely, " I am for you as if I were present the second time, now 
the third time preparing to visit you," although also while I am absent " 1 which is the trans- 
2 Cor. xii. 14 might imply no more than that. lation that we must adopt if Ave deny the in- 
See p. 418, note. Prof. Stanley (who ignores termediate visit. Also the "they who had 
the intermediate visit) can only get over this sinned before " contrasted with the " all the 
argument by supposing that St. Paul is here rest " (v. 2), seems inexplicable except on this 
" reckoning his Second Epistle as virtually a hypothesis. 

second visit." (Stanley's Corinthians, vol. ii. 7 The conjunction here (as frequently) is 

265.) equivalent to a mark of quotation. 

5 Deut. xix. 15 (from LXX. nearly verba- 8 The woid here properly means weakness 
tim), meaning, " I will judge not without ex- of the body. 

amination, nor will I abstain from punishing 9 This is another reference to the dispara- 



508 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xvn. 



•». shall share also the power of God, whereby He lives, when 1 1 come to 

5 deal with you. Examine 2 [not me, but] yourselves, whether you are 
truly in the faith; put yourselves to the proof [concerning Christ's 
presence with you which ye seek in me]. Know ye not of your own 
selves, that Jesus Christ is dwelling in you ? unless, perchance, when 

6 thus proved, you fail to abide the proof. 3 But I hope you will find 

7 that I, for my part, abide the proof. 4 Yet I pray to God that you 
may do no evil; 5 desiring not that my own power may be clearly 
proved, but that you may do right, although I should seem unable 

8 to abide the proof ; for I have no power against the truth, but only for 

9 the truth's defence. I rejoice, I say, when I am powerless [against you], 
and you are strong ; yea, the very end of my prayers is your perfect 
reformation. Therefore I write this to you while absent, that, when 
present, I may not deal harshly with you in the strength of that authority 
which the Lord has given me, not to cast down, 6 but to build up. 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Reform what is amiss in your- Conclusion. 
selves, 7 exhort one another, be of one mind, live in peace ; so shall the 

12 God of love and peace be with you. Salute one another with the kiss of 

13 holiness. 8 All the saints here salute you. 

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, Autograph 

• - ■ ° ' 7 benediction. 

and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 9 



10 



11 



ging reflections (see x. 10) cast upon him by 
his Corinthian opponents. He says virtually, 
" You say that I am weak in bodily presence, 
and contemptible in personal accomplishments ; 
so also Christ was weak in the flesh, and suf- 
fered a shameful death upon the cross ; yet He 
triumphed over His adversaries, and now shows 
His victorious power; and so shall I do, in the 
same strength." The sentiment is the same as 
in iv. 10. 

1 " Towards you." The literal English of 
the above passage is as follows : For if He 
was crucified through weakness, yet He lives 
through the power of God ; for I also am weak 
in Him, but I shall live with Him, through the 
■power of God towards you. 

2 "Proof" and "prove" would give the 
verbal connection between v. 3 and v. 5. 

3 The Greek means, to fail when tested; this 
was the original meaning of the English to be 
reprobate (A. V.). Observe here, again, the 



reference to the context (see preceding note). 
A paronomasia on the same words occurs 
Rom. i. 28. 

4 Viz. the proof that Christ's power is with me. 

5 This may be translated (as it is by Grotiu3 
and Billroth, and was in our former edition), 
" tliat I may not harm you ; " for the verb used 
here sometimes takes a double accusative in 
N. T. ; e. g. Matt, xxvii. 22. Yet this con- 
struction so seldom occurs, that it seems better 
to adopt the more obvious meaning, although 
it does not so clearly suit the context. 

6 Compare x. 8. [And see note on x. 6. 
This is the last echo of the military allegory ; 
but with the threatening turned into encour- 
agement. — H.] 

7 The substantive corresponding to this 
verb is found in verse 9 ; and see 1 Cor. i. 10. 

8 See note on 1 Thess. v. 25. 

9 The " Amen " is not found in the best 
MSS, 



chap.xvii. CONTBIBUTIONS FOR THE POOH IN JUD^A, 509 

In this letter we find a considerable space devoted to subjects con- 
nected with a collection now in progress for the poor Christians in 
Judaea. 1 It is not the first time that we have seen St. Paul actively 
exerting himself in such a project. 2 Nor is it the first time that this par- 
ticular contribution has been brought before our notice. At Ephesus, in 
the First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul gave special directions as to 
the method in which it should be laid up in store (1 Cor. xvi. 1-4). 
Even before this period similar instructions had been given to tlje 
Churches of Galatia (ib. 1). And the whole project was in fact the ful- 
filment of a promise made at a still earlier period, that, in the course of 
his preaching among the Gentiles, the poor in Judaaa should be remem- 
bered (Gal. ii. 10). 

The collection was going on simultaneously in Macedonia and Achaia ; 
and the same letter gives us information concerning the manner in which 
it was conducted in both places. The directions given to the Corinthians 
were doubtless similar to those under which the contribution was made 
at Thessalonica and Philippi. Moreover, direct information is. inciden- 
tally given of what was actually done in Macedonia ; and thus we are 
furnished with materials for depicting to ourselves a passage in the 
Apostle's life which is not described by St. Luke. There is much 
instruction to be gathered from the method and principles according to 
which these funds were collected by St. Paul and his associates, as well 
as from the conduct of those who contributed for their distant and suf- 
fering brethren. 

Both from this passage of Scripture and from others we are fully made 
aware of St. Paul's motives for urging this benevolent work. Besides 
his promise made long ago at Jerusalem, that, in his preaching among the 
Gentiles, the poor Jewish Christians should be remembered, 3 the poverty 
of the residents in Judaea would be a strong reason for his activity in 
collecting funds for their relief among the wealthier communities who 
were now united with them in the same faith and hope. 4 But there was 
a far higher motive, which lay at the root of the Apostle's anxious and 
energetic zeal in this cause. It is that which is dwelt on in the closing 
verses of the ninth chapter of the Epistle which has just been read, 5 and 
is again alluded to in words less sanguine in the Epistle to the Romans. 6 
A serious schism existed between the Gentile and Hebrew Christians, 7 

1 The whole of the eighth and ninth chap- ence to the early jealousy between the Chris- 
ters. tians of Aramaic and Hellenistic descent, 

2 See the account of the mission of Barna- p. 61. 

bas and Saul to Jerusalem in the time of the 5 2 Cor. ix. 12-15. 

famine, Ch. IV. 6 Eom. xv. 30-31. 

3 Gal. ii. 10, above quoted. Seep. 195. ? Seethe remarks on this subject in Ch. 
* See the remarks on this subject, in refer- VII. 



510 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvu. 

which, though partially closed from time to time, seemed in danger of 
growing continually wider under the mischievous influence of the Juda- 
izers. The great labor of St. Paul's life at this time was directed to 
the healing of this division. He felt that if the Gentiles had been made 
partakers of the spiritual blessings of the Jews, their duty was to contrib- 
ute to them in earthly blessings (Rom. xv. 27), and that nothing would 
be more likely to allay the prejudices of the Jewish party than charitable 
gifts freely contributed by the Heathen converts. 1 According as cheerful 
or discouraging thoughts predominated in his mind, — and to such alter- 
nations of feeling even an apostle was liable, — he hoped that" the minis 
tration of that service would not only fill up the measure of the necessities 
of Christ's people " in Judaea, but would " overflow " in thanksgivings 
and prayers on their part for those whose hearts had been opened to bless 
them (2 Cor. ix. 12-15), or he feared that this charity might be rejected, 
and he entreated the prayers of others, " that he might be delivered 
from the disobedient in Judaea, and that the service which he had under- 
taken for Jerusalem might be favorably received by Christ's people " 
(Rom. xv. 30, 31). 

Influenced by these motives, he spared no pains in promoting the 
work ; but every step was conducted with the utmost prudence and deli- 
cacy of feeling. He was well aware of the calumnies with which his 
enemies were ever ready to assail his character ; and, therefore, he took 
the most careful precautions against the possibility of being accused of 
mercenary motives. At an early stage of the collection, we find him 
writing to the Corinthians, to suggest that " whomsoever they should 
judge fitted for the trust should be sent to carry their benevolence to 
Jerusalem " (1 Cor. xvi. 3) ; and again he alludes to the delegates com- 
missioned with Titus, as " guarding himself against all suspicion which 
might be cast on him in his administration of the bounty with which he 
was charged," and as being " careful to do all things in a seemly manner, 
not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men " (2 Cor. 
viii. 20, 21). This regard to what was seemly appears most strikingly in 
his mode of bringing the subject before those to whom he wrote and 
spoke. He lays no constraint upon them. They are to give " not grudg- 
ingly or of necessity," but each " according to the free choice of his heart ; 
for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. ix. 7). " If there is a willing 
mind, the gift is acceptable when measured by the giver's power, and 
needs not to go beyond" (2 Cor. viii. 12). He spoke rather as giving 
" advice" (viii. 10) than a " command ;" 2 and he sought to prove the re- 

1 See p. 120. sake he rather besought him," v. 9. See the 

2 Compare his language to Philemon, whom Introduction, 
he " might have commanded," but " for lore's 



chap.xvh. LIBERALITY OF THE MACEDONIANS. 511 

ality of his converts' love by reminding them of the zeal of others (viii. 8). 
In writing to the Corinthians, he delicately contrasts their wealth with 
the poverty of the Macedonians. In speaking to the Macedonians them- 
selves, such a mode of appeal was less natural, for they were poorer and 
more generous. Yet them also he endeavored to rouse to a generous 
rivalry, by telling them of the zeal of Achaia (viii. 24, ix. 2). To them 
also he would doubtless say that " he who sows sparingly shall reap spar- 
ingly, and he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully" (ix. 6), while 
he would gently remind them that God was ever able to give them an 
overflowing measure of all good gifts, supplying all their wants, and en- 
abling them to be bountiful 1 to others (ib. 8). And that one overpower- 
ing argument could never be forgotten, — the example of Christ, and 
the debt of love we owe to Him, — " You know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, how, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, 
that you, by His poverty, might be made rich " (viii. 9). Nor ought we, 
when speaking of the instruction to be gathered from this charitable un- 
dertaking, to leave unnoticed the calmness and deliberation of the method 
which he recommends of laying aside, week by week, 2 what is devoted 
to God (1 Cor. xvi. 2), — a practice equally remote from the excite- 
ment of popular appeals, and the mere impulse of instinctive benevo- 
lence. 

The Macedonian Christians responded nobly to the appeal which was 
made to them by St. Paul. The zeal of their brethren in Achaia " roused 
the most of them to follow it" (2 Cor. ix. 2). God's grace was abun- 
dantly " manifested in the Churches " 3 on the north of the JEgean (ib. 
viii. 1). Their conduct in this matter, as described to us by the Apostle's 
pen, rises to the point of the highest praise. It was a time, not of pros- 
perity, but of great affliction, to the Macedonian Churches ; nor were they 
wealthy communities like the Church of Corinth ; yet, " in their heavy 
trial, the fulness of their joy overflowed out of the depth of their poverty 
in the riches of their liberality" (ib. viii. 2). Their contribution was no 
niggardly gift, wrung from their covetousness (viii. 5) ; but they gave 
honestly " according to their means " (ib. 8), and not only so, but even 
M beyond their means " (ib.) ; nor did they give grudgingly, under the 
pressure of the Apostle's urgency, but " of their own free will, beseeching 
him with much entreaty that they might bear their part in the grace of 
ministering to Christ's people " (ib. 3, 4). And this liberality arose from 

1 Compare what was said at Miletus, Acts remarks in the Herat Paulina on 2 Cor. The 
xx. 35 ; also Eph. iv. 28. same plan had been recommended in Galatia, 

2 From 2 Cor. viii. 10, ix. 2, it would seem and probably in Macedonia, 
that the plan recommended in 1 Cor. xvi. 2 8 See p. 497, n. 6. 

bad been carried into effect. See Paley's 



512 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xvn. 

that which is the basis of all true Christian charity. " They gave them- 
selves first to the Lord Jesus Christ, by the will of God " (ib. 5). 

The Macedonian contribution, if not complete, was in a state of much 
forwardness, 1 when St. Paul wrote to Corinth. He speaks of liberal funds 
as being already pressed upon his acceptance (2 Cor. viii. 4), and the 
delegates who were to accompany him to Jerusalem had already been 
chosen (2 Cor. viii. 19, 23). We do not know how many of the Churches 
of Macedonia took part in this collection, 2 but we cannot doubt that 
thatof Philippi held a conspicuous place in so benevolent a work. In the 
case of the Philippian Church, this bounty was only a continuation of the 
benevolence they had begun before, and an earnest of that which glad- 
dened the Apostle's heart in his imprisonment at Pome. " In the begin- 
ning of the Gospel "they and they only had sent once and again 3 to 
relieve his wants, both at Thessalonica and at Corinth (Philip, iv. 15, 
16) ; and " at the last " their care of their friend and teacher " flourished 
again" (ib. 10), and they sent their gifts to him at Pome, as now they 
sent to their unknown brethren at Jerusalem. The Philippians are in 
the Epistles what that poor woman is in the Gospels, who placed two 
mites in the treasury. They gave much, because they gave of their 
poverty ; and wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the whole 
world, there shall this liberality be told for a memorial of them. 

If the principles enunciated by the Apostle in reference to the collec- 
tion command our devout attention, and if the example of the Macedonian 
Christians is held out to the imitation of all future ages of the Church, 
the conduct of those who took an active part in the management of the 
business should not be unnoticed. Of two of these the names are 
unknown to us, 4 though their characters are described. One was a 
brother, " whose praise in publishing the Gospel was spread throughout 
the Churches," and who had been chosen by the Church of Macedonia to 
accompany St. Paul with the charitable fund to Jerusalem (2 Cor. viii. 
18, 19). The other was one "who had been put to the proof in many 
trials, and always found zealous in the work" (ib. 22). But concerning 
Titus, the third companion of these brethren, " the partner of St. Paul's 

1 The aorist in 2 Cor. viii. 2 docs not ne- communication among them was easy along 
cessarily imply that the collection was closed ; the Via Egnatia ; as when the first contribu- 
and the present in ix. 2 rather implies the tions were sent from Philippi to St. Paul at 
contrary. Thessalonica. See p. 284. 

2 In 2 Cor. xi. 9 we find Philippi used as 3 See above, p. 480. Eor the account of this 
equivalent to Macedonia (pp.480, 481), and so relief being sent to St. Paul, see p. 284; and 
it may be here. But it is not absolutely cer- p. 338, n. 4, in reference to Phil. iv. 10, and 
tain (ibid.) that the Second Epistle to the 2 Cor. xi. 9. 

Corinthians was written at Philippi. The 4 See the notes on 2 Cor. viii. 

Churches in Macedonia were only few, and 



chap. xvn. TITUS. 513 

lot, and his fellow-laborer for the good of the Church," we have fuller 
information ; and this seems to be the right place to make a more par- 
ticular allusion to him, for he was nearly concerned in all the steps of 
the collection now in progress. 

Titus does not, like Timothy, appear at intervals through all the pas- 
sages of the Apostle's life. He is not mentioned in the Acts at all, and 
this is the only place where he comes conspicuously forward in the 
Epistles ; l and all that is said of him is connected with the business of 
the collection. 2 Thus we have a detached portion of his biography, which 
is at once a thread that guides us through the main facts of the contribu- 
tion for the Judaean Christians, and a source whence we can draw some 
knowledge of the character of that disciple, to whom St. Paul addressed 
one of his pastoral Epistles. At an early stage of the proceedings he 
seems to have been sent, — soon after the First Epistle was despatched 
from Ephesus to Corinth (or perhaps as its bearer), — not simply to 
enforce the Apostle's general injunctions, but 3 to labor also in forward- 
ing the collection (2 Cor. xii. 18). Whilst he was at Corinth, we find 
that he took an active and zealous part at the outset of the good work 
(ib. viii. 6). And now that he had come to Macedonia, and brought the 
Apostle good news from Achaia, he was exhorted to return, that he might 
finish what was so well begun, taking with him (as we have seen) the 
Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and accompanied by the two deputies 
who have just been mentioned. It was a task which he was by no means 
unwilling to undertake. God " put into his heart the same zeal " which 
Paul himself had ; he not only consented to the Apostle's desire, but was 
"himself very zealous in the matter, and went of his own accord" (2 
Cor. viii. 16, 17). If we put together these notices, scanty as they are, 
of the conduct of Titus, they set before us a character which seems to 
claim our admiration for a remarkable union of enthusiasm, integrity, 
and discretion. 

After the departure of Titus, St. Paul still continued to prosecute t^e 
/abors of an evangelist in the regions to the north of Greece. He was 
unwilling as yet to visit the Corinthian Church, the disaffected members 
of which still caused him so much anxiety, — and he would doubtless 
gladly employ this period of delay to accomplish any plans he might have 

1 See p. 187, n. 12. It is observed there of St. Paul's life. This question will be dis- 
that the only epistles in which he is mentioned cussed afterwards. 

are Gal., 2 Cor., and 2 Tim. See also p. 460, 3 See above, p. 479. The fact that the mis- 

n. 6. sion of Titus had something to do with the 

2 The prominent appearance of Titus in collection, might be inferred from 2 Cor. xr. 
this part of the history has been made an 18: "Did Titus defraud you?" We do not 
argument for placing the Epistle to Titus, as know who the " brother " was that was sent 
Wieseler and others have done, about this part with him on that occasion from Ephesus. 



. 



514 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvh. 

formed and left incomplete on his former visit to Macedonia. On that 
occasion he had been persecuted in Philippi, 1 and had been forced to 
make a precipitate retreat from Thessalonica ; 2 and from Beroea his 
course had been similarly urged to Athens and Corinth. 3 Now he was 
able to embrace a wider circumference in his Apostolic progress. Taking 
Jerusalem as his centre, 4 he had been perpetually enlarging the circle of 
his travels. In his first missionary journey he had preached in the 
southern parts of Asia Minor and the northern parts of Syria : in his 
second journey, he had visited the Macedonian towns which lay near the 
shores of the iEgean : and now on his third progress he would seem to 
have penetrated into the mountains of the interior, or even beyond them 
to the shores of the Adriatic, and " fully preached the Gospel of Christ 
round about unto Illyricum " (Rom. xv. 19). 

We here encounter a subject on which some difference of opinion must 
unavoidably exist. If we wish to lay down the exact route of the 
Apostle, we must first ascertain the meaning of the term " Illyricum " 
as used by St. Paul in writing to the Romans : and if we find this im- 
possible, we must be content to leave this part of the Apostle's travels in 
some degree of vagueness; more especially as the preposition (" unto," 
fisxpi) employed in the passage is evidently indeterminate. 

The political import of the word " Illyricum " will be seen by referring 
to what has been written on the province of Macedonia 5 in an earlier 
chapter. It has been there stated that the former province was contigu- 
ous to the north-western frontier of the latter. It must be observed, 
however, that a distinction was anciently drawn between Greek Illyricum, 
a district on the south, which was incorporated by the Romans with 
Macedonia, and formed the coast-line of that province where it touched 
the Adriatic, 6 — and Barbarous, or Roman Illyricum, which extended 
towards the head of that gulf, and was under the administration of a 
separate governor. This is " one of those ill-fated portions of the earth, 
which, though placed in immediate contact with civilization, have 
remained perpetually barbarian." 7 For a time it was in close connec- 
tion, politically and afterwards ecclesiastically, with the capitals both of 
the Eastern and Western empires : but subsequently it relapsed almost 
into its former rude condition, and " to this hour it is devoid of illustrious 
names and noble associations." 8 Until the time of Augustus, the 



1 P. 257. 5 P. 272, &e. See our map of St. Paul's 

2 P. 286. third missionary journey, 

8 P. 295. 6 For the seaboard of Macedonia on the 

4 Notice the phrase, " from Jerusalem, and Adriatic, see pp. 273, 274. 

in a circle" &c. Rom. xv. 19; and see the 7 Arnold's Rome, vol. i. p. 495. 

Horoz Paulince. 8 Ibid. 



chap. xvn. ILLYEICUM. 515 

Romans were only in possession of a narrow portion along, the coast, 
which had .been torn during the wars of the Republic from the piratic 
inhabitants. 1 But under the first Emperor a large region, extending far 
inland towards the valleys of the Save and the Drave, was formed into a 
province, and contained some strong links of the chain of military posts, 
which was extended along the frontier of the Danube. 2 At first it was 
placed under the Senate : but it was soon found to require the presence 
of large masses of soldiers : the Emperor took it into his own hands, and 
inscriptions are still extant on which we can read the records of its 
occupation by the seventh and eleventh legions. 3 Dalmatia, which is 
also mentioned by St. Paul (2 Tim. iv. 10), was a district in the southern 
part of this province ; and after the final reduction of the Dalmatian 
tribes, the province was more frequently called by this name than by that 
of Illyricum. 4 The limits of this political jurisdiction (to speak in 
general terms) may be said to have included Bosnia, and the modern 5 
Dalmatia, with parts of Croatia and Albania. 

But the term Illyricum was by no means always, or even generally, 
used in a strictly political sense. The extent of country included in the 
expression was various at various times. The Illyrians were loosely 
spoken of by the earlier Greek writers as the tribes which wandered on 
the eastern shore of the Adriatic. The Illyricum which engaged the 
arms of Rome under the Republic was only a narrow strip of that shore 
with the adjacent islands. But in the Imperial times it came to be used 
of a vast and vague extent of country lying to the south of the Danube, 
to the east of Italy, and to the west of Macedonia. 6 So it is used by 
Strabo in the reign of Augustus, and similarly by Tacitus in his account 
of the civil wars which preceded the fall of Jerusalem ; 7 and the same 
phraseology continues to be applied to this region, till the third century 
of the Christian era. We need not enter into the geographical changes 
which depended on the new division of the empire under Constantine, or 
into the fresh significance which, in a later age, was given to the ancient 
names, when the rivalry of ecclesiastical jurisdictions led to the schism 

1 It extended from the river Drilon to ttie 4 Dalmatia is a name unknown to the 
Istrian peninsula. earlier Greek writers. 

2 One of the most important of these mili- 5 The modern name of Ulyria has again 
tary posts was Siscia, in the Pannonian coun- contracted to a district of no great extent in 
try, on the Save. The line was continued by the northern part of the ancient province. 
Augustus through Mcesia, though the reduc- 6 See Gibbon's first chapter. 

tion of that region to a province was later. ? Tac. Hist. i. 2, 76, &c, where under the 

Six legions protected the frontier of the Dan- term Illyricum are included Dalmatia, Panno- 

ube. nia, and Mcesia : and this, it must be remem- 

3 Josephus alludes to these legions, War, bered, is strictly contemporaneous with the 
ii. 16. His language on geographical subjects is apostle. 

always important as an illustration of the Acts. 



516 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xvn. 

of Eastern and Western Christendom. 1 We have said enough to show 
that it is not possible to assume that the Illyricuin of St. Paul was a 
definite district, ruled as a province by a governor from Rome. 

It seems by far the most probable that the terms " Illyricum " and 
" Dalmatia" are both used by St. Paul in a vague and general sense : as 
we have before had occasion to remark in reference to Asia Minor, where 
many geographical expressions, such as " Mysia," " Galatia," and 
" Phrygia," were variously used, popularly and politically. 2 It is indeed 
quite possible that St. Paul, not deeming it right as yet to visit Corinth, 
may have pushed on by the Yia Egnatia, 3 from Philippi and Thessalonica, 
across the central mountains which turn the streams eastward and west- 
ward, to Dyrrhachium, the landing-place of those who had come by the 
Appian Road from Rome to Brundusium. 4 Then, though still in the 
province of Macedonia, he would be in the district called Greek Illyri- 
cum : 5 and he would be on a line of easy communication with Nicopolis 6 
on the south, where, on a later occasion, he proposed to winter (Tit. iii. 
12) ; and he could easily penetrate northwards into Roman or Barbarous 
Illyricum, where was that district of Dalmatia, 7 which was afterwards 
visited by his companion Titus, whom, in the present instance, he had 
despatched to Corinth. But we must admit that the expression in the 
Romans might have been legitimately 8 used, if he never passed beyond 
the limits of Macedonia, and even if his Apostolic labors were entirely to 
the eastward of the mountains, in the country watered by the Strymon 
and the Axius. 9 

Whether he travelled widely and rapidly in the regions to the north of 
Greece, or confined his exertions to the neighborhood of those churches 
which he had previously founded, — the time soon came when he deter- 
mined to revisit that Church, which had caused him so much affliction 
not unmixed with joy. During the course of his stay at Ephesus, and in 
all parts of his subsequent journey in Troas and Macedonia, his heart 
had been continually at Corinth. He had been in frequent communica- 

1 A geographical account of Illyricum in 6 Nicopolis was in Epirus, which, it will he 
its later ecclesiastical sense, and of the dioceses remembered (see above under Macedonia), was 
which were the subjects of the rival claims of in the province of Achaia. 

Home and Constantinople, will be found in 7 See above, p. 515. It is indeed possible 

Neale's History of the Eastern Church. that the word Dalmatia in this Epistle may be 

2 See pp. 204, 237. used for the province (of Illyricum or Dalma- 
8 See the account of the Via Egnatia, p. 274. tia), and not a subordinate district of what 
4 It has been said above (p. 274) that when was called Illyricum in the wider sense. 

St. Paul was on the Roman way at Philippi 8 The preposition need not denote any 

he was really on the road which led to Rome. thing more than that St. Paul came to the 

The ordinary ferry was from Dyrrhachium to frontier. 

Brundusium. 9 See what has been said of these rivers in 

6 See above, p. 514 comparing pp. 272, 273. Ch IX 



chap. xvn. 



JOURNEY SOUTHWARD TO CORINTH, 



517 



tion with his inconsistent and rebellious converts. Three letters 1 had 
been written to entreat or to threaten them. Besides his own personal 
visit 2 when the troubles were beginning, he had sent several messengers, 
who were authorized to speak in his name, Moreover, there was now a 
special subject in which his interest and affections were engaged, the con- 
tribution for the poor in Judasa, which he wished to " seal " to those for 
whom it was destined (Rom. xv. 28) before undertaking his journey to 
the West. 

Of the time and the route of this southward journey we can only say 
that the most probable calculation leads us to suppose that he was travel- 
ling with his companions toward Corinth at the approach of winter; 
and this makes it likely that he went by land rather than by sea. 4 A 
good road to the south had long been formed from the neighborhood of 
Beroea, 5 connecting the chief towns of Macedonia with those of Achaia. 
Opportunities would not be wanting for preaching the Gospel at every 
stage in his progress ; and perhaps we may infer from his own expression 
in writing to the Romans (xv. 23), — "I have no more place in those 
parts," — either that churches were formed in every chief city between 
Thessalonica and Corinth, or that the Glad-tidings had been unsuccess- 
fully proclaimed in Thessaly and Bceotia, as on the former journey they 
had found but little credence among the philosophers and triflers of 
Athens. 6 



1 The question of the lost letter has heen 
discussed in Ch. XV. p. 421. 

2 See again, on this intermediate visit, the 
beginning of Ch. XV. 

3 For the project of this westward journey, 
see the end of Ch. XV. above. 

* See Acts xxvii. 9. 

5 The roads through Dium have been al- 
luded to p. 296 ; and compare p. 292, n. 7. 



6 Athens is never mentioned again after 
Acts xviii. 1, 1 Thess. iii. 1. We do not 
know that it was ever revisited by the Apos- 
tle, and in the second century we find that 
Christianity was almost extinct there. See 
p. 331. At the same time, nothing would be 
more easy than to visit Athens, with other 
" Churches of Achaia," during his residence 
at Corinth. See p. 338, n. 5 ; and p. 484. 




Coin of Macedonia. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

St. Paul's Eeturn to Corinth. — Contrast with his First Visit. — Bad News from Galatia. — 
He writes the Epistle to the Galatians. 

IT was probably already winter when St. Paul once more beheld in 
the distance the lofty citadel of Corinth towering above the isthmus 
which it commands. The gloomy season must have harmonized with his 
feelings as he approached. The clouds which, at the close of autumn, 
so often hang round the summit of the Acro-Corinthus, and cast their 
shadow upon the city below, might have seemed to typify the mists of 
vice and error which darkened the minds even of its Christian citizens. 
Their father in the faith knew that, for some of them at least, he had 
labored in vain. He was returning to converts who had cast off the 
morality of the Gospel ; to friends who had forgotten his love ; to ene- 
mies who disputed his divine commission. It is true, the majority of the 
Corinthian Church had repented of their worst sins, and submitted to his 
Apostolic commands. Yet what was forgiven could not entirely be for- 
gotten ; even towards the penitent he could not feel all the confidence of 
earlier affection ; and there was still left an obstinate minority, who would 
not give up their habits of impurity, and who, when he spoke to them of 
righteousness and judgment to come, replied either by openly defending 
their sins, or by denying his authority and impugning his orthodoxy. 

He now came prepared to put down this opposition by the most decisive 
measures ; resolved to cast out of the Church these antagonists of truth 
and goodness, by the plenitude of his Apostolic power. Thus he warned 
them a few months before (as he had threatened when present on an 
earlier occasion), " when I come again, I will not spare " (2 Cor. xiii. 2). 
He declared his determination to punish the disobedient (2 Cor. x. 6). He 
"boasted" of the authority which Christ had given him (2 Cor. x. 8). 
He besought them not to compel him to use the weapons intrusted to him 
(2 Cor. x. 2), weapons not of fleshly weakness, but endowed with the 
anight of God (2 Cor. x. 4). He pledged himself to execute by his 
deeds, when present, all he had threatened by his words when absent (2 
•Cor. x. 11). 

As we think of him, with these purposes of severity in his mind, ap- 

518 



CHAP.xvni. FEELINGS ON APPKOACHING CORINTH. 519 

proacliing the walls of Corinth, we are irresistibly reminded of the event- 
ful close of a former journey, when Saul, " breathing out threatening^ 
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," drew nigh to Damas- 
cus. How strongly does this accidental resemblance bring out the essen- 
tial contrast between the weapons and the spirit of Saul and Paul ! Then 
lie wielded the sword of the secular power — he travelled as the proud 
representative of the Sanhedrin — the minister of human cruelty and 
injustice: he was the Jewish Inquisitor, the exterminator of heretics, 
seeking for victims to imprison or to stone. Now he is meek and lowly, 1 
travelling in the humblest guise of poverty, with no outward marks of 
pre-eminence or power ; he has no jailers at his command to bind his 
captives, no executioners to carry out his sentence. All he can do is to 
exclude those who disobey him from a society of poor and ignorant out- 
casts, who are the objects of contempt to all the mighty, and wise, and 
noble, among their countrymen. His adversaries despise his apparent in- 
significance ; they know that he has no outward means of enforcing his 
will ; they see that his bodily presence is weak ; they think his speech 
contemptible. Yet he is not so powerless as he seems. Though now he 
wields no carnal weapons, his arms are not weaker, but stronger, than 
they were of old. He cannot bind the bodies of men, but he can bind 
their souls. Truth and love are on his side ; the Spirit of God bears 
witness with the spirits of men on his behalf. His weapons are " mighty 
to overthrow the strongholds of the adversaries ; " " thereby " he could 
" overthrow the reasonings of the disputer, and pull down the lofty bul- 
warks which raise themselves against the knowledge of God, and bring 
every rebellious thought into captivity and subjection to Christ." 2 

Nor is there less difference in the spirit of his warfare than in the 
character of his weapons. Then he " breathed out threatenings and 
slaughter; " he " made havoc of the Church ; " he " haled men and women 
into prison ; " he " compelled them to blaspheme." When their sentence 
was doubtful, he gave his vote for their destruction ; 3 he was " exceedingly 
mad against them." Then his heart was filled with pride and hate, un- 
charitableness and self-will. But now his proud and passionate nature is 
transformed by the Spirit of God ; he is crucified with Christ ; the fervid 
impetuosity of his character is tempered by meekness and gentleness ; his 
very denunciations and threats of punishment are full of love ; he grieves 
over his contumacious opponents ; the thought of their pain fills him with 
sadness. "For if I cause you grief, who is there to cause me joy?" 4 
He implores them, even at the eleventh hour, to save him from the neces- 



1 See 2 Cor. x. 1. 8 Acts xxvi. 10. 

2 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. * 2 Cor. ii. 2. 



520 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xvra. 

sity of dealing harshly with them ; he had rather leave his authority 
doubtful, and still remain liable to the sneers of his adversaries, than 
establish it by their punishment (2 Cor. xiii. 7-9). He will condescend 
to the weakest prejudices rather than cast a stumbling-block in a brother's 
path ; he is ready to become " all things to all men," that he may " by 
all means save some." 

Yet all that was good and noble in the character of Saul remains in 
Paul, purified from its old alloy. The same zeal for God burns in his 
heart, though it is no longer misguided by ignorance or warped by party- 
spirit. The same firm resolve is seen in carrying out his principles to 
their consequences, though he shows it not in persecuting, but in suffering. 
The same restless energy, which carried him from Jerusalem to Damas- 
cus that he might extirpate heresy, now urges him from one end of the 
world to the other, 1 that he may bear the tidings of salvation. 

The painful anticipations which saddened his return to Corinth were 
not, however, altogether unrelieved by happier thoughts. As he ap- 
proached the well-known gates, in the midst of that band of faithful 
friends who accompanied him from Macedonia, his memory could not. but 
revert to the time when first he entered the same city, a friendless and 
lonely 2 stranger. He could not but recall the feelings of extreme depres- 
sion with which he first began his missionary work at Corinth, after his 
unsuccessful visit to Athens. The very firmness and bold confidence 
which now animated him — the assurance which he felt of victory over 
the opponents of truth — must have reminded him by contrast of the 
anxiety and self-distrust 8 which weighed him down at his first intercourse 
with the Corinthians, and which needed a miraculous vision 4 for its 
removal. How could he allow discouragement to overcome his spirit, 
when he remembered the fruits borne by labors which had begun in so 
much sadness and timidity ? It was surely something that hundreds of 
believers now called on the name of the Lord Jesus, who, when he first 
came among them, had worshipped nothing but the deification of their 
own lusts. Painful no doubt it was to find that their conversion had 
been so incomplete ; that the pollutions of heathenism still defiled those who 
had once washed away the stains 5 of sin : yet the majority of the Church 
had repented of their offences ; the number who obstinately persisted in sin 
was but small ; and if many of the adult converts were so tied and bound 



1 He was at this very time intending to go 2 He was left at Athens alone (1 Thess. iii. 

first to Jerusalem, thenee to Rome, and thence 1 ), and so remained till Timotheus and Silas 

to Spain ; that is, to travel from the Eastern rejoined him at Corinth, 
to the Western extremities of the civilized s See 1 Cor. ii. 1-3. 

world. See Rom. xv. 28. Compare the con- 4 Acts xviii. 9. 

elusion of Ch. XVII. 6 \ Cor. vi. \\. 



CHAP.xvm. BAD NEWS FEOM GALATIA. 521 

by the chains of habit, that their complete deliverance could scarce be 
hoped for, yet at least their children might be brought up in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord. Moreover, there were some, even in this 
erring church, on whom St. Paul could think with unmingled satisfaction; 
some who walked in the Spirit, and did not fulfil the lust of the flesh ; 
who were created anew in Christ Jesus ; with whom old things had 
passed away, and all things had become new ; who dwelt in Christ, and 
Christ in them. Such were Erastus the treasurer, and Stephanas, the 
first-fruits of Achaia ; such were Fortunatus and Achaicus, who had lately 
travelled to Ephesus on the errand of their brethren; such was Gaius, 1 
who was even now preparing to welcome beneath his hospitable roof the 
Apostle who had thrown open to himself the door of entrance into the 
Church of Christ. When St. Paul thought of " them that were such,'* 
and of the many others " who worked with them and labored," 2 as he 
Ihreaded the crowded streets on his way to the house of Gaius, doubtless 
lie " thanked God and took courage." 

But a painful surprise awaited him on his arrival. He found that intel- 
ligence had reached Corinth from Ephesus, by the direct route, of a more 
recent date than any which he had lately received ; and the tidings 
brought by this channel concerning the state of the Galatian churches 
excited both his astonishment and his indignation. 3 His converts there, 
whom he seems to have regarded with peculiar affection, and whose love 
and zeal for himself had formerly been so conspicuous, were rapidly for- 
saking his teaching, and falling an easy prey to the arts of Judaizing 
missionaries from Palestine. We have seen the vigor and success with 
which the Judaizing party at Jerusalem were at this period pursuing their 
new tactics, by carrying the war into the territory of their great opponent, 
and endeavoring to counterwork him in the very centre of his influence, 
in the bosom of those Gentile Churches which he had so lately founded. 
We know how great was the difficulty with which he had defeated (if 
indeed they were yet defeated) the agents of this restless party at Cor- 
inth ; and now, on his reaching that city to crush the last remains of 
their opposition, he heard that they had been working the same mischief 
in Galatia, where he had least expected it. There, as in most of the 
early Christian communities, a portion of the Church had been Jews by 
birth ; and this body would afford a natural fulcrum for the efforts of the 



1 It would be more correct to write this 3 This is on the assumption that the Epistle 
name Caius ; but as the name under its Greek to the Galatians was written soon after St. 
form of Gaius has become naturalized in the Paul's arrival at Corinth on the present occa- 
English language as a synonyme of Christian sion. For the reasons in favor of this hypothe- 
hospitaiity, it seems undesirable to alter it. sis, see the note upon the date of the Epistle 

2 1 Cor. xvi. 16. below. 



522 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvui. 

Judaizing teachers ; yet we cannot suppose that the number of Jews resi- 
dent in this inland district could have been very large. 1 And St. Paul 
in addressing the Galatians, although he assumes that there were some 
among them familiar with the Mosaic Law, yet evidently implies that the 
majority were converts from heathenism. 2 It is remarkable, therefore, 
that the Judaizing emissaries should so soon have gained so great a hold 
over a church consisting mainly of Gentile Christians ; and the fact that 
they did so proves not only their indefatigable activity, but also their 
skill in the arts of conciliation and persuasion. It must be remembered, 
however, that they were by no means scrupulous as to the means which 
they employed to effect their objects. At any cost of falsehood and 
detraction, they resolved to loosen the hold of St. Paul upon the affection 
and respect of his converts. Thus to the Galatians they accused him of 
a want of uprightness in observing the Law himself whilst among the 
Jews, yet persuading the Gentiles to renounce it ; 3 they argued that his 
motive was to keep his converts in a subordinate state, excluded from the 
privileges of a full covenant with God, which was enjoyed by the circum- 
cised alone ; 4 they declared that he was an interested flatterer, 5 " becom- 
ing all things to all men," that he might make a party for himself; and 
above all, they insisted that he falsely represented himself as an apostle of 
Christ, for that he had not, like the Twelve, been a follower of Jesus 
when He was on earth, and had not received His commission ; that, on the 
contrary, he was only a teacher sent out by the authority of the Twelve, 
whose teaching was only to be received so far as it agreed with theirs, and 
was sanctioned by them ; whereas his doctrine (they alleged) was now in 
opposition to that of Peter and James, and the other " Pillars " of the 
Church. 6 By such representations they succeeded, to a great extent, in 
alienating the Galatian Christians from their father in the faith ; already 
many of the recent converts submitted to circumcision, 7 and embraced 
the paxty of their new teachers with the same zeal which they had for- 
merly shown for the Apostle of the Gentiles ; 8 and the rest of the Church 
was thrown into a state of agitation and division. 

On receiving the first intelligence of these occurrences, St. Paul 
hastened to check the evil before it should have become irremediable. 
He wrote to the Galatians an Epistle which begins with an abruptness and 
severity showing his sense of the urgency of the occasion and the great- 
ness of the danger. It is also frequently characterized by a tone of sad- 

1 On the probable character of the Jewish 6 Ibid. i. 10. 

population of Galatia, see p. 212. 6 See the whole of the first two chapters of 

2 See Gal. iv. 8. the Epistle. 

3 Gal. v. 11. 7 Gal. vi. 13. 

4 Gal. iv. 16, compared with ii. 17. 8 Gal. iv. 14, 15. 



chap. xvm. 



EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 



623 



ness, such as would naturally be felt by a man of such warm affections 
when he heard that those whom he loved were forsaking his cause, and 
believing the calumnies of his enemies. In this letter his principal 
object is to show that the doctrine of the Judaizers did in fact destroy the 
very essence of Christianity, and reduced it from an inward and spiritual 
life to an outward and ceremonial system ; but in order to remove the seeds 
of alienation and distrust which had been designedly planted in the minds 
of his converts, he begins by fully contradicting the falsehoods which had 
been propagated against himself by his opponents, and especially by vin- 
dicating his title to the Apostolic office as received directly from Christ, 
and exercised independently of the other Apostles. Such were the cir- 
cumstances and such the objects which led him to write the following 
Epistle : — 

EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 1 



Defence of 
his independ- 
ent apostolic 
authority 



PAUL, an Apostle, sent not from men nor by man, but by i. I 
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the 



1 The date of this Epistle cannot be so 
clearly demonstrated as that of most of the 
others ; but we conclude that it was written at 
the time assumed in the text on the following 
grounds : — 

1st. It was not written till after St. Paul's 
second visit to the Galatians. This is proved 

(A) by his speaking of their conversion as 
having occurred at his first visit (iv. 13) ; im- 
plying that he had paid them a second visit. 

(B) (iv. 16) : "Am I now become your enemy 
by speaking truth among you 1 * implies that 
there had been a second visit in which he had 
offended them, contrasted with the first when 
he was so welcome. 

2dly. It is maintained by many eminent 
authorities that it was written soon after his 
second visit. This St. Paul (they argue) ex- 
pressly says ; he marvels that the Galatians 
are so soon (i. 6) forsaking his teaching. The 
question is (according to these writers), within 
what interval of time would it have been pos- 
sible for him to use this word " soon " ? Now 
this depends on the length of their previous 
Christian life; for instance, had St. Paul 
known them as Christians for twenty years, 
and then after an absence of four years heard 
of their perversion, he might have said their 
abandonment of the truth was marvellously 
soon after their possession of it ; but if they 



had been only converted to Christianity for 
three years before his second visit (as was 
really the case), and he had heard of their per- 
version not till four years after his second 
visit, he could scarcely, in that case, speak of 
their perversion as having occurred soon after 
they had been in the right path, in reference 
to the whole time they had been Christians. 
He says virtually, " You are wrong now : you 
Were right a short time ago." The natural im- 
pression conveyed by this language (consider- 
ing that the time of their previous steadfast- 
ness in the true faith was only three years 
altogether) would certainly be, that St. Paul 
must have heard of their perversion within 
about a year from the time of his visit. At 
that time he was resident at Ephcsus, where 
he would most naturally and easily receive 
tidings from Galatia. Hence they consider 
the Epistle to have been written at Ephesus 
during the first year of St. Paul's residence 
there. But in answer to these arguments it 
may be replied, that St. Paul does not say 
the Galatians were perverted soon after his own 
last visit to them. His words are, in fact, " I 
wonder that you are so quickly shifting your 
ground." The same word is used in 2 Thess. 
ii. 2, where he exhorts the Thessalonians " not 
rashly to let themselves be shaken ; " where 
the adverb refers not so much to the time as 



524 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xvrn. 



i. 2 dead ; — with all the brethren * in my company : To the against the 

Judaizing 

Churches of Galatia. SoS 811 * 

3 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and our hL°comm a i S . 

eion was not 

4 Lord Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for our sins, that He ?i^ t e h e J rom 
might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the Ap08tles - 

5 will of our God and Father ; to whom be glory, even unto the ages of 
ages. Amen. 

6 I marvel that you are so soon shifting 2 your ground, and forsaking 



to the manner in which they were affected, like 
the English hastily. But even supposing it, in 
Gal. i. 6, to refer simply to time, and to be 
translated quickly or soon, we still (if we would 
fix the date from it) must ask, " quickly after 
what event J " — " soon after what event t " 
And it is more natural (especially as the verb 
is in the present tense) to understand " soon 
after the entrance of the Judaizing teachers," 
than to understand " soon after my last visit." 

Hence there seems nothing in this adverb 
to fix the date of the Epistle ; nor is there 
any other external evidence of a decisive na- 
ture supplied by the Epistle. But, 

3dly. The internal evidence that the Epistle 
was written nearly at the same time with that 
to the Romans is exceedingly strong. Exam- 
ples of this are Rom. viii. 15 compared with 
Gal. iv. 6, Rom. vii. 14-25 compared with Gal. 
v. 17, Rom. i. 17 compared with Gal. iii. 11, 
and the argument about Abraham's faith in 
Rom. iv. compared with Gal. iii. But the com- 
parison of single passages does not so forcibly 
impress on the mind the parallelism of the 
two Epistles, as the study of each Epistle as a 
whole. The more we examine them, the 
more we are struck by the resemblance ; and 
it is exactly that resemblance which would 
exist between two Epistles written nearly at 
the same time, while the same line of argu- 
ment was occupying the writer's mind, and 
the same phrases and illustrations were on his 
tongue. This resemblance, too, becomes more 
striking when we remember the very different 
circumstances which called forth the two Epis- 
tles ; that to the Romans being a deliberate 
exposition of St. Paul's theology, addressed 
to a Church with which he was personally un- 
acquainted ; that to the Galatians being an 
indignant rebuke, written on the urgency of 
the occasion, to check the perversion of his 
children in the faith. 



This internal evidence, therefore, leads us 
to suppose that the Epistle to the Galatians 
was written within a few months of that to 
the Romans ; and most probably, therefore, 
from Corinth during the present visit (al- 
though there is nothing to show which of the 
two was written the first). The news of the 
arrival of the Judaizers in Galatia would 
reach St. Paul from Ephesus ; and (consider- 
ing the commercial relations between the two 
cities) there is no place where he would be so 
likely to hear tidings from Ephesus as at 
Corinth. And since, on his arrival at the 
latter city, he would probably find some intel- 
ligence from Ephesus waiting for him, we 
have supposed, in the text, that the tidings of 
the perversion of Galatia met him thus on his 
arrival at Corinth. 

1 Some of these " brethren in St. Paul's 
company " are enumerated in Acts xx. 4 : 
Sopater of Bercea ; Aristarchus and Secundus 
of Thessalonica ; Gaius of Derbe ; Timothe- 
us ; and Tychicus and Trophimus from Pro- 
consular Asia. The junction of their names 
with that of Paul in the salutation of this 
Epistle, throws light on the junction of the 
names of Timotheus, Sosthenes, Silvanus, &c, 
with Paul's in the salutation at the head of 
some other Epistles ; showing us more clearly 
that these names were not joined with that of 
St. Paul as if they were joint authors of the 
several Epistles referred to. This clause also 
confirms the date we have assigned to the 
Epistle, since it suits a period when he had an 
unusual number of travelling companions, in 
consequence of the collection which they and 
he were jointly to bear to Jerusalem. See the 
last chapter. 

2 For the translation of this, see the note 
on the date of this Epistle, above. 



chap. xvm. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 525 

Him * who called you 2 in the grace of Christ, for a new Glad-tidings ; 
which is nothing else 3 but the device of certain men who are troubling i. 7 
you, and who desire to pervert the Glad-tidings of Christ. But even 8 
though I myself, or an angel from heaven, should declare to you any 
other Glad-tidings than that which I declared, let him be accursed. As 9 
I have said before, so now I say again, if any man is come to you with a 
Glad-tidings different from that which you received before, let him be 
accursed. Think ye that man's 4 assent, or God's, is now my object ? or 10 
is it that I seek favor with men ? Nay, if I still sought favor with men, 
I should not be the bondsman of Christ. 

For I certify you, brethren, that the Glad-tidings which I brought you 11 
is not of man's devising. For I myself received it not from man, nor 12 
was it taught me by man's teaching, but by the revelation of Jesus 
Christ. For you have heard of my former behavior in the days of my 13 
Judaism, how I persecuted beyond measure the Church of God, and 
strove 5 to root it out, and outran in Judaism many of my own age and 1-4 
nation, being more exceedingly zealous 6 for the traditions of my fathers. 
But when it pleased Him who set me apart 7 from my mother's womb, and 15 
called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might proclaim 16 
His Glad-tidings among the Gentiles, I did not take counsel with flesh 
and blood, nor yet did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles 17 
before me, but I departed immediately into Arabia, 8 and from thence 
returned to Damascus. Afterwards, when three years had passed, I went 18 
up to Jerusalem, that I might know Cephas 9 and with him I remained 



1 "Him who called you." St. Paul proba- contrast between his position before and since 
bly means God. Compare Rom. ix. 24. his conversion. Compare chap. v. 11. 

2 " In the grace of Christ." The preposi- 6 The verb is in the imperfect. 

tion here cannot mean into; Christians are 6 This term ("Zealot") was, perhaps, 

called to salvation in the grace of Christ. already adopted (as it was not long after, 

8 The Authorized Version, "which is not Joseph. War, iv. 6) by the Ultra-Pharisaical 

another" does not correctly represent the origi- party. Cf. Acts xxi. 20. 
nal; the word translated "another" being i Compare Rom. i. 1. 

not the same in the two verses. 8 The immediately belongs to departed, as if 

4 This alludes to the accusations brought it were printed immediately (I conferred not . . . 

against him. See above, pp. 521, 522; also but) departed. On the events mentioned in this 

2 Cor. v. 11 ; and for the words, compare Col. verse, see pp. 90, 91. 

iii. 22. His answer is, that, had popularity 9 Cephas, not Peter, is the reading of the 
and power been his object, he would have best MSS. throughout this Epistle, as well as 
remained a member of the Sanhedrin. The in the Epistles to Corinth ; except in one pas- 
adverbs of time mark the reference to this sage, Gal. ii. 7, 8. St. Petsr was ordinarily 



526 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xviii 

i. 19 fifteen days ; l but other of the Apostles saw I none, save only James,* 

20 the brother of the Lord. (Now in this which I write to you, behold I 

21 testify before God that I lie not.) After this I came into the regions of 

22 Syria and Cilicia ; 3 but I was still unknown by face to the Churches of 

23 Christ in Judaea : tidings only were brought them from time to time, 4 
saying, " He who was once our persecutor now bears the Glad-tidings 

24 of that Faith, which formerly he labored to root out." And they 
glorified God in me. 

ii. 1 Then fourteen 5 years after, I went up again to Jerusalem The council 

2 with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. At that time I ° 

went up in obedience to a revelation, and I communicated to the brethren 
in Jerusalem 6 the Glad-tidings which I proclaim among the Gentiles ; 
but to the chief brethren I communicated it privately, 7 lest perchance my 

3 labors, either past or present, might be fruitless. 8 Yet not even Titus, 
my own companion (being a Greek), was compelled to be circumcised. 

4 But this communication 9 [with the Apostles in Judaea] I undertook on 
account of the false brethren who gained entrance by fraud, for they 
crept in among us to spy out our freedom 10 (which we possess Li Christ 

5 Jesus) that they might enslave us under their own yoke. To whom I 
yielded not the submission they demanded ; n no, not for an hour ; that 
the truth of the Glad-tidings might stand unaltered for your benefit. 

6 But from those who were held in chief reputation — it matters not to 
me of what account they were, — God is no respecter of persons — those 
(I say) who were the chief in reputation gave me no new instruction ; 



known up to this period by the Syro-Chaldaic the public assembly of the Church, see p. 

form of his name (the name actually given by 190. 

our Lord), and not by its Greek equivalent. 8 Literally, lest perchance I should be running, 

It is remarkable that he himself, in his Epis- or had run, in vain. 

ties, uses the Greek form, perhaps as a mark 9 Something must be supplied here to com- 

of his antagonism to the Judaizers, who natu- plete the sense ; we understand " communi- 

rally would cling to the Hebraic form. cated " from v. 2; others supply "was not 

1 See pp. 94-96. circumcised," " but I refused to circumcise him 

2 See note on 1 Cor. ix. 5. (which otherwise I would have done) on 

3 See p. 97. account of the false brethren, that I might not 

4 Lit. " They continued to hear." seem to yield to them." Others again supply 
6 See the discussion of this passage, Ap- " was circumcised," which gives an opposite 

pendix I. sense. The interpretation here adopted agrees 

6 " To them." Compare the preceding best with the narrative in Acts xv. 

Terse. 10 Viz. from the ordinances of the Mosaic 

7 On these private conferences preceding law. n The article implies this meaning. 



chap.xthi. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 527 

but, on the contrary, when they saw that I had 1 been charged to preach ii. 7 
the Glad-tidings to the uncircumcised, as Peter to the circumcised (for 8 
He who wrought in Peter for the Apostleship of the circumcision 
wrought also in me for the Gentiles), and when they had learned the 9 
grace which had been given me, — James, Cephas, and John, who were 
accounted chief pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellow- 
ship, purposing that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews ; 
provided only, that we should remember the poor, 2 which I have accord- 10 
ingly 3 endeavored to do with diligence. 
. „ But when Cephas came to Antioch, I withstood him to the 11 

St. Peter at r ' 

Antioch. face, because he had incurred 4 reproach ; for before the com- 12 
ing of certain [brethren] from James, he was in the habit of eating with 
the Gentiles ; but when they came, he began to draw back, and to 
separate himself from the Gentiles, for fear of the Jewish brethren. And 13 
he was joined in his dissimulation by the rest of the Jews [in the Church 
of Antioch] , so that even Barnabas was drawn away with them to dis- 
semble in like manner. But when I saw that they were walking in a 14 
crooked path, 5 and forsaking the truth of the Glad-tidings, I said to 
The Jewish Cephas before them all, " If thou, being born a Jew, art wont 
renounced the to live according to the customs of the Gentiles, and not of the 

righteousness 

of the law. Jews, how is it that thou constrainest the Gentiles to keep the 
ordinances of the Jews ? We are Jews by birth, and not unhallowed 15 
Gentiles ; yet, 6 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the 16 
Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we ourselves also have put our 
faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and 



1 The perfect is used because the charge Gal. i. 13, iii. 3, iii. 27, and many other pas- 
still continued. sages. For the proofs of this use of the aorist, 

2 Namely, the poor Christians in Judcea. see notes on 2 Cor. vii. 2, and Eom. v. 5.] 
We have sgen in the preceding chapters how For the phrase translated accordingly (to which 
fully St. Paul had carried out this part of his it is nearly equivalent), compare 2 Cor. ii. 3, 
agreement. and Phil. i. 6. 

3 The A. V. here is probably incorrect. 4 The remarkable expression here is not 
The aorist here seems to be used for the per- equivalent to the Authorized translation, " he 
feet, as it often is in N. T. [Mr. Ellicott, in was to be blamed" For the history, see Ch. 
his very valuable commentary on Galatians, VII. 

disputes this, and even calls the above asser- 6 The Greek verb, found only here, means 

tion " an oversight." He expresses his opin- to walk in a straight path. 

ion that the aorist is never used for the perfect 6 We follow Tischendorf and the best 

in N. T. Yet Mr. Ellicott himself repeatedly MSS. 

translates the aorist as perfect, for example in 



528 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xvih. 

not by the works of the Law ; for by the works of the Law ' sfjctll tt0 

ii. 17 But what if, 2 while seeking to be justified in Christ, we have indeed 
reduced 3 ourselves also to the sinful state of unhallowed 4 Gentiles? Is 
Christ then a minister of sin ? God forbid ! 5 
J8 For if I again build up that [structure of the Law] which I have over- 

19 thrown, then I represent myself as a transgressor. Whereas 6 1, through 
the operation 7 of the Law, became dead to the Law, that I might live to 

20 God. I am crucified with Christ ; it is no more I that Jive, but Christ 
is living in me ; 8 and my outward life which still remains, I live in the 

21 faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I frus- 
trate not God's gift of grace [like those who seek righteousness in the 
Law] ; for if the Law can make men righteous, then Christ died in vain. 

iii. 1 foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? 9 — you, be- Appeal to th« 

/» t /-* experience of 

fore whose eyes was held up the picture 10 of Jesus Christ upon the Oaiatians. 

2 the cross. One question I would ask you. When you received the Spirit, 
was it from the works of the Law, or the preaching ll of Faith ? Are you 

3 so senseless ? Having begun in the Spirit, would you now end in the 

4 Flesh ? Have you received so many benefits 12 in vain — if indeed it has 

5 been in vain ? Whence, I say, are the gifts of Him who furnishes you 

1 Ps. cxliii. 2 (LXX) ; quoted also more passage is illustrated by the similar mode in 
fully, Rom. iii. 20. which he answers the objections of the same 

2 The construction is like that in Rom. party, Rom. iii. 3-8. See note on the phrase 
ix. 22. rendered " God forbid " below, chap. iii. 21. 

3 Literally, been found sinners ourselves, as 6 In this "for" (A. V.) is virtually con- 
well as other men. tained the suppressed clause "but the abolition 

4 " Unhallowed." Compare " unhallowed of the law does not make me a transgressor, for." 
Gentiles " above. 7 This thought is fully expanded in the 7th 

5 Neander thinks that the 17th verse also of Romans. 

ought to be included in the speech of St. Paul, 8 It is with great regret that we depart 

and much migbt be said in favor of his view. from the A. V. here, not only because of its 

Still, on the whole, we think the speech more extreme beauty, but because it must be so dear 

naturally terminates with v. 16. See p. 201, to the devotional feelings of all good men. 

n. 2. The hypothesis in v. 17 is that of the Yet the words cannot be translated nevertheless 

Judaizers, refuted (after St. Paul's manner) I live, yet not I" 

by an abrupt reductio ad absurdum. The 9 The words " that ye should not obey the 

Judaizcr objects, "You say you seek righteous- truth" are not found in the best MS S., and 

ness in Christ, but in fact you reduce yourself to " among you " is also omitted. 
the state of a Gentile ; you are farther from God, 10 This is the literal sense. 

and therefore farther from righteousness, than you u Compare Rom. x. 17, and 1 Thess. ii. 13. 

were before." To which St. Paul only replies, 12 Literally, have you experienced so many 

" On your hypothesis, then, we must conclude Christ things [or such great things] ? The context is 

to be the minister of sin ! God forbid." This against the translation of the verb by suffered. 



«HA*.xvm. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAN9. 529 

with the fulness of the Spirit, and works in you the power of miracles ? l 
From the deeds of the Law, or from the preaching of Faith ? 

So likewise " gjfoaljam jmijj faitlj xxt &oft f aittr it foas ~6 

wk0iufr nnta Ijim fox XXffyiflQXWmSS" 2 Know, therefore, 



111 



Faith, and not 
the Law, is 
the source of 
righteousness. 

that they only are the sons of Abraham who are children of 
Faith. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God through Faith justifies 8 
[not the Jews only, but] the Gentiles, declared beforehand to Abraham 
the Glad-tidings, saying, " §JI tjie liutiom of % &mixk$ SJjall hi 
bleSSefr XIX tljtC." 3 So, then, they who are children of Faith [whether 9 
they be Jews or Gentiles] are blessed with faithful Abraham. 

For all they who rest upon 4 the works of the Law are under a curse ; 10 
for it is written, " ®UT!3£& X% tbtXV OXXt ffjat nrntittttetjj Xtot XU nil 

ijjmrjs foljixjr mt faritfm ht tlie took 0f % i^ato to to %m/' 5 

And it is manifest that no man is counted righteous in God's judgment 11 
under the conditions of the Law ; for it is written, ** ^Bn faiifr sfrall t\)t 
rijjjjtwtttS life," 6 But the Law rests not on Faith, but declares, " ® jxe 12 

matt ifrai frailj bme fym tjjirrgs sljall lib* tljmht/' 7 Christ has 13 

redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become accursed for our 
sakes 8 (for it is written, " (forStfr XB jefrtrg OXIZ tfjat {jaitgttjj 0}X K 
tXU "), 9 to the end that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might 14 
come unto the Gentiles ; that through Faith we might receive the prom- 
ise of the Spirit. 

The i,aw Brethren - — I speak in man's language 10 — nevertheless, — a 15 

abrogate the man's covenant, when ratified, cannot by its giver be annulled, 

prior promise 

to Abraham. or se t aside by a later addition. Now God's promises were 16 
made to Abraham and to his seed ; the Scripture says not " attir Icr fjj|r 

1 The phrase is exactly similar in 1 Cor. 7 Levit. xviii. 5 (LXX.) ; quoted also 
xii. 10. Rom. x. 5. 

2 Gen. xv. 6 (LXX.) ; quoted also Rom. 8 " A curse for us." The sentiment and 
iv. 3. expression strongly resembles " sin for us," 

3 Gen. xii. 3, from the LXX., but not ver- 2 Cor. v. 21 ; which epistle was very nearly 
batim. Compare the similar quotation, Rom. contemporaneous with this, if the date of the 
iv. 17. Galatians above adopted is correct. 

4 Literally, who have their root in the works 9 Deut. xxi. 23. Nearly verbatim from 
of the Law, or, according to the Hebrew image, LXX. 

the children of the works of the Law. i° This parenthetical phrase here, in St. 

5 Deut. xxvii. 26. Nearly verbatim from Paul's style, seems always to mean, / use a 
LXX. comparison or illustration drawn from human 

Hab. ii. 4 (LXX.) ; quoted also Rom. i. affairs or human language. Compare Rom. iii. 
1 7, and Heb. x. 38. 5, and 1 Cor. xv. 32. 

34 



530 



THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap, xrm, 



- Mtb$" as if it spoke of many, but as of one, H mtfr io fy% BZtft ;' ?1 

17 and this seed is Christ. But this I say ; a covenant which had been rati- 
fied before by God, to be fulfilled in Christ, the Law which was given 
four hundred and thirty 2 years afterwards cannot make void, to the an- 

18 nulling of the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the Law, it 
comes no longer from promise; whereas God has given it to Abraham 
freely by promise. 

19 To what end, then, was the Law ? it was 3 added because of the trans- 
gressions 4 of men, till the Seed should come, to whom belongs the prom- 
ise; and it was enacted by the ministration of angels 5 through the hands 

20 of [Moses, 6 who was] a mediator [between God and the people] . Now 
where 7 a mediator is, there must be two parties. But God is one [and 
there is no second party to His promise], 

21 Do I say, then, that the Law contradicts the promises of God ? Relation of 

Judaism to 

that be far from me ! 8 For had a Law been given which could Christianity. 
raise men from death to life, then would righteousness be truly from the 

22 Law. But 9 the Scripture (on the other hand) has shut up the whole 
world together under sin, that from Faith in Jesus Christ the promise 
might be given to the faithful. 



1 Gen. xiii. 15 (LXX.). The meaning of 
the argument is, that the recipients of God's 
promises are not to be looked on as an aggre- 
gate of different individuals, or of different 
races, but are all one body, whereof Christ is 
the head. Compare "you are the seed," v. 29. 

2 With regard to the chronology, see p. 
157, n. 2. 

3 This is according to the reading of the 
best MSS. 

4 Compare Rom. v. 20 : " The Law was 
added that sin might abound," which must be 
taken with Rom. v. 13, and Rom. vii. 13. 

5 Compare Acts vii. 53. 

6 Moses is called " the Mediator " by the 
Rabbinical writers. See several passages 
quoted by Schoettgen on this passage. 

7 St. Paul's argument here is left by him 
exceedingly elliptical, and therefore very ob- 
scure ; as is evident from the fact that more 
than two hundred and fifty different explana- 
tions of the passage have been advocated by 
different commentators. The most natural 
meaning appears to be as follows : " It is bet- 



ter to depend upon an unconditional promise 
of God than upon a covenant made between 
God and man ; for in the latter case the con- 
ditions of the covenant might be broken by 
man (as they had been), and so the blessings 
forfeited; whereas in the former case, God 
being immutable, the blessings derived from 
His promise remain steadfast forever." The 
passage is parallel with Rom. iv. 13-16. 

8 The expression occurs fourteen times in 
St. Paul ; viz. three times in Galatians, ten 
times in Romans (another example of the simi- 
larity between these Epistles), and once in 1 
Corinthians. In one of these cases (Gal. vi. 
14) it is not interjectional; in another (1 Cor. 
vi. 15), it repels a direct hypothesis, "Shall I 
do (so and so) ? God forbid." But in all the 
other instances it is interjectional, and rebuts 
an inference deduced from St. Paul's doctrine 
by an opponent. So that the question which 
precedes the phrase is equivalent to Do I, 
then, infer that ? " 

9 The connection of the argument is, that 
if the Law could give men spiritual life, and 



CHAP.xvin. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS, 531 

iii. 
But before Faith came we were shut up in prison, in ward under the 23 

Law, in preparation for the Faith which should afterwards be revealed. 

Thus, even as the slave l who leads a child to the house of the schoolmas- 24 

ter, so the Law has led us to [our teacher] Christ, that by Faith we might 

be justified ; but now that Faith is come, we are under the slave's care no 25 

longer. For you are all the sons of God, by your faith in Christ Jesus ; 26 

yea, whosoever among you have been baptized unto Christ have clothed 27 

yourselves with Christ. 2 In Him there is neither Jew nor Gentile, 28 

neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female ; for you all are one 

in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, 29 

and heirs of the blessing by promise. 

Now I say, that the heir, so long as he is a child, has no more freedom i v. 1 

than a slave, though he is owner of the whole inheritance ; but he is under 2 

overseers and stewards until the time appointed by his father. And so 3 

we also [who are Israelites] when we were children were in bondage, 

under our childhood's lessons of outward ordinances. 3 But when the 4 

appointed time was fully come, God sent forth His Son, who was born of 

a woman, and born subject to the Law ; that, He might redeem from their 5 

slavery the subjects of the Law, that we 4 might be adopted as the sons of 

God. And because you are the sons of God, He has sent forth the Spirit 6 

of His Son into your hearts, crying unto Him " Jfatjier*" 5 Wherefore 7 

thou [who canst so pray] art no more a slave, but a son; and if a son, 

then an heir of God through Christ. 

so enable them to fulfil its precepts, it would was born of a woman, that all the sons of wo- 

give them righteousness : but it does not pre- men might by union with Him become the 

tend to do this ; on the contrary, it shows the sons of God. 

impotence of their nature by the contrast of 5 "Abba" is the Syro-Chaldaic word for 

its requirements with their performance. This Father, and it is the actual word with which 

verse is parallel with Rom. xi. 32. the Lord's prayer began, as it was uttered by 

1 The inadequate translation here in the our Lord himself. The " Father" which fol- 
Authorized Version has led to a misconcep- lows is only a translation of " Abba," inserted 
tion of the metaphor. See note on 1 Cor. iv. as translations of Aramaic words often are by 
15. Compare also Hor. Sat. i. 6 (81). ' the writers of the New Testament, but not 

2 The only other place where this expres- used along with " Abba." This is rendered 
sion occurs is Rom. xiii. 14 ; another instance evident by Mark xiv. 36, when we remember 
of resemblance between the two Epistles. that our Lord spoke in Syro-Chaldaic. More- 

3 The phrase literally means the elementary over, had it been used vocatively (as in A. V.) 
lessons of outward things. Compare Col. ii. 8 along with Abba, the Greek would have been 
and 20. different. Rom. viii. 15 is exactly parallel svith 

4 We, namely, all Christians, whether Jews the present passage. 
or Gentiles. In other words, the Son of God 



532 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. 3ETH? 



iv. 8 But formerly, when you knew not God, you were in bondage nSSin* coS* 
9 to gods that have no real being. 1 Yet now, when you have SturnSln 

outward and 

gained the knowledge of God, —-or rather, when God has ac- formal wwr- 
knowledged you, 2 — - how is it that you are turning backwards to those 
childish lessons, weak and beggarly as they are ; 3 eager to place yourselves 

10 once more in bondage under their dominion ? Are you observing days, 4 

11 and months, 5 and seasons, 6 and years V I am fearful for you, lest I have 

12 spent my labor on you in vain. I beseech you, brethren, to become as I 
am [and seek no more a place among the circumcised] ; for I too have 
become as you 8 are [and have cast away the pride of my circumcision]. 

13 You have never wronged me: 9 on the contrary, although it was sickness 
(as you know) which caused l0 me to preach the Glad-tidings to you at my 

14 first visit, yet you neither scorned nor loathed the bodily infirmity which 
was my trial ; n but you welcomed me as an angel of God, yea, even as 

15 Christ Jesus. Why, then, did you think yourselves so happy ? (for I bear 
you witness that, if it had been possible, you would have torn out your 



1 This is of course addressed to Heathen 
converts. 

2 Compare 1 Cor. viii. 3. 

3 Literally, the weak and beggarly rudiment- 
ary lessons. 

4 The Sabbath days. Compare Col. ii. 16. 
[Also Rom. xiv. 6. See notes on those pas- 
sages. — H.] 

6 The seventh months. 

6 The seasons of the great Jewish feasts. 

7 The Sabbatical and Jubilee years. From 
this it has been supposed that this Epistle must 
have been written in a Sabbatical year. But 
this does not necessarily follow, because the 
word may be merely inserted to complete the 
sentence ; and of course those who observed 
the Sabbaths, festivals, &c, would intend to 
observe also the Sabbatical years when they 
came. The plural " years " favors this view. 

8 This is addressed (as above) to the Gen- 
tile converts. 

9 The aorist used as perf. (cf. notes on 2 
Cor. vii. 2, and Rom. v. 5). It might, how- 
ever, perhaps be here rendered, Ye did me no 
wrong [when I first came to you]. 

10 i. e. by keeping him in their country 
against his previous intention. See p. 235. 
The literal English of this is, You have in- 



jured me in nothing ; but you know that because 
of bodily sickness I preached the Glad-tidings 
to you on the first occasion, and yoxi neither, See. 
We are glad to find that Dean Ellicott, in 
his recent valuable and accurate commentary, 
expresses his opinion that "the only gram- 
matically correct translation is propter corporis 
infirmitatem." The contrary view of Professor 
Jowett, who translates "amid infirmity," is 
defended only by a mistaken parallel from 
Phil. i. 15. See Quarterly Review for Decem- 
ber, 1855, p. 153, note 2. 

11 This was probably the same disease men- 
tioned 2 Cor. xii. 7. It is very unfortunate 
that the word temptation has so changed its 
meaning in the last two hundred and fifty 
years, as to make the Authorized Version of 
this ver§e a great source of misapprehension 
to ignorant readers. Some have even been led 
to imagine that St. Paul spoke of a sinful 
habit in which he indulged, and to the do- 
minion of which he was encouraged (2 Cor. 
xii. 9) contentedly to resign himself! We 
should add, that if, with some of the bestMSS., 
we read " your," it makes no very materia! 
difference in the sense; St. Paul's sickness 
would then be called the trial of the Galatians. 



CHAP.xvm. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 533 

IV. 

own eyes * and given them to me.) Am I then become your enemy 2 because 16 
I tell you the truth ? They [who call me so] show zeal for you with no 17 
good intent ; they would shut you out from others, that your zeal may 
be for them alone. But it is good to be zealous 3 in a good cause, and 18 
that at all times, and not when zeal lasts only [like yours] while I am 
present with you. My beloved children, I am again bearing the pangs of 19 
travail for you, till Christ be fully formed within you. I would that I 20 
were present with you now, that I might change my tone ; for you fill me 
with perplexity. 

The allegory Tell me, ye that desire to be under the Law, will you not 21 
sarah s teaches hear the Law ? For therein it is written that Abraham had 22 

the same les- 
son to the Jew. £ W0 sons ; 4 one by the bond-woman, the other by the free. 

But the son of the bond-woman was born to him after the flesh ; whereas 23 

the son of the free-woman was born by virtue of the promise. Now, all 24 

this is allegorical; for these two'women are the two covenants; the first 

given from, Mount Sinai, whose children are born into bondage, which is 

Hagar (for the word Hagar 5 in Arabia signifies Mount Sinai) ; and she 25 

answers to the earthly Jerusalem, for 6 she is in bondage with her children. 

But [Sarah 7 is the second covenant in Christ, and answers to the heav- 26 

eniy Jerusalem ; for] the heavenly Jerusalem is free ; which is the 

mother of us all. 8 And so it is written " gUjota, tJKTtt frarrm tljat 27 

1 This certainly seems to confirm the view 5 The word Hagar in Arabic means " a 
of those who suppose St. Paul's malady to rock," and some authorities tell us that Mount 
have been some disease in the eyes. The Sinai is so called by the Arabs. The lesson 
"your" appears emphatic, as if he would say, to be drawn from this whole passage, as re- 
you would have torn oat your own eyes to supply gards the Christian use of the Old Testament, 
the lack of mine. is of an importance which can scarcely be 

2 The Judaizers accused St. Paul of desir- over-rated. 

ing to keep the Gentile converts in an inferior 6 All the best MSS. read " for" Hagar be- 

position, excluded (by want of circumcision) ing, both herself and her children, in bondage, 

from full covenant with God ; and called him, corresponds to the earthly Jerusalem : by which 

therefore, their enemy. latter expression is denoted the whole system 

3 The expression would more naturally of the Mosaic law, represented by its local cen- 
mean, " to be the object of zeal," as many in- tre, the Holy City. To this latter is opposed 
terpreters take it ; but, on the whole, the other the "city to come" (Heb. xii. 22), where 
interpretation (which is that of the older in- Christians have their " citizenship in heaven" 
terpreters and of Olshausen) seems to suit the (Phil. iii. 20). 

context better. Perhaps, also, there may be 7 This clause in brackets is implied, though 

an allusion here to the peculiar use of the not expressed, by St. Paul, being necessary for 

word " Zealot." Compare Gal. i. 14. the completion of the parallel. 

4 With this passage compare Rom. ix. 8 The weight of MS. authority is rather 
7-9. against the " all " of the received text ; yet it 



IV. 



534 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OP ST. PAUL. chap. xvra. 

timxtzi not; hxtnh forijr into tfyovAmg, t\au ifjat tabaiJtal not ; 
for % bmhit fmtjj mang max* fyxlbxm %n % fojrujr Jmfjr % 

28 jmsfomtr." 1 Now, we, brethren, like Isaac, are children [born not nat- 

29 urally, but] of God's promise. Yet, as then the spiritual seed of Abra- 

30 ham was persecuted by his natural seed, so it is also now. Nevertheless, 
what says the Scripture? " Cast Gut % botttr-foomcm Ettir \tt SQXi ) 

fox ifj* son 0f % bontr-tooman sfmll not be \nx toiijj % S0ir ai 

31 tht fx£Z-fo0Xtt%n" 2 Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of the 
v. 1 bond-woman, but of the free. Stand fast, then, in the freedom which 

Christ has given us, and turn not back again to entangle yourselves in 
the yoke of bondage. 

2 Lo, I Paul declare unto you, that, if you cause yourselves to be circum- 

3 cised, Christ will profit you nothing. I testify again to every man who 
submits to circumcision, that he thereby lays himself under obligation 

4 to fulfil the whole Law. If you rest your righteousness on the Law f you 

5 are cut off from Christ, 3 you are fallen from His gift of grace. For we, 
through the Spirit 4 [not through the Flesh] , from Faith [not works] , look 

6 eagerly for the hope 5 of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither cir- 
cumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but Faith, whose work is 
Love. 

7 You were running the race well : who has cast a stumbling- warning 

a c ' against the 

block in your way ? who has turned you aside from your obedi- f e U achS?, g ami 

8 ence to the truth ? The counsel which you have obeyed 6 came not S'Sm. 81 *' 

9 from Him who called 7 you. " A little leaven leavens the whole lump." 8 



bears an emphatic sense if retained, viz. "us present to St. Paul's mind) "flesh" or"let- 

all, whether Jews or Gentiles, who belong to the ter," and " law " or " works/' respectively. 
Israel of God" Compare Gal. vi. 16. 5 i. e. the hope of eternal happiness promised to 

1 Isaiah liv. 1 (LXX.). Quoted as a pro- righteousness. Compare Rom. viii. 24, 25, where 
phetic testimony to the fact that the spiritual the same verb is used. 

seed of Abraham should be more numerous 6 There is a paronomasia here, expressed by 

than his natural seed. "obedience" and "obeyed." 

2 Gen. xxi. 10 from LXX., but not quite ver- 7 The participle used substantively. Com- 
batim. pare i. 6, and note. 

8 This phrase (meaning literally to be can- 8 This proverb is quoted also 1 Cor. v. 6. 

celled from a thing, i. e. to have utterly lost all con- Its application here may be, " Your seducers 

nection with it) is only found in this passage, are few, but yet enough to corrupt you all ; " 

and in Rom. vii. 2 and 6. Another instance or it may be " circumcision is a small part of 

of resemblance between the two Epistles. the law, but yet its observance is sufficient to 

4 In the words " spirit " and " faith," a tacit place you altogether under the legal yoke." 
reference is made to their antitheses (constantly 



CHAP.xvxn. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 535 

As for me, I rely upon you, in the Lord, that you will not be led astray ; v . 10 
but he that is troubling you, whosoever he be, shall bear the blame. 

But if I myself also [as they say] still preach circumcision, 1 why am I 11 
still persecuted ? for if I preach circumcision, then the cross, the stone at 
which they stumble, 2 is done away. 

I could wish that these agitators who disturb your quiet would execute 12 
upon themselves not only circumcision, but excision also. 3 
Exhortation For you, brethren, have been called to freedom ; 4 only make 13 

to the more J ' ' ' J 

pirty noTto not vour freedom a vantage-ground for the Flesh, but rather 
freedom. enslave yourselves one to another by the bondage of love. For 14 
all the Law is fulfilled in this one saying, " Cf}0tt s{jalt lobt tljg ntlffy- 15 
hot as IjjIT&elf." 5 But if you bite and devour one another, take heei 
lest you be utterly destroyed by one another's means. 

KeeSthe But this I Sa 7> Walk in tlie S P irit > and J™ Sna11 ^Ot fulfil 16 

iK. andthe the desire of the Flesh; for the desire of the Flesh fights 17 
against the Spirit, and the desire of the Spirit fights against the Flesh ; 
and this variance tends to hinder 6 you from doing what you wish to do. 
But, if you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 7 Now the 18,1 
works of the Flesh are manifest, which are such as these ; fornication, 



1 This accusation might naturally be made 6 Not " so that you cannot do " (A. V.), but 
by St. Paul's opponents, on the ground of his " tending to prevent you from doing." 
circumcising Timothy, and himself still con- 7 To be " under the yoke of the Law," and 
tinuing several Jewish observances. See Acts " under the yoke of the Flesh/' is in St. Paul's 
xx. 6, and Acts xxi. 24. The first " still " in language the same ; because, for those who are 
this verse is omitted by some MSS., but re- under the Spirit's guidance, the Law is dead 
tained by the best. (v. 23) ; they do right, not from fear of the 

2 Literally, the stumbling-stone of the cross ; Law's penalties, but through the influence of 
i.e. the cross which is their stumbling-stone. Com- the Spirit who dwells within them. This, at 
pare 1 Cor. i. 23. The doctrine of a crucified least, is the ideal state of Christians. Com- 
Messiah was a stumbling-block to the national pare Rom. viii. 1-14. St. Paul here, and else- 
pride of the Jews ; but if St. Paul would have where in his Epistles, alludes thus briefly to im- 
consented to make Christianity a sect of Juda- portant truths, because his readers were already 
ism (as he would by "preaching circumcis- familiar with them from his personal teaching, 
ion"), their pride would have been satisfied. By the " flesh " St. Paul denotes not merely the 
But then, if salvation were made to depend on sensual tendency, but generally that which is 
outward ordinances, the death of Christ would earthly in man as opposed to what is spiritual, 
be rendered unmeaning. It should be observed, that the 17th verse is 

3 Observe the force of the " also " and of a summary of the description of the struggle 
the middle voice here ; the A. V. is a mistrans- between flesh and spirit in Rom. vii. 7-25 ; 
lation. and verse 18th is a summary of the description 

4 Literally, on terms of freedom. 
* Levit. xix. 18 (LXX.). Bom. viii. 1-14. 



536 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xvin. 

v. 20 impurity, lasciviousness ; idolatry, witchcraft ; 1 enmities, strife, jealousy, 
passionate anger ; intrigues, 2 divisions, sectarian parties ; envy, murder ; 

21 drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of which I forewarn you (as I told 
you also in times past), that they who do such things shall not inherit the 

22 kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suf- 

23 fering, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, 3 gentleness, self-denial. Against 
such there is no Law. 

24 But they who are Christ's have crucified 4 the Flesh, with its warning to 

the more 

25 passions and its lusts. If we live hy the Spirit, let our steps ^yfg^t 

26 be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become vainglorious, pro- pnde. ua 

vi. 1 voking one another to strife, regarding one another with envy. Brethren, 
■ — I speak to you who call yourselves the Spiritual, 5 — even if any one 
be overtaken in a fault, do you correct such a man in a spirit of meekness ; 

2 and take thou heed to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one 

3 another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For, if any man 
exalts himself, thinking to be something when he is nothing, he deceives 

4 himself with vain imaginations. Rather let every man examine his own 
work, and then his boasting will concern himself alone, and not his neigh- 

5 bor ; for each will bear the load [of sin] which is his own, 6 [instead of 
magnifying the load which is his brother's] . 

6 Moreover, let him who is receiving instruction in the Word 7 Provision to 

be made for 

give to his instructor a share in all the good things which he J^^fThe 

7 possesses. Do not deceive yourselves — God cannot be de- m^cS™*. (m " 

8 frauded. 8 Every man shall reap as he has sown. The man who now 

1 The profession of magical arts. The his- as used for the perfect. See notes on 2 Cor. 
tory of the times in which St. Paul lived is vii. 2, and Rom. v. 5. 

full of the crimes committed by those who pro- 5 " Ye that are spiritual." See p. 391. 

fessed such arts. We have seen him brought 6 The allusion here is apparently to iEsop's 

into contact with such persons at Ephesus well-known fable. It is unfortunate, that, in 

already. They dealt in poisons also, which the Authorized Version, two words (v. 2) are 

accounts for the use of the term etymologi- translated by the same term burden, which 

cally. seems to make St. Paul contradict himself. 

2 For this word, compare Rom. ii. 8, and His meaning is, that self-examination will pre- 
note. Also 2 Cor. xii. 20. vent us from comparing ourselves boastfully 

3 The word seems to have this meaning with our neighbor : we shall have enough to do 
here ; for faith (in its larger sense) could not with our own sins, without scrutinizing his. 
be classed as one among a number of the con- 7 By the Word is meant the doctrines of Chris- 
stituent parts of love. See 1 Cor. xiii. tianity. 

4 Some translate this aorist "crucified the 8 Literally, " God is not mocked*' i. e. God 
flesh [at the time of their baptism or their con- is not really deceived by hypocrites, who think 
version.] " But it is more natural to take it to reap where they have not sown. 



chap. xvm. 



EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 



537 



Autograph 
conclusion. 



sows for his own Flesh shall reap therefrom a harvest doomed l to perish ; 
but he who sows for the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap the harvest of life . 
eternal. But let us continue in well-doing, and not be weary : 2 for in 9 
due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Therefore, as we have oppor- 10 
tunity, 3 let us do good to all men, but especially to our brethren in the 
household of Faith. 

Observe the size 4 of the characters in which I write 5 to you 11 
with my own hand. 
I tell you that they who wish to have a good repute in things pertain- 12 
ing to the Flesh, they, and they alone, 6 are forcing circumcision upon 
you ; and that only to save themselves from the persecution which 7 
Christ bore upon the cross. For even they who circumcise themselves do 13 
not keep the Law ; but they wish to have you circumcised, that your 
obedience 8 to the fleshly ordinance may give them a ground of boasting. 
But as for me, far be it from me to boast, save only in the cross 9 of our 14 
Lord Jesus Christ ; whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto 
the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision is any thing, nor 15 



1 See Rom. viii. 21. 

2 Compare 2 Thess. iii. 13, where the ex- 
pression is almost exactly the same. 

8 This opportunity {time) is suggested by the 
preceding season {time) ; but the verbal identity 
cannot with advantage be retained here in 
English. 

4 Thus we must understand the phrase, 
unless we suppose (with Tholuck) that " how 
large " is used for " what kind of," as in the 
later Greek of the Byzantine writers. To take 
" characters " as equivalent to " letter " appears 
inadmissible. St. Paul does not here say that 
he wrote the whole Epistle with his own hand ; 
but this is the beginning of his usual autograph 
postscript, and equivalent to the "so I write" 
in 2 Thess. iii. 17. We may observe as a fur- 
ther confirmation of this view, that scarcely any 
Epistle bears more evident marks than this 
of having been written from dictation. The 
writer of this note received a letter from the 
venerable Neander a few months before his 
death, which illustrated this point in a manner 
the more interesting, because he (Neander) 
takes a different view of this passage. His let- 
ter is written in the fair and flowing hand of 
an amanuensis, but it ends with a few irregular 



lines in large and rugged characters, written 
by himself, and explaining the cause of his 
needing the services of an amanuensis, namely, 
the weakness of his eyes (probably the very 
malady of St. Paul). It was impossible to 
read this autograph without thinking of the 
present passage, and observing that he might 
have expressed himself in the very words of 
St. Paul : " Behold ! in what large characters 
I have written to thee with my own hand." 
[The words are given in uncial characters on 
the next page. — h.] 

6 The past tense, used, according to the 
classical epistolary style, from the position of 
the readers. 

6 The " they " is emphatic. 

7 Literally, that they may not be persecuted 
with the cross of Christ. Cf. 2 Cor. i. 5 {the 
sufferings of Christ). 

8 Literally, that they may boast in your flesh. 

9 To understand the full force of such ex- 
pressions as " to boast in the cross," we must 
remember that the cross (the instrument of 
punishment of the vilest malefactors) was asso- 
ciated with all that was most odious, contempti- 
ble, and horrible in the minds of that genera- 
tion, just as the word gibbet would be now. 



538 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xvth. 

vi. 

16 un circumcision ; but a new creation. 1 And whosoever shall walk by this 
rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon all the Israel of God. 2 

17 Henceforth, let no man vex me ; for I bear in my body the scars 3 
which mark my bondage to the Lord Jesus. 

18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 
Amen. 

IAETE nHAIKOIS TMIN ITAMMA2IN EITA*A TH EMH XEIPI. 4 



1 Cf. 2 Cor. v. 17. the scars, not of circumcision, but of wounds 

2 Compare ch. iii. v. 9. suffered for His sake. Therefore let no man 

3 Literally, the scars of the wounds made vex me by denying that I am Christ's servant, 
upon the body of a slave by the branding-iron, and bear His commission. Cf. 2 Cor. xi. 23. 
by which he was marked as belonging to his 4 [The words used by St. Paul (Gal. vi. 
master. Observe the emphatic "I:" whatever 11), as they appear in the Uncial MSS., e. g. 
others may do, I at least bear in my body the the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C). — H.j 
true marks which show that I belong to Christ ; 



CHAPTER XIX. 



St. Paul at Corinth. — Punishment of Contumacious Offenders. — Subsequent Character of the 
Corinthian Church. — Completion of the Collection. — Phcebe's Journey to Rome. — She 
bears the Epistle to the Romans. 

IT was probably about the same time when St. Paul despatched to 
Ephesus the messengers who bore his energetic remonstrance to the 
Galatians, that he was called upon to inflict the punishment which he had 
threatened upon those obstinate offenders who still defied his censures at 
Corinth. We have already seen that these were divided into two classes : 
the larger consisted of those who justified their immoral practice by 
Antinomian 1 doctrine, and, styling themselves "the Spiritual," considered 
the outward restrictions of morality as mere carnal ordinances, from 
which they were emancipated ; the other and smaller (but more obstinate 
and violent) class, who had been more recently formed into a party by 
emissaries from Palestine, were the extreme Judaizers, 2 who were taught 
to look on Paul as a heretic, and to deny his apostleship. Although the 
principles of these two parties differed so widely, yet they both agreed in 
repudiating the authority of St. Paul ; and, apparently, the former party 
gladly availed themselves of the calumnies of the Judaizing propagan- 
dists, and readily listened to their denial of Paul's divine commission ; 
while the Judaizers, on their part, would foster any opposition to the 
Apostle of the Gentiles, from whatever quarter it might arise. 

But now the time was come when the peace and purity of the Co- 
rinthian Church was to be no longer destroyed (at least openly) by either 
of these parties. St. Paul's first duty was to silence and shame his lead- 
ing opponents by proving the reality of his Apostleship, which they 
denied. This he could only do by exhibiting " the signs of an Apostle," 
which consisted, as he himself informs us, mainly in the display of 
miraculous powers (2 Cor. xii. 12). The present was a crisis which 
required such an appeal to the direct judgment of God, who could alone 

1 In applying this term Antinomian to the their characteristic (which was a belief that the 
" all things lawful " party at Corinth, we do restraints of outward law were abolished for 
not of course mean that all their opinions Christians) seems more accurately expressed 
were the same with those which have been by the term Antinomian than by any other, 
held by modern (so-called) Antinomians. But 2 See above, Ch. XVII. 

539 



540 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xix 

decide between conflicting claimants to a Divine commission. It was a" 
contest like that between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. St. Paul had 
already in his absence professed his readiness to stake the truth of his 
claims on this issue (2 Cor. x. 8, and xiii. 3-6) ; and we may be sure 
that now, when he was present, he did not shrink from the trial. And, 
doubtless, God, who had sent him forth, wrought such miracles by his 
agency as sufficed to convince or to silence the gainsayers. Perhaps the 
Judaizing emissaries from Palestine had already left Corinth after fulfil- 
ling their mission by founding an anti-Pauline party there. If they had 
remained, they must now have been driven to retreat in shame and con- 
fusion. All other opposition was quelled likewise, and the whole Church 
of Corinth were constrained to confess that God was on the side of Paul. 
Now, therefore, that " their obedience was complete," the painful task 
remained of " punishing all the disobedient" (2 Cor. x. 6). It was not 
enough that those who had. so often offended and so often been pardoned 
before should now merely profess once more a repentance which was only 
the offspring of fear or of hypocrisy, unless they were willing to give 
proof of their sincerity by renouncing their guilty indulgences. They 
had long infected the Church by their immorality ; they were not merely 
evil themselves, but they were doing harm to others, and causing the 
name of Christ to be blasphemed among the heathen. It was necessary 
that the salt which had lost its savor should be cast out, lest its putres- 
cence should spread to that which still retained its purity (2 Cor. xii. 
21). St. Paul no longer hesitated to stand between the living and the 
dead, that the plague might be stayed. 1 We know, from his own descrip- 
tion (1* Cor. v. 3-5), the very form and maimer of the punishment 
inflicted. A solemn assembly of the Church was convened ; the presence 
and power of the Lord Jesus Christ was especially invoked ; the cases of 
the worst offenders were separately considered, and those whose sins 
required so heavy a punishment were publicly cast out of the Church, 
and (in the awful phraseology of Scripture) delivered over to Satan. 
Yet we must not suppose that even in such extreme cases the object of the 
sentence was to consign the criminal to final reprobation. On the con- 
trary, the purpose of this excommunication was so to work on the 
offender's mind as to bring him to sincere repentance, " that his spirit 
might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." 2 If it had this happy 
effect, and if he manifested true contrition, he was restored (as we have 
already seen in the case of the incestuous person) 3 to the love of the 
brethren and the communion of the Church. 



1 We here assume that some of the Corin- a 1 Cor. v. 5. 

thian Church remained obstinate in their of- 8 2 Cor. ii. 6-8. 

fences, as St. Paul expected that they would. 



chap. xix. CHARACTER OF THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH. 541 

We should naturally be glad to know whether the pacification and 
purification of the Corinthian Church thus effected was permanent ; or 
whether the evils which were so deeply rooted sprang up again after St. 
Paul's departure. On this point Scripture gives us no further informa- 
tion, nor can we find any mention of this Church (which has hitherto 
occupied so large a space in our narrative) after the date of the present 
chapter, either in the Acts or the Epistles. Such silence seems, so far 
as it goes, of favorable augury. And. the subsequent testimony of 
Clement (the " fellow-laborer " of Paul, mentioned Phil. iv. 3) confirms 
this interpretation of it. He speaks (evidently from his own personal 
experience) of the impression produced upon every stranger who visited 
the Church of Corinth, by their exemplary conduct ; and specifies particu- 
larly their possession of the virtues most opposite to their former faults. 
Thus, he says that they were distinguished for the ripeness and sound- 
ness of their knowledge in contrast to the unsound and false pretence of 
knowledge for which they were rebuked by St. Paul. Again, he praises 
the pure and blameless lives of their women ; which must therefore have 
been greatly changed since the time when fornication, wantonness, and 
impurity (2 Cor. xii. 21) were the characteristics of their society. But 
especially he commends them for their entire freedom from faction and 
party-spirit, which had formerly been so conspicuous among their faults. 
Perhaps the picture which he draws of this golden age of Corinth may 
be too favorably colored, as a contrast to the state of things which he 
deplored when he wrote. Yet we may believe it substantially true, and 
may therefore hope that some of the worst evils were permanently cor- 
rected ; more particularly the impurity and licentiousness which had 
hitherto been the most flagrant of their vices. Their tendency to party- 
spirit, however (so characteristic of the Greek temper), was not cured; 
on the contrary, it blazed forth again with greater fury than ever, some 
years after the death of St. Paul. Their dissensions were the occasion 
of the letter of Clement already mentioned ; he wrote in the hope of 
appeasing a violent and long-continued schism which had arisen (like 
their earlier divisions) from their being " puffed up in the cause of one 
against another." l He rebukes them for their envy, strife, and party- 
spirit ; accuses them of being devoted to the cause of their party-leaders 
rather than to the cause of God ; and declares that their divisions were 
rending asunder the body of Christ, and casting a stumbling-block in the way 
of many? This is the last account which we have of the Corinthian 
Church in the Apostolic age ; so that the curtain falls upon a scene of 



1 1 Cor. iv. 6. from Clement's first epistle, ch. i., ii., iii., xiv., 

2 The passages in Italics are quotations xlvi., liv. 



542 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xr*. 

unchristian strife, too much like that upon which it rose. Yet, though 
this besetting sin was still unsubdued, the character of the Church, as a 
whole, was much improved since the days when some of them denied 
the resurrection, and others maintained their right to practise unchastity. 

St. Paul continued three months l resident at Corinth ; or, at least, he 
made that city his headquarters during this period. Probably he made 
excursions thence to Athens and other neighboring Churches, which (as 
we know) 2 he had established at his first visit throughout all the region 
of Achaia, and which, perhaps, needed his presence, his exhortations, 
and his correction, no less than the metropolitan Church. Meanwhile, 
he was employed in completing that great collection for the Christians of 
Palestine, upon which we have seen him so long engaged. The Chris- 
tians of Achaia, from whose comparative wealth much seems to have 
been expected, had already prepared their contributions, by laying aside 
something for the fund on the first day of every week ; 3 and, as this had 
been going on for more than a year, 4 the sum laid by must have been 
considerable. This was now collected from the individual contributors, 
and intrusted to certain treasurers elected by the whole Church, 5 who 
were to carry it to Jerusalem in company with St. Paul. 

While the Apostle was preparing for this journey, destined to be so 
eventful, one of his converts was also departing from Corinth, in an 
opposite direction, charged with a commission which has immortalized 
her name. This was Phoebe, a Christian matron resident at Cenchrea, 
the eastern port of Corinth. She was a widow 6 of consideration and 
wealth, who acted as one of the deaconesses 7 of the Church, and was 
now about to sail to Rome, upon some private business, apparently con- 
nected with a lawsuit in which she was engaged. 8 St. Paul availed him- 
self of this opportunity to send a letter by her hands to the Roman 
Church. His reason for writing to them at this time was his intention 
of speedily visiting them on his way from Jerusalem to Spain. He 
desired, before his personal intercourse with them should begin, to give 
them a proof of the affectionate interest which he felt for them, although 
they " had not seen his face in the flesh." We must not suppose, how- 
ever, that they were hitherto altogether unknown to him ; for we see, 
from the very numerous salutations at the close of the Epistle, that he 

1 Acts xx. 3. 6 She could not (according to Greek man- 

2 See 2 Cor. i. 1, and 2 Cor. xi. 10 (" The ners) have been mentioned as acting in the in- 
regions of Achaia"). Compare, however, the dependent manner described (Rom. xvi. 1-2), 
remarks at the end of Ch. X. and Ch. XVII. either if her husband had been living or if she 

3 1 Cor. xvi. 2. had been unmarried. 

4 2 Cor. viii. 10, and 2 Cor. ix. 2. 7 On this appellation, however, see p. 379, 
6 " Whomsoever ye shall approve." 1 Cor. n. 7 ; also p. 381, n. 1. 

xvi. 3. (See the translation of the verse.) 8 See note on Rom. xvi. 1. 



chap. xix. THE ROMAN CHtXRCH. 543 

was already well acquainted with many individual Christians at Rome. 
Prom the personal acquaintance he had thus formed, and the intelligence 
he had received, he had reason to entertain a very high opinion of the 
character of the Church ; l and accordingly he tells them (Rom. xv. 
14-16) that, in entering so fully in his letter upon the doctrines and 
rules of Christianity, he had done it not so much to teach as to remind 
them ; and that he was justified in assuming the authority so to exhort 
them, by the special commission which Christ had given him to the 
Gentiles. 

The latter expression shows us that a considerable proportion, if not 
the majority, of the Roman Christians were of Gentile origin, 2 which is 
also evident from several other passages in the Epistle. At the same 
time, we cannot doubt that the original nucleus of the Church there, as 
well as in all the other great cities of the Empire, was formed by converts 
(including more Gentile proselytes than Jews) who had separated them- 
selves from the Jewish synagogue. 3 The name of the original founder 
of the Roman Church has not been preserved to us by history, nor even 
celebrated by tradition. This is a remarkable fact, when we consider 
how soon the Church of Rome attained great eminence in the Christian 
world, both from its numbers, and from the influence of its metropolitan 
rank. Had any of the Apostles laid its first foundation, the fact could 
scarcely fail to have been recorded. It is therefore probable that it was 
formed, in the first instance, of private Christians converted in Palestine, 
who had come from the eastern 4 parts of the Empire to reside at Rome, 
or who had brought back Christianity with them, from some of their 
periodical visits to Jerusalem, as the " Strangers of Rome," from the 
great Pentecost. Indeed, among the immense multitudes whom political 
and commercial reasons constantly attracted to the metropolis of the 

1 Rom. i. 8 : " Your faith is spoken of did not understand that language, interpreters 
throughout the whole world." were not wanting in their own hody who 

2 See also Rom. i. 13. could explain it to them. Unquestionably, 

3 This is evident from the familiarity with however, he assumes that his readers are fa- 
the Old Testament which St. Paul assumes in miliar with the Septuagint (Rom. iv. 18). It 
the readers of the Epistle to the Romans ; is rather remarkable that Tertius, who acted 
also from the manifest reference to Jewish as St. Paul's amanuensis, was apparently (to 
readers in the whole argument of chapters iii. judge from his name) a Roman Christian of 
and iv., and again of chapters ix., x., and xi. the Latin section of the Church. It cannot, 
See, moreover, the note on Rom. iv. 18 below. of course, be supposed that all the Roman 

4 We cannot, perhaps, infer any thing as to Christians were of Oriental origin and Grecian 
the composition of the Church at Rome, from speech. Yet it is certain (as Dean Milman, 
the fact that St. Paul writes to them in Greek in his " Latin Christianity," has lately ob- 
instead of Latin ; because Hellenistic Greek served) that Greek remained the prevailing 
was (as we have seen, p. 36) his own native language in the Church of Rome for several 
tongue, in which he seems always to have centuries. 

written ; and if any of the Roman Christians 



5-44 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

world, there could not fail to be representatives of every religion which 
had established itself in any of the provinces. 

On this hypothesis, the earliest of the Roman Christians were Jews by 
birth, who resided in Rome, from some of the causes above alluded to. 
By their efforts, others of their friends and fellow countrymen (who were 
very numerous at Rome) * would have been led to embrace the Gospel. 
But the Church so founded, though Jewish in its origin, was remarkably 
free from the predominance of Judaizing tendencies. This is evident from 
the fact that so large a proportion of it at this early period were already 
of Gentile blood ; and it appears still more plainly from the tone assumed 
by St. Paul throughout the Epistle, so different from that in which he 
addresses the Galatians, although the subject-matter is often nearly 
identical. Yet, at the same time, the Judaizing element, though not pre- 
ponderating, was not entirely absent. We find that there were oppo- 
nents of the Gospel at Rome, who argued against it on the ground of the 
immoral consequences which followed (as they thought) from the doc- 
trine of Justification by Faith ; and even charged St. Paul himself with 
maintaining that the greater man's sin, the greater was God's glory. 
(See Rom. iii. 8.) Moreover, not all the Jewish members of the Church 
could bring themselves to acknowledge their uncircumcised Gentile 
brethren as their equals in the privileges of Christ's kingdom (Rom. iii. 
9 and 29, xv. 7-11) ; and, on the other hand, the more enlightened 
Gentile converts were inclined to treat the lingering Jewish prejudices 
of weak consciences with scornful contempt (Rom. xiv. 3). It was the 
aim of St. Paul to win the former of these parties to Christian truth, and 
the latter to Christian love ; and to remove the stumbling-blocks out of 
the way of both, by setting before them that grand summary of the 
doctrine and practice of Christianity which is contained in the follow ing 
Epistle : — 

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 2 

i. 1 PAUL, a bondsman of Jesus Christ, a called Apostle, set apart Salutation. 
2 to publish the Glad-tidings of God which he promised of old by 

1 With regard to the Jews in Rome, see months' residence at Corinth. See Acts xix. 
the beginning of Ch. XXIV. 21. 

2 The date of this Epistle is very precisely (3.) He was going to bear a collection of 
fixed by the following statements contained in alms from Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem 
it : — (xv. 26 and 31). This he did carry from Cor- 

(1.) St. Paul had never yet been to Rome inth to Jerusalem at the close of this three- 

(i. 11, 13, 15). months' visit. See Acts xxiv. 17. 

(2.) He was intending to go to Rome, (4.) When he wrote the Epistle, Timotheus, 

after first visiting Jerusalem (xv. 23-28). Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus were with him 

This was exactly his purpose during his three- (xvi. 21, 23) ; of these, the first three are ex- 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 545 

His Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son (who was born i. 3 
of the seed of David according to the flesh, but was marked out 1 as the 4 
Son of God with mighty power, according to the spirit of holiness, by 
resurrection from the dead) , 2 even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master. 3 
By whom I received grace and apostleship, that I might declare His name 5 
among all the Gentiles, and bring them to the obedience of faith. Among 6 

whom ye also are numbered, being called by Jesus Christ to all 7 

God's beloved, called to be Saints, 4 who dwell in Rome. 5 

Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

intention of First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, 8 
Some to because the tidings of your faith are told throughout the whole 

declare the 

Glad-tidings. WO rld. For God is my witness (whom I serve with the wor- .9 
ship 6 of my spirit, in proclaiming the Glad-tidings of His Son) how 
unceasingly I make mention of you at all times in my prayers, beseech- 10 
ing Him that, if it be possible, I might now at length have a way open to .- 
me, according to the will of God, to come and visit you. For I long to 11 
see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, for the establish- 
ment of your steadfastness ; that I may share with you (I would say) in 12 
mutual encouragement, through the faith both of you and me together, 
one with another. But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I 13 



pressly mentioned in the Acts as having been ing taken place could not " define " our Lord 

with him at Corinth during the three-months' to be the Son of God. 

visit (see Acts xx. 4) ; and the last, Erastus, 3 " Lord " seems to require this translation 

was himself a Corinthian, and had been sent here, especially in connection with " bonds- 

shortly before from Ephesus (Acts xix. 22) man," v. 1. 4 See note on 1 Cor. i. 2. 

with Timotheus on the way to Corinth. Com- 5 If this introductory salutation appears 

pare 1 Cor. xvi. 10, 11. involved and parenthetical, it the more forcibly 

(5.) Phcebe, a deaconess of the Corinthian recalls to our mind the manner in which it 

port of Cenchrea, was the bearer of the was written ; namely, by dictation from the 

Epistle (xvi. 1 ) to Rome. mouth of St. Paul. Of course an extempo- 

1 " Defiued," here equivalent, as Chrysos- rary spoken composition will always be more 
torn says, to " marked out." TVe may observe full of parentheses, abrupt transitions, and 
that the notes which marked Jesus as the Son broken sentences, than a treatise composed in 
of God are here declared to be power and writing by its author. 

holiness. Neither would have been sufficient 6 The addition of " with my spirit " quali- 

without the other. fies the verb, which was generally applied to 

2 " Resurrection of the dead" had already acts of outward worship. As much as to say, 
become a technical expression, used as we use " My worship of God is not the outward ser- 
" Resurrection : " it cannot here mean the vice of the temple, but the inward homage of 
general resurrection of the dead (as Prof. the spirit." See the corresponding substan- 
Jowett supposes), because that event not hav- tive similarly qualified, chap. xii. 1. 

35 



b46 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

have often purposed to come to you (though hitherto I have been 

hindered), that I might have some fruit among you also, as I have 

i. 14 among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and Barbarians, 

15 both to wise and foolish ; therefore, as far as in me lies, I am ready to 
declare the Glad-tidings to you that are in Rome, as well as to others. 

16 For [even in the chief city of the world] I am not ashamed of the Glad- 
tidings of Christ, seeing it is the mighty power whereby God brings salva- 
tion to every man that has faith therein, to the Jew first, and Thig Glad _ 

17 also to the Gentile. 1 For therein God's righteousness 2 is re- sistsfnthe" 

revelation of 

vealed, a righteousness which springs from Faith, and which a new and 

70 r- o more perfect 

Faith receives ; as it is written, " $5tt faith sjmii iht riflM- (SS/JS**- 

v - /5b JO >vj ecnisness), of 

-CUltS IllXt. the condition 

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all recipient. 

° For by God's 

ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who keep * down the SonToniy 6 " 
truth [which they know] by the wickedness wherein they live. 5 ?in o?X"ad 

been revealed. 

19 Because that which can be known 6 of God is manifested in Thus the law 

of conscience 

20 their hearts, God himself having shown it to them ; for His ^veSton to 

i n -ii it i i • • • «i i ^ ne Oentiles, 

eternal power and Godhead, though they be invisible, yet are and had been 
seen ever since the world was made, being understood by His JeSeTby* 8 
works, that they [who despised Him] might have no excuse ; corruptee 

of the heathen 

21 because, although they knew God, they glorified Him not as world - 
God, nor gave Him thanks, but in their reasonings they went astray after 

22 vanity, and their senseless heart was darkened. Calling themselves wise, 

23 they were turned into fools, and forsook the glory 7 of the imperishable 



1 St. Paul uses the word for " Greek " as tion of mind called faith. Under the second 
the singular of the word for " Gentiles," be- aspect, it is regarded as something reckoned by 
cause the singular of the latter is not used in the God to the account of man — an acquittal of 
sense of a Gentile. Also the plural " Greeks " past offences. 

is used when individual Gentiles are meant; 3 Habakkuk ii. 4 (LXX.). Quoted also 

" Gentiles" when Gentiles collectively are Gal. iii. 11, and Heb. x. 38. 

spoken of. * For this meaning of the verb, compare 

2 God's righteousness. Not an attribute of 2 Thess. ii. 6. 

God, but the righteousness which God con- 5 By living in wickedness. 

siders such ; and which must, therefore, be the 6 That which can be known by men as 

perfection of man's moral nature. This right- men, without special supernatural communica- 

eousness may be looked on under two aspects : tion. 

1 . in itself, as a moral condition of man ; 2. 7 This is nearly a quotation from Ps. cvi. 

in its consequences, as involving a freedom from 20 (LXX.). The phrase used there and hers 

guilt in the sight of God. Under the first meaning to forsake one thing for another; t* 

aspect, it is the possession of a certain disposi- change one thing against another. 



chap.xbc, EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 547 

God for idols graven in the likeness of perishable men, or of birds . 
and beasts, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up 24 
to work un cleanness according to their hearts' lust, to dishonor their 
bodies one with another ; seeing they had bartered the truth of God 25 
for lies, and reverenced and worshipped the things made instead of the 
Maker, who is blessed forever, Amen. For this cause God gave them 26 
up to shameful passions ; for on the one hand their women changed 
the natural use into that which is against nature ; and on the other hand 27 
their men, in like manner, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned 
in their lust one toward another, men with men working abomination, 
and receiving in themselves the due recompense of their transgression. 
And as they thought fit to cast out the acknowledgment of God, God 28 
gave them over to an outcast 1 mind, to do the things that are unseemly. 
They are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, depravity, covetous- 29 
ness, 2 maliciousness. They overflow with envy, murder, strife, deceit, 
malignity. They are whisperers, backbiters, God-haters ; 3 outrageous, 30 
overweening, false boasters ; inventors of wickedness ; undutiful to par- 
ents ; bereft of wisdom ; breakers of covenanted faith ; devoid of natural 31 
affection ; ruthless, merciless. Who knowing the decree of God, 4 where- 32 
uy all that do such things are worthy of death, not only commit the 
sins, but delight in their fellowship with the sinners, 
itwasaiso Wherefore, thou, man, whosoever thou art that iud^est ii. 1 

violated by •* ° 

faiowiedged " others, art thyself without excuse ; 5 for in judging thy neigh- 
(whethfr 10 bor thou condemnest thyself, since thy deeds are the same 

Jews or 

h £ a , thei \ n which in him thou dost condemn. And we know that God 2 

philosophers). 

fdlmen? 10 ^* judges them who do such wickedness, not 6 by their words, but 



1 There is a play upon the words here * How did they know this? By the law 
(cast out — outcast). A translation should, if of conscience (see ii. 14), confirmed by the 
possible, retain such marked characteristics of laws of nature (i. 20). 

St. Paul's style. A paronomasia upon the 5 Inexcusable in doing evil (not in judging) 

same words is found 2 Cor. xiii. 6, 7. is evidently meant, just as it is before (i. 20) 

2 Perhaps this may be here used for lust, as by the same word. St. Paul does not here 
it is at Eph. v. 3 and elsewhere ; see the notes mean that " censoriousness is inexcusable ; " 
there, and also see Hammond, and Jowett, in but he says "thy power to judge the immo- 
loco. ralities of others involves thy own guilt ; for 

3 We venture to consider this adjective thou also violatest the laws of thy con- 
active, against the opinion of Winer, Meyer, science." 

and De Wette ; relying first, on the authority 6 This appears to be the meaning of " ac- 

of Suidas ; and secondly, on the context cording to truth." 



548 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xix. 

ii. 3 by their deeds. But reckonest thou, thou that condemnest ^ v ° a "n n n Q 0d , a 
such evil-doers, and doest the like thyself, that thou shalt Sis judgment 

would depend 

4 escape the judgment of God ? or does the rich abundance of on the agree- 

1 *> ° ment between 

His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering cause thee to and a the°iaw 
despise 1 Him? and art thou ignorant that God, by His kind- therout-' 

r ° 7 J wardly(asto 

ness [in withholding punishment], strives to lead thee to Swfrcuy^ 

5 repentance ? But thou, in the hardness and impenitence of then)! 

thy heart, art treasuring up against thyself a store of wrath, which will 
be manifested in 2 the day of wrath, even the day when God will reveal 3 

6 to the sight of men the righteousness of His judgment. For He will pay 

7 to all their due, according to their deeds ; to those who with steadfast 

8 endurance in well-doing seek glory and honor 4 incorruptible, He will 
give life eternal ; but for men of guile, 5 who are obedient to unrighteous- 

9 ness, and disobedient to the truth, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
anguish, shall 6 fall upon them; yea, upon every soul of man that does 

10 the work of evil, upon the Jew first, and also upon the Gentile. But 
glory and honor and peace shall be given to every man who does the 

11 work of good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile ; for there is no 
respect of persons with God. 

12 For they who have sinned without [the knowledge of] the Law shall 
perish without [the punishment of] the Law ; and they who have sinned 

13 under the Law shall be judged by the Law. 7 For not the hearers of 
the Law 8 are righteous in God's sight, but the doers of the Law shall be 

14 counted righteous. For when the Gentiles, having not the Law, do by 
nature the works of the Law, they, though they have not the Law, are a 

1 Literally, " is it the rich abundance of His The history of this word seems to bear a 
kindness, fyc, which thou despisest ? " strong analogy to that of our term job. 

2 Not against, but manifested in. 6 Observe the change of construction here. 

3 This means to disclose to sight what has The nouns in the latter clause are in the nom- 
been hidden ; the word reveal does not by itself inative. 

represent the full force of the original term, 7 We have remarked elsewhere (but the 

although etymologically it corresponds with it. remark may be repeated with advantage) 

4 " Glory and honor and immortality," ah that the attempts which were formerly made 
hendiadys for " immortal glory and honor." to prove that vofioc, when used with and with- 

5 This noun seems to mean selfish party in- out the article by St. Paul, meant in the for- 
trigue, conducted in a mercenary spirit, and more mer case a moral law in general, and in the 
generally, selfish cunning ; being derived from latter only the Mosaic Law, have now been 
a verb denoting to undertake a work for hire. abandoned by the best interpreters. See note 
It occurs also 2 Cor. xii. 20 ; Phil, i. 16, Phil. on iii. 20. 

ii. 3 ; Gal. v. 20. The participle is used for 8 The Jews were "hearers of the Law" in 

intriguing partisans by Aristotle (Polit. v. 3). their synagogues, every Sabbath. 



CHAP.xnc. EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 549 

ii. 
Law to themselves ; since they manifest the work of the Law written in 15 

their hearts ; while their conscience also bears its witness, and their 

inward thoughts, answering one to the other, accuse, or else defend them ; 

[as will be seen] l in that day when God shall judge the secret coun- 16 

sels of men by Jesus Christ, according to the Glad-tidings which I 

preach. 

Norwouidthe Behold 2 thou callest thyself a Jew, and restest in the Law, 17 

Jews be J ' ' . 

tStoasfin and fastest of God's favor, and knowest the will of God, and 18 
thlybroke'thl givest 3 judgment upon good or evil, being instructed by the 

Law; nor by 

their outward teaching of the Law. Thou deemest thyself a guide of the 19 

consecration ° J ° 

tru^c&cum- 6 blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of 

cision is that . • ^ in x 

of the heart, the simple, a teacher of babes, possessing in the Law the per- 20 

feet pattern of knowledge and of truth. Thou therefore that teachest thy 21 
neighbor, dost thou not teach thyself ? thou that preachest a man should 

not steal, dost thou steal ? thou that sayest a man should not commit 22 
adultery, dost thou commit adultery ? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou 

rob 4 temples ? thou that makest thy boast in the Law, by breaking the 23 

Law dost thou dishonor God? Yea, as it is written, " CjjflJttjgjj gfltf tS 24 

% tmmt of <Sxrtr Maspfjcemtir kxixquq % <§miiles." 5 

For circumcision avails if thou keep the Law ; bat if thou be a break- 25 
er of the Law, thy circumcision is turned into uncircumcision. If, then, 26 
the uncircumcised Gentile keep the decrees of the Law, shall not his 
uncircumcision be counted for circumcision ? And shall not he, though 27 
naturally uncircumcised, by fulfilling the Law, condemn thee, who with 
Scripture and circumcision dost break the Law? For he is not a Jew who 23 
is one outwardly ; nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh ; 



1 The clause in brackets (or some equiva- callest thyself," &c. ; the apodosis beginning 
lent) must be interpolated, to render the con- with verse 21. 

nection clear to an English reader. The verbs 3 The verb means to test (as a metal by fire). 

are in the present, because the conscientious See 1 Peter i. 7. Hence to give judgment upon 

judgment described takes place in the present (here). " Things that are excellent," or 

time ; yet they are connected with in the Day rather " things that differ," mean (as ex- 

(as if they had been in the future), because plained by Theophylact), " what we ought to 

the manifestation and confirmation of that do and what we ought not to do." The same 

judgment belongs to " the Day of the phrase occurs Phil. i. 10. See also Rom. 

Lord." xii. 2. 

2 If we follow some of the best MSS., the 4 Compare Acts xix. 37. [See above, p. 
translation must run thus : " But what, if thou 475. — H.j 6 Isaiah lii. 5 (LXX.). 



550 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xix. 

ii. 

29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the 

heart, in the spirit, not in the letter ; whose praise comes not from man, 1 

but from God. 

iii. 1 "But if this be so, what advantage has the Jew, and what Theadvan- 

' ° 7 tage of the 

2 has been the profit of circumcision?" Much every way. ^^ 8t ' 
First, because to their keeping were intrusted the oracles of ed with the 

outward reve- 

3 God. For what, though some of them were faithless 2 to the JjUgg^Jj, 
trust? shall we say 3 that their faithlessness destroys the faith- lessnessto" 

this trust only 

4 fulness 4 of God ? That be far from us. Yea, be sure that established 

7 God's faithfal- 

God is true, though all mankind be liars, as it is written: SnfSe" 

a r>*r r . r . . T . ,♦ ^ . . , r , occasion for 

Cjmt ilpu mtgjjtesi he justratfcr in igtr sajnttp, ana 2y82!& 

5 migljiest obmamt foljm fyan art ja&gttr/' 5 " But if the S5a d fr<> m 

righteousness of God is established by our unrighteousness ^£™l 
[His faithfulness being more clearly seen by our faithless- no couse- mc 

quences (how- 

nessl, must we not say that God is uniust" (I speak as men ever good) can 

-> 7 ^ ■'»>»■* make a wrong 

6 do) 6 "in sending the punishment?" That be far from us; action right " 

7 for [if this punishment be unjust] how shall God judge the world ? since 7 
[of that judgment also it might be said], " If God's truth has by the 
occasion of my falsehood more fully shown itself, to the greater manifes- 

8 tation of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner ? and why 8 
should we not say " (as I myself am slanderously charged with saying) 
" let us do evil that good may come ? " Of such men 9 the doom is just. 

1 The Pharisees and Pharisaic Judaizers ings, and mightest overcome when Thou art 
sought to gain the praise of men by their out- judged." 

ward show of sanctity ; which is here contrasted 6 For this phrase, see note on Gal. iii. 15. 

with the inward holiness which seeks no praise And compare also 1 Cor. xv. 32, and Eom. 

hut that of God. The same contrast occurs vi. 19. 
in the Sermon on the Mount. 7 In this most difficult passage we must 

2 " Faithless to the trust " refers to the pre- bear in mind that St. Paul is constantly refer- 
ceding " intrusted." For the meaning of the ring to the arguments of his opponents, which 
word, compare 2 Tim. ii. 13. were familiar to his readers at Rome, but are 

3 See note on Gal. iii. 21. not so to ourselves. Hence the apparently 

4 That is, shall we imagine that God will abrupt and elliptical character of the argu- 
break His covenant with the true Israel, be- ment, and the necessity of supplying some- 
cause of the unfaithfulness of the false Israel ? thing to make the connection intelligible. 
Compare Rom. xi. 1-5. 8 The ellipsis is supplied by understanding 

5 Ps. Ii. 4 (LXX.). The whole context is "why "from the preceding clause, and "say" 
as follows : " / acknowledge my transgression, from the following ; the complete expression 
and my sin is ever before me; against Thee only would have been, " why should we not say?' 
have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight; 9 Viz., men who deduce immoral coit*e- 
that Thou mightest be justified in Thy say- quences from sophistical arguments, 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 551 

ni. 
^th^jiwf 8 What shall we say then [having gifts above the Gentiles] ? 9 
mo V r e ai h p™- no have we the pre-eminence over them ? No, in no wise ; for 

eminence over 

the heathen; we have already charged all, both Jews and Gentiles, with the 

their Law J ° 7 7 

?hem C oT 8 in ted guilt of sin. And so it is written, " Cljm IS nam rijjfjiwwS, 10 

ii0, not am; %« is nam i{rat untestabt% t\txt m nam ilpt n 

mfafy utkx &oh f %tr mt all %a\xt ant at % foag, %g an vita- 12 
g*%r b-enmw unpafiiabfo, t\tm m nam t\vd )xazt\ %oa)x f na t not 

am. Cfjw %aat m ait o$m tepMpz, briijr %ir tan^nt ifjejr 13 

Jrato its^ir bmit, % p0tS0tt 0f asps is itttto %ir %s, %\m 14 

motttlj is full of mrsinjj aitir bitterness. &{mr ftet an sfoift tn 15 
sljetr Mcratr. ^^stmcti0it aitb mis-erg mt iit %ir patfjs, antr % 16,17 

foag of pax* jrafo %g lurt hrarhm. Cljm is 110 £ear 0f (Sail is 

brfcrtC tljOT ^gjes/' 1 Now we know that all the sayings of the Law are 19 
spoken to those under the Law [these things therefore are spoken to 
the Jews], that every mouth might be stopped, and the whole world 
might be subjected to the judgment of God. For 2 through the works 20 
of the Law " sljall 1T0 ffosjj ht JUSti&il ill JptS Shjljt/' 3 because by 
the Law is wrought [not the doing of righteousness, but] the acknowl- 
edgment of sin. 
Hence aii But now, not by the Law, but by another way, 4 God's 21 

men, being -_•'■' 

Se standard 7 righteousness is brought to light, whereto the Law and the 
which they prophets bear witness; God righteousness (I say) which 22 

possessed, 

JJahteou™i de comes D y faith in Jesus Christ, for all and upon all, who have 
aiaJSr- n faith ; 5 for there is no difference [between Jew and Gentile], 

ent from that 

of the Law; since all have sinned, and none have attained the glorious like- 23 

i. e. not by ' & AV 

oepts^Ld^o ness 6 of God. But they are justified freely by His grace 24 



1 This whole passage is quoted (and all for in Thy sight shall no man be justified." 
but verses 10 and 11 verbatim) from Ps. xiv. No doubt the preceding words were in St. 
1, 2, 3 (LXX.). Portions of it also occur Paul's recollection, and are tacitly referred to, 
in Ps. liii. 3, Ps. v. 9, Ps. cxl. 3, Ps. x. 7 ; being very suitable to his argument. 

Isaiah lix. 7 ; Ps. xxxvi. 1. 4 Not by the Law, but by something else. See 

2 See note on ii. 12. That the absence of iii. 28, and iv. 6. 

the article makes no difference is shown by 6 In order to render more clear the con- 
verses 28 and 29. At the same time, it must nection between the words for " faith " and 
be observed that the Law is spoken of as a " believe," it is desirable to translate the latter 
moral, not as a ceremonial law. have faith (instead of believe) wherever it is 

8 Ps. cxliii. 2, almost verbatim from LXX. possible. 
" Enter not into judgment with Thy servant ; 6 Literally, all fall short of the glory of God'. 



552 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XIX. 



111. 

25 through the ransom which is paid in Christ Jesus. For him aSjiufby 
hath God set forth, in His blood to be a propitiatory sacrifice by christ?and by 

receiving a 

means of Faith, thereby to manifest the righteousness of God ; gratuitous 
because* in His forbearance God had passed over the former KeSSSoe 

26 sins of men J in the times that are gone by. [Him (I say) showed that 
hath God set forth] in this present time to manifest His g^f£g s not 
righteousness, that he might be just, and [yet] might justify 2 s?n. 

27 the children 3 of Faith. Where, then, is the 4 boasting [of the Jew] ? It 
has been 5 shut out. By what law ? by the law of works ? no, but by 

28 the law of Faith. For we reckon 6 that by Faith a man is justified, and 
not by 7 the works of the Law; else God must be the God of the Jews 

29 alone ; but is He not likewise the God of the Gentiles ? Yea, He is the 

30 God of the Gentiles also. For God is one [for all men], and He will 
justify through Faith the circumcision of the Jews, and by their Faith 
will He justify also the uncircumcision of the Gentiles. 

31 Do we, then, by Faith brine? to nought the Law ? That be far ? ewish °}l ec ' 

7 7l » a ° tions met by 

from us ! 



Yea, we establish the Law. 



appeal to the 
Old Testa- 
ment and the 



"We have " God's glory " as analogous to 
" Christ's glory" (2 Cor. viii. 23, or 2 Cor. iii. 
18). It may also mean God's heavenly glory 
(Rom. v. 2, and 2 Thess. ii. 14). Meyer and 
others render it " the praise which comes from 
God," which is contrary to St. Paul's use of 
the phrase. Indeed St. John is the only 
writer in the New Testament who furnishes 
any analogy for this rendering (John xii. 
43). 

1 The A. V. here is a mistranslation. Cf. 
Acts xvii. 30, and the note on St. Paul's 
speech at Lystra, p. 172, n. 2. 

2 The first wish of a translator of St. 
Paul's Epistles would be to retain the same 
English root in all the words employed 
as translations of the various derivatives 
of dinaLoc, viz. dmaioovvrj, 6iK.aiovv, diKaiufxa, 
•dtKaiucic, dmaiuc, and dacaLOKptma. But this is 
impossible, because no English root of the 
same meaning has these derivatives ; for exam- 
ple, taking righteous to represent dimioc, we 
have righteousness for diKeuoavvq, but no verb 
from the same root equivalent to dtmtovv. 
Again, taking just for 6'lkqloc, we have justify 
for fiixatovv, but no term for tiiKaioavvri, which 
iis by no means equivalent to justice, nor even 



to justness, in many passages where it occurs. 
The only course which can be adopted, there- 
fore, is to take that root in each case which 
seems best to suit the context, and bring out 
the connection of the argument. 

3 The original is not fully represented by 
the A. V. It means "him whose essential 
characteristic is faith," "the child of faith." 
Compare Gal. iii. 7, and Gal. iii. 9. The word 
"Jesus " is omitted by some of the best MSS., 
and is introduced in others with variations, 
which looks as if it had been originally an in- 
terpolation. It is omitted by Tischendorf. 

4 The Greek has the article before the 
word for " boasting." 

5 The aorist seems used here (as often) in 
a perfect sense. See note on 2 Cor. vii. 2, 
and on Rom. v. 5. 

6 We have adopted the reading " for " 
instead of " therefore," because the authority 
of MSS. and Fathers is pretty equally divided 
between the two readings, and it suits the con- 
text better to make this clause a proposition 
supporting the preceding, and defended by 
the following, than to make it the conclusion 
from the preceding arguments. 

7 See note on verse 21. 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 553 

iv. 
e 3!im 0f What, then, 1 can we say that our father Abraham gained by 2 1 

Slot b u y U * the.fleshly ordinance ? For if Abraham was justified by works, 2 

circumcision, 

but before h e has a ground of boasting. But he has no ground of boast- 

circumcision. ° 

b^fefinGod's ing with God ; for what says the Scripture ? " g,bra|jam Jjatr 3 

promises fore- 

cSSInfaith, faitlj in <Soir, antr it toas mtomrir unio fjim fax xxcfehom- 

Christians be- „, . 

ing, by virtue mss. Now, it a man earn his pay by his work, it is not 4 

of their faith, *"'"'"'♦ ' r J J J 

chiiSeno? 1 '* xukontb to him " as a favor, but it is paid him as a debt ; 

Abraham, and ° 

heirs of the but if he earns nothing by his work, but puts faith in Him who 5 

promises. ° J J r 

justifies 4 the ungodly, then his faith is " XltkaVLtb to tym far rijjIjteattS- 
ffttffi" Iii like manner David also tells the blessedness of the man to 6 
whom God reckoneth righteousness, not by works, but by another way, 5 

saying, " EUss^tr uxt %n fojjcse iniquities nxt forgi&m, anir tojxas* 7 
sins are flrfjmir. §l£sstfcr is i\]t man against fofpm %ifrrrir sfjall 8 

no! rtch0tX sin/' 6 Is this blessing, then, for the circumcised alone ? or 9 
does it not belong also to the uncircumcised ? for we say, " Ijis faitlj 

toas rjedumtir ia ^braljant {ax rigjjttausMSs/' 7 How, then, was it io 

reckoned to him ? when he was circumcised, or uncircumcised ? Not in 
circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received circumcision as an 11 
outward sign 8 of inward things, a seal to attest the righteousness which 
belonged to his Faith while he was yet uncircumcised. That so he might 
be father of all the faithful who are uncircumcised, that the righteousness 
[of Faith] might be reckoned to them also : — and father of circumcision 12 
to those 9 who are not circumcised only in the flesh, but who also tread in 
the steps of that Faith which our father Abraham had while yet uncir- 
cumcised. 

For the promise 10 to Abraham and his seed that he should inherit the 13 

1 The " therefore" here is very perplexing, 8 Gen. xv. 6 (LXX.). 
as the argument seems to require " for." Nor 4 See note on iii. 26. 

is the difficulty removed by saying dogmati- 5 See again note on iii. 21. 

cally that this passage is " not a proof but a 6 Ps. xxxii. 1, 2 (LXX.). 

consequence" of the preceding. For it is un- ' Gen. xv. 6 (LXX.), repeated. 

questionably given by St. Paul as & proof that 8 The full meaning of sign is an outward 

the law is consistent with his doctrine of faith. sign of things unseen. 

The " therefore " is probably repeated from 9 Viz., the faithful of Jewish birth. 

the preceding " therefore," just as " for " is 10 " The land which thou seest, to thee will I 

repeated in v. 7. give it, and to thy seed for ever," Gen. xiii. 15. 

2 Literally, gained in the way of Hie flesh. St. Paul (according to his frequent practice in 
The order of the Greek forbids us to join dealing with the Old Testament) allegorizes 
" after the flesh " with " father," as in A. V. this promise. So that, as Abraham is (al- 



554 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

iv. 

14 world came not by the Law, but by the righteousness of Faith. For, if this 

inheritance belong to the children of the Law, Faith is madeof no account, 

15 and the promise is brought to nought; because the Law brings [not 
blessings but] punishment 1 (for where there is no law, there can be no 

16 law-breaking). Therefore the inheritance belongs to Faith, that it might 
be a free gift ; that so the promise 2 [not being capable of forfeiture] 
might stand firm to all the seed of Abraham, not to his children of the 
Law alone, but to the children of his Faith ; for he is the Father of us all 

17 [both Jews and Gentiles] (as it is written, u Jf jjafa* XCVCfot tljte t\t 
fafytX fif maitg natbttS ") 3 in the sight of God, who saw his faith, 
even God who makes the dead to live, and calls the things that are not as 

18 though they were. For Abraham had faith in hope beyond hope, that he 
might become tlie fatjxer of mattg tmthm8 ; 4 as it was said unto him, 

44 |foah lotoarir (paten, <mtr tell % stars if fyau bz nbh to number 

19 fym ; jetrm BO S{jall tljtj S£t& ht" 5 And having no feebleness in his 
faith, he regarded not his own body which was already dead (being about 

20 a hundred years old), nor the deadness of Sarah's womb ; at the 
promise of God (I say) he doubted not faithlessly, but 6 was filled with 

21 the strength of Faith, and gave glory to God ; being fully persuaded that 

22 what He has promised, He is able also to perform. Therefore *' jns 

23 feitlj faaS Xttkontb to Ijim f0r rigljftfMStUSS/' But these words were 

24 not written for his sake only, but for our sakes likewise ; for it will be 
" rdkonttr far ngljtoustttSS " to us also, who have faith in Him that 

legoucally viewed) the type of Christian faith, 5 Gen. xv. 5 (LXX.). In such quotations, 
he is also the heir of the world, whereof the a few words were sufficient to recall the whole 
sovereignty belongs to his spiritual children, passage to Jewish readers ; therefore, to make 
by virtue of their union with their Divine them intelligible to modern readers, it is some- 
Head, times necessary to give the context. It should 

1 Literally, wrath ; i. e. the wrath of God be observed that this quotation alone is suffi- 
punishing the transgressions of the Law. cient to prove that the majority of those to 

2 This passage throws light on Gal. iii. 18 whom St. Paul was writing were familiar with 
and 20. It should be observed that St. Paul the Septuagint version ; for to none others 
restricts " the seed of Abraham " to the inherit- could such a curtailed citation be intelligible. 
ors of Ms faith ; and to all this seed (he declares) The hypothesis that the Eoman Christians had 
the promise must stand firm. originally been Jewish proselytes, of Gentile 

3 Gen. xvii. 5 (LXX.). It is impossible birth, satisfies this condition. See the intro- 
to represent in the English the full force of ductory remarks to this epistle. 

the Greek, when the same word means nations 6 Literally, he was in-strengthened (i. e., 

and Gentiles. strengthened inwardly) by faith. 

* Gen. xvii. 5. See the previous note. 



EPISTLE TO THE EOMAKS, 



555 



IV. 

raised from the dead our Lord Jesus ; who was given up to death for our 25 
transgressions., and raised again to life for our justification. 1 
Through faith Therefore, being justified by Faith, we have peace with v. 1 
cWtiaas aW God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we 2 

justified; and ° ° 

the rafdst c e f in nave received entrance into this grace 2 wherein we stand ; 
BidferinJI? 11 and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, 3 

being filled 
with the con- 
sciousness of 
G-od's love in 
the sacrifice 
of Christ for 
them. For by 
partaking in 
the death of 
Christ, they 
are reconciled 
to God; and 
by partaking 
in the life of 
Christ, they 
are saved. 



but we exult also in our sufferings ; for we know that by suf- 
fering is wrought steadfastness, and steadfastness is the proof 
of soundness, and proof gives rise to hope ; and our hope 
cannot shame us in the day of trial ; because the love of God 
is shed forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been 3 
given unto us. For while we were yet helpless [in our sins], 
Christ at the appointed time died for sinners. Now hardly 
for a righteous man will any be found to die (although some, perchance, 
would even endure death for the good), but God gives proof of His own 
love to us. because, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much 
more, now that we have been justified in His blood, 4 shall we be saved 
through Him from the wrath 5 to come. For if, when we were His 
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, 
being already reconciled, shall we be saved by sharing in 6 His life. 
Nor is this our hope only for the time to come ; but also [in our present 11 
sufferings] we exult in God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom we 
have now received reconciliation with God. 
mlownpeS This, therefore, is like the case 7 when, through one man 12 



9 



10 



1 i. e. that we might have an ever-living 
Saviour as the object of our faith, and might 
through that faith he united with Him, and 
partake of His life, and thus be justified, or ac- 
counted righteous, and (for St. Paul does not, 
like later theologians, separate these ideas) 
have the seed of all true moral life implanted 
in us. Compare v. 10. 

2 " By faith " is omitted in the best MSS. 

3 Olshausen translates " was given unto 
ns," viz. on the day of Pentecost. But we 
have elsewhere shown the mistake of those who 
will never allow St. Paul to use the aorist in a 
perfect sense. See note on 2 Cor. vii. 2. Dr. 
Alford, who objects to translate one aorist par- 
ticiple (in the 5th verse) "having been given," is 
obliged himself inconsistently to translate an- 



other (in the 9th verse) "having been justified," 
and an aorist verb (11th verse) "we have re- 
ceived," and to consent to the junction of both 
these aorists with " now," a junction which is 
conclusive as to its perfect use. 

4 Justified in His blood, i. e. by participation 
in His blood ; that is, being made partakers of His 
death. Compare Rom. vi. 3-8 ; also Gal. ii. 
20. 

5 The original has the article before " wrath." 

6 This "in" should be distinguished from 
the preceding " by." 

7 Much difficulty has been caused to inter- 
preters here by the "as" (which introduces the 
first member of the parallel) having no answer- 
ing "so" (nor any thing equivalent to it) to 
introduce the second. The best view of the 



556 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xn, 

[Adam], sin entered into the world, and by sin death ; and so son was the 

V. representative 

13 death spread to all mankind, because all committed sin. For f^^^ d 
before the Law was given [by Moses], there was sin in the fortondemna- 

tion. The 

world ; but sin is not reckoned against the sinner, when there Mosaic Law 

° 7 was added tc 

14 is no law [forbidding it] ; nevertheless death reigned from gcfenJe% con * 
Adam till Moses, even over those whose sin [not being the might be feit 

to be a trans- 
breach of law] did not resemble the sin of Adam. Now, fcknowied^ed 

15 Adam is an image of Him that was to come. But far greater aSs the g iV 

of spiritual 

is the gift than was the transgression ; for if by the sin of the lif ? l n £ nrist 

° D 7 J might be 

one man [Adam] death came upon the many, 1 much more in frlp^ecuo 11 

x r\i • n ^ ee * their need 

the grace of the one man Jesus Christ has the ireeness of of it, so that 

man's sin 

16 God's 2 bounty overflowed unto the many. Moreover, the boon ^Sonof 6 
[of God] exceeds the fruit 3 of Adam's sin ; for the doom 

came, out of one offence, a sentence of condemnation ; but the gift 

17 comes, out of many offences, a sentence of acquittal. For if the reign 
of death was established by the one man [Adam] , through the sin of 
him alone ; far more shall the reign of life be established in those who 
receive the overflowing fulness of the free gift of righteousness by the 

18 one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the fruit of one offence reached to 
all men, and brought upon them condemnation [the source of death] ; 
so likewise the fruit of one acquittal shall reach 4 to all, and shall bring 

19 justification, the source 5 of life. For as, by the disobedience of the one, 
the many were made sinners ; so by the obedience of the one, the many 

20 shall be made righteous. And the Law was added, that sin might 
abound ; 6 but where sin abounded, the gift of grace has overflowed 

passage is to consider " as " as used elliptically 4 We take diKcuufia here in the same sense 

for [the case is] as what follows ; in which sense as in verse 16, because, first, it is difficult to 

it is used Matt. xxv. 14, where it is similarly suppose the same word used in the very same 

without any answering " so." Another view passage in two such different meanings as Recte 

is to suppose the regular construction lost sight factum, and Decretum absolutorium (which Wahl 

of in the rapidity of dictation : the second and most of the commentators suppose it to 

member of the parallel being virtually supplied be). And, secondly, because otherwise it is 

in verses 15 to 20. necessary to take "one " differently in two par- 

1 Not " many " (A.V.), but the many, nearly allel phrases (masculine in the one, and neuter 
equivalent to all. in the other), which is unnatural. 

2 We take grace and gift together. Com- 6 Literally, appertaining to life. 

pare the same expression below, in verse 17 ; 6 A light is thrown on this very difficult 

literally, the free gift and the boon of God, an expression by vii. 13; see note on that verse- 
hendiadys for the freeness of God's bounty. 

3 Literally, the boon is not as [that which was] 
wrought by one man who sinned. 



CHAP. XIX. 



EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 



557 



beyond [the outbreak of sin] ; that as sin has reigned in death, so grace 
might reign • through righteousness unto life eternal, by the work of 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

What shall we say then ? shall we ' persist in sin that the 



It is a self-con- 

perversion of gift of grace may be more abundant ? God forbid ! We who 

this truth to 
conclude from 
it that we 

in °?n in order you forgotten that all of us, when we were baptized into fel- 

to call forth 
a greal 
bition of 

forspifituai' His death? With Him, therefore, we were buried by the 

life (which is 
the grace) 
cannot co- 
exist with 
spiritual 
death. 



V. 

21 



vi.l 
2 



have died 2 to sin, how can we any longer live in sin ? or have 



tterexM- lowship with Christ Jesus, were baptized into fellowship with 



baptism wherein we shared His death [when we sank beneath 
the waters] ; 3 that even as Christ was raised up from the 
dead by the glory of the Father, so we likewise might walk in 
newness of life. For if we have been grafted 4 into the likeness of His 
death, so shall we also share His resurrection. For we know that our 
old man was crucified 5 with Christ, that the sinful body [of the old 
man] 6 might be destroyed, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin ; 
(for he that is dead is justified 7 from sin). Now, if we have shared the 
death of Christ, we believe that we shall also share His life ; knowing 
that Christ, being raised from the dead, can die no more ; death has no 
more dominion over Him. For He died once, and once only, unto sin ; 
but He lives [forever] unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to 
be dead indeed unto sin, but living unto God in Christ Jesus. 8 Let not 



10 
11 
12 



1 This was probably an objection made by 
Judaizmg disputants (as it has been made by 
their successors in other ages of the Church) 
against St. Paul's doctrine. They argued that 
if (as he said) the sin of man called forth so 
glorious an exhibition of the pardoning grace 
of God, the necessary conclusion must be, that 
the more men sinned the more God was glori- 
fied. Compare iii. 7-8, and verse 15 below. 
We know, also, that this inference was actually 
deduced by the Antinomian party at Corinth 
(see p. 392), and therefore it was the more 
necessary for St. Paul to refute it. 

2 The A. V. "are dead" does not preseiwe 
the reference in the original to a past transac- 
tion. We might here keep the aorist to its 
classical use, by translating (as in our former 
edition) who died to sin [ivhen we became follow- 
ers of Christ] ; but this rendering is less simple 
and natural than the other. 

a This clause, which is here left elliptical, 



is fully expressed in Col. ii. 12. This passage 
cannot be understood unless it be borne in 
mind that the primitive baptism was by im- 
mersion. See p. 384. 

4 Literally, have become partakers of a vital 
union [as that of a graft with the tree into 
which it is grafted] of the representation of his 
death [in baptism]. The meaning appears to 
to be, if we have shared the reality of his death, 
whereof we have undergone the likeness. 

5 Observe the mis-translation in the A.V. 
" is crucified." 

6 With " body of sin " compare " body of 
flesh," Col. ii. 11. 

7 Is justified, meaning that if a criminal 
charge is brought against a man who died be- 
fore the perpetration of the crime, he must be 
acquitted, since he could not have committed 
the act charged against him. 

8 The best MSS. omit "our Lord." 



658 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xix. 

. sin therefore reign in your dying body, causing you to obey its lusts ; 

13 nor give up your members to sin, as instruments of unrighteousness ; but 
give yourselves to God, as being restored to life from the dead, and your 

14 members to His service as instruments of righteousness ; for sin shall 
not have the mastery over you, since you are not under the Law, 1 but 
under grace. 

15 What then? shall we sin 2 because we are not under the S\?r£*dom 

16 Law, but under grace ? God forbid! Know ye not that He conTistAa** 

living in the 

to whose service you give yourselves is your real master, ^j^^t 
whether sin, whose end is death, or obedience, whose end is i[°™ e S5ties, 

17 righteousness? But God be thanked that you, who were once sary fruits of 

the spiritual 

the slaves of sin, obeyed from your hearts the teaching ^J*S? f 

18 whereby you were moulded anew ; 3 and when you were freed K5£e e the 

slaves of sin 

from the slavery of sin, you became the bondsmen of righteous- c ^ rt h ^ v t e b 5 1 3 ° 

19 ness. (I speak the language of common life, to show the fncLlwjsin™ 

. thcv are still 

weakness of your fleshly nature 4 [which must be in bondage subject to the 

J J L ° penalties of 

either to the one, or to the other].) For as once you gave up ^hichTrethe 
the members of your body for slaves of uncleanness and licen- resui^Ssm. 
tiousness, to work the deeds of license ; so now must you give them up 

20 for slaves of righteousness to work the deeds of holiness. For when you 
were the slaves of sin, you were free from the service of righteousness. 

21 What fruit, then, had you 5 in those times, from the deeds whereof you 

22 are now ashamed ? yea, the end of them is death. But now, being freed 
from the bondage of sin, and enslaved to the service of God, your fruit is 

23 growth in holiness, 6 and its end is life eternal. For the wage of sin is 
death ; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and 
Master. 7 

1 To be " under the law," in St. Paul's Ian- 5 It has been alleged that " fruit " (in N. T.) 
guage, means to avoid sin from fear of penal- always means " actions ; the fruit of a man con* 
ties attached to sin by the law. This principle sidered as a tree ; " and that it never means " the 
of fear is not strong enough to keep men in fruit of his actions." But in fact the metaphor 
the path of duty. Union with Christ can alone is used both ways : sometimes a man is consid- 
give man the mastery over sin. ered as producing fruit; sometimes as gathering 

2 See note on first verse of this chapter. or storing fruit. In the former case " bear 

3 Literally, the mould of teaching into which fruit," in the latter "have fruit," is appropri- 
you were transmitted. The metaphor is from the ately used. Compare Rom. i. 13, and also 
casting of metals. Rom. xv. 28 ; Phil. i. 22 ; 2 Tim. ii. 6. 

4 There is a striking resemblance between 6 Literally, the fruit which you possess tends 
this passage and the words of Socrates recorded to produce holiness. In other words, the reward 
by Xenophon Mem. I. 5. For the apologetic of serving God is growth in holiness. 

phrase here, compare Rom. iii. 5 and Gal. iii. 15. 7 We must give " Lord " its full meaning 



chap. xnc. EPISTLE TO THE BOMA2TS. 559 

vii. 
As atove said, !T say that you are not under the Law] ; or l are you ipjno- 1 

Christians are L J J J Jo 

LaV^forthe 6 ran *> brethren (for I speak to those who know the Law), that 
to a 2at e sinfui the dominion of the Law over men lasts only during their life ? 

earthly nature . . _ _ 

to which they thus the married woman is bound by the Law to her husband 2 

have died by 

chriSrieSh while he lives, but if her husband be dead, the law which 
adSitted e to a bound her to him has lost its hold upon her ; so that while her 3 

better spirit- 

their u r nion by husband is living, if she be joined to another man, she will be 
lTfe^thafthe counted an adulteress ; but if her husband be dead, she is free 

sins of which 

the Law was from the Law, so as to be no adulteress, although ioined to 

formerly the 7 ° •* 

S'Smno another man. Wherefore you also, my brethren, were made 4 

dead to the Law by [union with] the body of Christ ; that 
you might be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the 
dead ; that we might bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in 5 
the flesh, the sinful passions occasioned by the Law wrought in our mem- 
bers, leading us to bring forth fruit unto death. But now that we have 6 
died [with Christ] 2 the Law wherein we were formerly held fast has lost 
its hold upon us : so that we are no longer in the old bondage of the 
letter, but in the new service of the spirit. 

D?e e n L aw a8 What shall we say then ? that the Law is Sin ? That be far 7 
occasion of from us ! But then I should not have known what sin was, 

Bin. For 

when its pre- except through the Law ; thus I should not have known the 
to e a C 8 e° 8 se ie of ce sin of coveting, unless the Law had said Cu0tt S&ctlt ItCrt 

duty, the sins 

wS?done°£ tabtV But when sin had gained by the commandment a 8 



here. Sin was our master (verses 16, 17) : it is both typified and realized when he is 

Christ is now our master. buried beneath the baptismal waters. But no 

1 Or are you ignorant ? the or (which is omit- sooner is he thus dead with Christ than he 

ted in A.V.) referring to what has gone be- rises with Him ; he is made partaker of Christ's 

fore, and implying, if you deny what I have said, resurrection ; he is united to Christ's body ; he 

you must be ignorant of, &c. ; or, in other words, lives in Christ, and to Christ ; he is no longer 

you must acknowledge what I say, or be ignorant " in the flesh," but " in the spirit." 
of, &c. The reference here is to the assertion 2 The best MSS. have the participle in the 

in verses 14 and 15 of the preceding chapter, nom. plural. It is opposed to "when we were 

that Christians "are mt under the law." For in the flesh," of the preceding verse. To 

the argument of the present passage, see the make it clear, this verse should have a comma 

marginal summary. St. Paul's view of the after the Greek participle. As to the sense in 

Christian life, throughout the sixth, seventh, which Christians are " dead," see the preced- 

and eighth chapters, is that it consists of a ing note. 

death and a resurrection; the new-made Chris- 3 Exod. xx. 17 (LXX.). This illustration 

tian dies to sin, to the world, to the flesh, and appears conclusive against the view of Eras- 

to the Law; this death he undergoes at his raus and others who understood the following 

first entrance into communion with Christ, and statement ("without the Law, sin is dead") to 



560 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XIX. 



.. vantage-ground [against me], it wrought in me all manner of 
9 coveting (for where there is no law, sin is dead). And I 
felt 1 that I was alive before, when I knew no law ; but when 
10 the commandment came, sin rose to life, and I died ; and the 
very commandment whose end is life was found to me the 
cause of death ; for sin, when it had gained a vantage-ground 
by the commandment, deceived me to my fall, and slew me 
by 2 the sentence of the Law. 

Wherefore the Law indeed is holy, and its commandments 

13 are holy and just and good. Do I say, then, that Good became 
to me Death ? 3 Far be that from me ! But I say that sin 
wrought this ; that so it might be made manifest as sin, in 
working Death to me through [the knowledge of] Good ; that 
sin might become beyond measure 4 sinful, by the command- 
ment. 

14 !Por we know that the Law is spiritual ; 5 but for me, I am 



11 



12 



ignorance are 
now done in 
spite of the 
resistance of 
conscience. 
For the carnal 
nature of the 
natural man 
fulfils the evil 
which his 
spiritual 
nature con- 
demns. 
Thus a strug- 
gle is pro- 
duced, in ^ 
which the 
worse part in 
man triumphs 
over the bet- 
ter, the law of 
his flesh over 
the law of his 
mind. And 
man in him- 
self (I myself, 
v. 25), without 
the help of 
Christ's Spirit, 
must continue 
the slave of 
his sinful 
earthly- 
nature. 



carnal, 6 a 



mean that the Law irritates and provokes sin 
into action, on the principle of " nitimur in 
vetitum." For the lust of concupiscence is 
quite as active in an ignorant Heathen as in 
an instructed Pharisee. 

1 For this meaning of " live " see 1 Thess. 
iii. 8. 

2 Literally, by the commandment ; which de- 
nounced death against its violators. See note 
on 1 Cor. xv. 56. 

3 Literally, is it become ? equivalent to do I 
say that it became? If with several good MSS. 
we replace the perfect by the aorist, the diffi- 
culty is removed. We must supply " become 
death " again after " sin." 

4 This explains Rom. v. 20. In both pas- 
sages, St. Paul states the object of the law 
to be to lay down, as it were, a boundary line 
which should mark the limits of right and 
wrong; so "that sin, by transgressing this line, 
might manifest its real nature, and be distinctly 
recognized for what it is. The Law was not 
given to provoke man to sin (as some have 
understood, Rom. v. 20), but to stimulate 
the conscience into activity. 

5 It may be asked, how this is consistent 
with many passages where St. Paul speaks of 
the Law as a carnal ordinance, and opposes it 
as letter to spirit ? The answer is, that here he 



speaks of the Law under its moral aspect, as 
is plain from the whole context. 

6 Scarcely any thing in this Epistle has 
caused more controversy than the question 
whether St. Paul, in the following description 
of the struggle between the flesh and the 
spirit, wherein the flesh gains the victory, 
meant to describe his own actual state. The 
best answer to this question is a comparison 
between vi. 17 and 20 (where he tells the Ro- 
man Christians that they are no longer the slaves 
of sin), vii. 14 (where he says I am carnal, a 
slave sold into the captivity of sin), and viii. 4 
(where he includes himself among those who 
live not the life of the flesh, bat the life of the 
spirit, i. e. who are not carnal). It is surely 
clear that these descriptions cannot be meant 
to belong to the same person at the same time. 
The best commentary on the whole passage (vii. 
7 to viii. 13) is to be found in the condensed 
expression of the same truths contained in Gal. 
V. 16-18 : Walk in the spirit, and ye shall 

NOT FULFIL THE DESIRE OF THE FLESH J for 

the desire of the flesh fights against the spirit, 
and the desire of the spirit fights against the 
flesh ; and this variance between the flesh and the 
spirit would hinder you from doing that which your 
will prefers ; but if you be led by the spirit, you 
are not under the Law. 



CHAP. XIX. 



EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 



561 



vii. 



slave sold into the captivity of sin. What I do, I acknowledge not ; for I 15 
do not what I would, but what I hate. But if my will is against my 16 
deeds, I thereby acknowledge the goodness of the Law. And now it is 17 
no more I myself who do the evil, but it is the sin which dwells in me. 
For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, good abides not ; for to will 18 
is present with me, but to do the right is absent ; the good that I would, 19 
I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if my own 1 20 
will is against my deeds, it is no more I myself who do them, but the sin 
which dwells in me. I find, then, this law, that though my will is to do 21 
good, yet evil is present with me ; for I consent gladly to the law of God 22 
in my inner man ; but I behold another law in my members, warring 23 
against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin 
which is in my members. wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver 24 
me from this body of death ? 

I thank God [that He has now delivered me] through Jesus Christ our 25 
Lord. 

So, then, in myself, 2 though I am subject in my mind to the law of God, 
yet in my flesh I am subject to the law of sin, 



1 The " I " in I will is emphatic. 

2 Avtoc eyd, I in myself, i. e. without the 
help of God. This expression is the key to 
the whole passage. St. Paul, from verse 14 
to verse 24, has been speaking of himself as 
he was in himself, i. e. in his natural state of 
helplessness, with a conscience enlightened, 
but a will enslaved ; the better self struggling 
vainly against the worse. Every man must 
continue in this state, unless he be redeemed 
from it by the Spirit of God. Christians are 
(so far as God is concerned) redeemed already 
from this state ; but in themselves, and so far as 
they live to themselves, they are still in bond- 
age. The redemption which they {potentially, 
if not actually) possess is the subject of the 
8th chapter. Leigh ton (though his view of 
the whole passage would not have entirely 
coincided with that given above) most beauti- 
fully expresses the contrast between these two 
states (of bondage and deliverance) in his ser- 
mon on Rom. viii. 35 : "Is this he that so 
lately cried out, wretched man that I am ! 
who shall deliver me? that now triumphs, O 
happy man ! icho shall separate us from the love 
of Christ ? Yes, it is the same. Pained then 

36 



with the thoughts of that miserable conjunc- 
tion with a body of death, and so crying out, 
who will deliver ? Now he hath found a de- 
liverer to do that for him, to whom he is for- 
ever united. So vast a difference is there be- 
twixt a Christian taken in himself and in 
Christ." Against the above view of verse 25, 
it may be said that the more natural and ob- 
vious meaning of avrde eyo is " / Paul my- 
self," " I myself who write this ; " as has lately 
been urged with much force by Dean Alford. 
He advocates the distinction between this verse 
and viii. 4, which is maintained by Olshausen 
and others, who think the spiritual man is 
described as " serving the flesh by the law of 
sin," but yet as " not walking after the flesh." 
According to this interpretation, St. Paul here 
declares that he himself is in bondage to the laiv 
of sin, in his flesh ; but means only that " the 
flesh is still, even in the spiritual man, subject 
(essentially, not practically) to the law of sin." 
(Alford). We would not venture dogmati- 
cally to pronounce this view untenable : yet 
its advocates must acknowledge that it is ex- 
tremely difficult to reconcile it with the slavery./ 
of vi. 17-20. 



562 



THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. 



Vlll. 

1 Now, therefore, there is no condemnation to those who are But with that 

help this sin- 

2 in Christ Jesus : l for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ fourthly 

' r nature is van- 

3 Jesus 2 has freed me from the law of sin and death. For God chSSan^anl 

he is enabled 

(which was impossible to the Law, because by the flesh it had touve ; notac- 

v x cording to the 

no power), by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful ^S^m^^t 

4 flesh, and on behalf of sin, overcame 3 sin in the flesh ; 4 to the the spiritual 

part. God's 

end that the decrees of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who S^sSy 

5 walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they who enab?e r I hyX 

indwelling 

live after the flesh mind fleshly things ; but they who live after ££ J '"?* of 

J ° ' J Christ to con- 

the Spirit mind spiritual things : and 6 the fleshly mind is death ; tartly ° ir 
6, 7 but the spiritual mind is life and peace. Because the fleshly 

mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor 
8, 9 can be ; and they whose life is in the flesh cannot please God. But your life 
is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God be dwell- 
ing in you ; and if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not 

10 Christ's. But if Christ be in you, though your body be dead, because of 
sin [to which its nature tends], yet your spirit is life, 7 because of right- 

11 eousness [which dwells within it] ; yea, if the Spirit of Him who raised 
Jesus from the dead be dwelling in you, He who raised Christ from the 
dead shall endow with life also your dying bodies, by His 8 Spirit which 



1 The clause which follows, from "who 
walk " to " Spirit," is omitted in the best 
MSS., having (it would seem) been introduced 
by a clerical error from verse 4. 

2 Winer wishes to join in " Christ Jesus " 
with the verb " freed," not with the preceding 
words ; but there are so many examples of a 
similar construction in St. Paul's style, that 
we think his reasons insufficient to justify a 
departure from the more obvious view. 

3 Literally, condemned, i. e. put it to rebuke, 
worsted it. Compare Heb. xi. 7. 

4 " In the flesh," that is to say, in the very 
seat of its power. 

5 The contrast between the victory thus 
obtained by the spirit, with the previous sub- 
jection of the soul to the flesh, is thus beauti- 
fully described by Tertullian : — " When the 
Soul is wedded to the Spirit, the Flesh fol- 
lows — like the handmaid who follows her 
wedded mistress to the husband's home — be- 
ing thenceforward no longer the servant of the 
Soul, but of the Spirit." The whole passage 



forms an excellent commentary on this part of 
the Epistle. See a fuller extract in the larger 
editions. 

6 Winer sneers at Tholuck's remark 
(which the latter has since modified), that the 
conjunction {for, A. V.) is a mere transition 
particle here ; but yet what else is it, when it 
does not introduce a reason for a preceding 
proposition ? In these cases of successive 
clauses each connected thus with the preceding, 
they all appear to refer back to the first pre- 
ceding clause, and therefore all but the first 
conjunction might be represented by and. 
Just in the same way as but is used in English ; 
as, for example, " But ye are washed, but ye 
are sanctified." 

7 The word here used is in St. Paul's writ- 
ings scarcely represented adequately by life ; it 
generally means more than this, viz. life tri» 
umphant over death. 

8 The MSS. are divided here. One read- 
ing must be translated because of instead of by. 
This will make the clause exactly parallel with 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 

viii. 
dwells within you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors bound not to the 12 

Flesh, that wq should live after the Flesh [but to the Spirit] ; for if you 13 
live after the Flesh, you are doomed to die ; but if by the Spirit you de- 
stroy the deeds of the body, in their death l you will attain to life, 
such persons For all who are led by God's Spirit, and they alone, 2 are the 14: 
wa V rd a con?" sons of God. For you have not received a Spirit of bondage, 15 

sciousness of 

to God ke love ^ ia * y° u snou ^ g° back again to the state of slavish fear, 3 but 
the^yantic"? you have received a Spirit of adoption wherein we cry [unto 

pate a future 

feet Sate per " God] , saying Jfafgn\ The Spirit itself bears witness with 16 
Stion Wood our own spirit, that we are the children of God. And if chil- 17 

will have its 

fan develop- dren, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; 

ment ' 7 7 ° ' 7 

AldiheS 1 ^' that if now we share His sufferings, we should hereafter share 
future perfec- His glory. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 18 

tion is shared 

bemgs C upon d ^ me are nothing worth, when set against the glory which shall 
discontentat soon 5 be revealed unto us. For the longing of the creation 19 

present imper- 

tS c lno n the°r ints l°°ks eagerly for the time when [the glory of] the sons of God 
S evn. d shall be revealed. For the creation was made subject to decay, 6 20 

And this feel- . ... 

in g is(26, 27) not by its own will, but because o; Him who subiected it 

implanted in J , ° 

^spMto/ thereto, 7 in hope: for 8 the creation itself also shall be deliv- 21 
g e°sts the°r SUg " ered from its slavery to death, and shall gain the freedom of 

prayers and 

longings. tj ie sons f q & w i ien they are glorified. 9 For we know that 22 
the whole creation is groaning together, and suffering the pangs of labor, 

the end of verse 10. Tholuck gives an able St. Paul leaves unsolved; but he tells us to 

summary of the arguments in favor of the wait patiently for its solution, and encourages 

accusative reading. us to do so by his inspired declarations, in this. 

1 This translation is necessary to represent and other places (as 1 Cor. xv. 25, &c), that 
the reference to death as expressed in the pre- the reign of evil will not be eternal, but that 
ceding verb (mortify, A. V.). good will ultimately and completely triumph. 

2 They ctnd they alone, they and not the carnal It should be observed that Evil is always rep- 
seed of Abraham. .resented in Scripture as in its nature opposed 

8 Back again. Compare Gal. iv. 9. to God, not as included necessarily in His 

4 See note on Gal. iv. 6. plan ; even where God is represented as sub- 

6 Which is about to. be revealed, which shall jecting His creatures to its temporary domin- 

soon be revealed. ion. 

6 The word used here (vanity, A. V.) means 8 We agree with Dean Alford that it is 
the transitory nature which causes all the ani- better here not to render, as some do, " in hope 
mated creation so rapidly to pass away. that ; " for, were this correct, the words " the 

7 God is probably meant by "him who creation itself " would not be so emphatically 
subjected." The difficulties which have been repeated. See his commentary on the pas- 
felt with regard to this expression are resolva- sage. 

ble (like all the difficulties of Theism) into 9 Literally, the freedom which belongs to tlie 

the permission of evil. This awful mystery glorification of the Sons of Chd. 



564 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



Vlll. 



23 which l have not yet brought forth the birth. And not only they, but our- 
selves also, who have received the Spirit for the first-fruits 2 [of our inherit- 
ance] , even we ourselves are groaning inwardly, longing for the adoption 3 

24 which shall ransom our body from its bondage. For our salvation 4 lies in 
hope ; but hope possessed is not hope, since a man cannot hope for what he 

25 sees in his possession ; but if we hope for things not seen, we steadfastly 5 

26 endure-the present, and long earnestly for the future. And, even as 6 we 
long for our redemption, so the Spirit gives help to our weakness ; for 
we know not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself 
makes intercession for us, with groans [for deliverance] which words can- 

27 not utter. But He who searches our hearts knows [though it be un- 
spoken] what is the desire of the Spirit, 7 because He intercedes for the 
saints according to the will of God. 



1 Literally, continuing to suffer the pangs of 
labor even until now. St. Paul here suggests 
an argument as original as it is profound. 
The very struggles which all animated beings 
make against pain and death show (he says) 
that pain and death are not a part of the 
proper laws of their nature, but rather a 
bondage imposed upon them from without. 
Thus every groan and tear is an unconscious 
prophecy of liberation from the power of evil. 
St. Augustine extends the same argument in 
the Confessions (book xiii.) as follows: — 
" Even in that miserable restlessness of the 
spirits, who fell away and discovered their 
own darkness when bared of the clothing of 
Thy light, dost Thou sufficiently reveal how 
noble Thou madest the reasonable creature; 
to which nothing will suffice to yield a happy 
rest, less than Thee." See also De Civ. Dei, 
1. 22, c. 1 : — " The nature which enjoyed 
God shows that it was formed good, even by 
its very defect, in that it is therefore miserable 
because it enjoyeth not God." (Oxford trans- 
lation, Library of Fathers.) 

2 See note on 1 Cor. i. 22. 

3 Adoption to sonship ; by which a slave 
was emancipated, and made " no longer a slave, 
but a son." (Gal. iv. 7.) In one sense St. 
Paul taught that Christians had already 
received this adoption (compare (Rom. vii. 15, 
Gal. iv. 5, Eph. i. 5) ; they were already made 
the sons of God in Christ. (Rom. viii. 16, 
Gal. iii. 26.) So, in a yet lower sense, the Jews 



under the old dispensation had the adoption to 
sonship; see ix. 4. But in this passage he 
teaches us that this adoption is not perfect 
during the present life ; there is still a higher 
sense, in which it is future, and the object of 
earnest longing to those who are already in the 
lower sense the sons of God. 

4 Literally, we were saved, i. e. at our con- 
version ; for the context does not oblige us to 
take the aorist here as a perfect. The exact 
translation would be, " the salvation whereto we 
were called lies in hope." 

5 The verb denotes, we long earnestly for the 
future ; the prepositional phrase implies, with 
steadfast endurance of the present. 

6 After in like manner, we must supply as 
we long from the preceding clause; and the 
object of long is our redemption (by verse 23). 

7 This passage is well explained by Arch- 
bishop Leighton, in the following beautiful 
words : " The work of the Spirit is in excit- 
ing the heart, at times of prayer, to break 
forth in ardent desires to God, whatsoever the 
words be, whether new or old, yea possibly 
without words ; and then most powerful when 
it words it least, but vents in sighs and groans 
that cannot be expressed. Our Lord under- 
stands the language of these perfectly, and 
likes it best ; He knows and approves the 
meaning of His own Spirit ; He looks not to 
the outward appearance, the shell of words, 
as men do." Leighton's Exposition of Lord's 
Prayer. 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 565 

viii. 
SwsTofSr Moreover, we know that all things * work together for good 28 

chr S istiins n a re to those- who love God, who have been called according to His 

more than 

f<°" q he e ^feei P ur P ose - For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined 29 
£fether w for k8 to be made like 2 to the pattern of His Son, that many breth- 
Godhas ' ren might be ioined to Him, the first-born. And those whom 30 

called them to ° ° 

giSy/andno He predestined, them He also called ; and whom He called, 
eraor n judges, them He also justified ; and whom He justified, them He also 

no earthly suf- 
ferings, no glorified. What shall we say, then, to these things? If God 31 

power in the D •> ' ' ° 

u^n^nse'pa- be for us, who can be against us ? He that spared not His own 32 

rate them 

from His love. Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him 
also freely give us all things ? What accuser can harm God's chosen ? it 33 
is God who justifies them. 3 What judge can doom us ? It is Christ who 34 
died, nay, rather, who is risen from the dead; yea, who is at the right 
hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who can separate us 35 
from the love of Christ ? Can suffering, or straitness of distress, or per- 
secution, or famine, or nakedness, or the peril of our lives, or the swords 
of our enemies? [though we may say], as it is written, "JfuT Cfjg 3d 

sake te an hxlleb all % bag krrtg; to are aacraitfr as sfjwp for 

fyt slaughter/' 4 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors 37 
through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor 38 
life, nor all the 5 Principalities and Powers of Angels, nor things present, 
nor things to come, nor things above, nor things below, nor any power in 39 
the whole creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God 
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

1 All things, viz. whether sad or joyful. tribunals. No accusers could harm them, 
We must remember that this was written in because God acquitted them ; no judicial con- 
the midst of persecution, and in the expecta- demnation could injure them, because Christ 
tion of bonds and imprisonment. See verses was the assessor of that tribunal before which 
17, 18, and 35, and Acts xx. 23. they must be tried. The beauty and eloquence 

2 Like in suffering seems meant. Compare of the passage (as well as its personal refer- 
Phil. iii. 10 : " The fellowship of His suffer- ence to the circumstances of its writer and its 
ings, being made conformable to His death." readers) are much marred by placing marks 
[Does not this limit it too much ? Compare of interrogation after justifies and died. 

2 Cor. iii. 18 : " We are gradually transformed 4 Ps. xliv. 22 (LXX.). 

into the same likeness." And see also 1 Cor. 5 The expressions principalities and powers 

xv. 49. — h.] were terms applied in the Jewish theology to 

3 St. Paul is here writing and thinking of divisions of the hierarchy of angels, and, as 
his own case, and that of his brethren, liable such, were familiar to St. Paul's Jewish read- 
daily to be dragged by their accusers before the ers. Compare Eph. i. 21, and Col. i. 16. 



566 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xa. 

ix. 

1 I speak the truth in Christ — (and my conscience bears me The fact that 

r \ / Godhaa 

2 witness, with the Holy Spirit's testimony, that I lie not) — I ^Pg^ a8 

3 have great heaviness, and unceasing sorrow in my heart ; yea, felpit^d 

rejected the 

I could wish that I myself were cast out from Christ as an Jews from 

J • their ezclu- 

accursed thing, for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen ac- Eg® ^Hn ac 

4 cording to the flesh ; who are the seed of Israel, whom God His former 

dealings. For 

adopted for His children, whose were the glory of the Shechi- JcendiJts of ' 
nah, and the Covenants, and the Lawgiving, and the service o^y^eTe'cted 

portion of 

5 of the temple, and the promises of blessing. Whose fathers tJ ? em > ^ ere 

1 ' x ° chosen by 

were the Patriarchs, and of whom (as to His flesh) was born God " 
the Christ who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. 

6 Yet I speak not as if the promise of God had fallen to the ground ; for 

7 not all are Israel who are of Israel ; nor, because all are the seed of Abra- 
ham, are they all the children of Abraham ; but u Jfn Jfsa&C shall tbg 

8 Stefr ht .talltfcr," * That is, not the children of the flesh of Abraham are 
the sons of God, but his children of the promise are counted for his seed. 

9 For thus spake the word of promise, saying, " %\ ij)b tittle toil! J? rome, 
HIttr S>%%%% sljdl {jab* a S0n" 2 [so that Ishmael, although the 

10 son of Abraham, had no part in the promise]. And not only so, tut 
[Esau likewise was shut out; for] when Rebekah had conceived two 

H sons by the same husband, our forefather Isaac, yea, while they were not 
yet born, and had done nothing either good or bad (that God's purpose 
according to election might abide, coming not from the works of the 3 

12 called, but from the will of The Caller), it was declared unto her, ** ^fo 

13 jelbjer sljall mfa % JWUttJgttr;" 4 according to that which is written, 

" ja*A i fob*, m €m I H*tr:' 5 

14 What shall we say, then ? Shall we call God unjust [be- J h t e d J e e n ws caQ ' 
cause He has cast off the seed of Abraham]? That be far gjS8£J* 

a <M *ii r and select oth- 

15 from us ! For to Moses He saith, Ji foill gaixe mttCg 0X1 tom^ffiii^ 



1 Gen. xxi. 12 (LXX.). Compare Gal. iv. 3 Literally, coming not from works, but from 
22. The context is, " Let it not be grievous in the Caller. 

thy sight, because of the lad [Ishmael] and because 4 Gen. xxv. 23 (LXX.). The context is, 

of thy bond-woman [Hagar]', for in Isaac shall " The two nations are in thy womb, and the elder 

thy seed be called." shall serve the younger." 

2 Gen. x>viii. 10, from LXX., not verbatim, 5 Mai. i. 2, 3 (LXX.^ 
but apparently from memory. 



CHAP. XIX. 



EPISTLE TO THE EOMAKS. 



567 



since it is as- 
serted in their 
own Scrip- 
tures in the 
case of Pha- 
raoh. It may 
he objected, 
that such a 
view repre- 
sents God's 
will as the ar- 
hitrary cause 
of man's ac- 
tions; the an- 
swer is, that 
the created 
being cannot 
investigate 
the causes 
which may 
have deter- 
mined the will 
of his Creator. 



thou that 



IX. 



fojmm I foill {fata vtwz% anir $ brill Ijabs tam$<xszxon . 
on fofrcrm Jf ixrill Ijato wmpassion/' 1 So, then, the 16 

choice comes not from man's will, nor from man's speed, but 
from God's mercy. And thus the Scripture says to Pha- 17 

raoh, "$hm iox iljis mh tritr Jf xztet t\tt vug, tljai Jf 
mtfjljt sfoixr mg jxauw in %e, antr ijrai mg mmt migjrt 

bt b^iar^ir tljr0uglj0ui all i\tmxt\" 2 According to His 18 
will, therefore, He has mercy on one, and hardens another. 
Thou wilt say to me, then, 3 " Why does God still blame us ? J 9 
for who can resist His will ? " Nay, rather, man, who art 20 
disputest against God ? " JSfrall i\t t^riwj form £% Sag ia 



1 Exod. xxxiii. 19 (LXX). 

2 Exod. ix. 16, according to LXX., with 
two slight changes. 

3 " Thou wilt say." . . . Here comes the 
great question — no longer made from the 
standmg-point of the Jew, but proceeding 
from the universal feeling of justice. St. 
Paul answers the question by treating the sub- 
ject as one above the comprehension of the 
human intellect when considered in itself ob- 
jectively. If it be once acknowledged that 
there is any difference between the character 
and ultimate fate of a good and a bad man, 
the intellect is logically led, step by step, to 
contemplate the will of the Creator as the 
cause of this difference. The question " why 
hast thou made me thus % " will equally occur 
and be equally perplexing in any system of 
religion, either natural or revealed. It is in 
fact a difficulty springing at once from the 
permitted existence of evil. Scripture con- 
siders men under two points of view ; first, as 
created by God ; and secondly, as free moral 
agents themselves. These two points of view 
are, to the intellect of man, irreconcilable ; yet 
both must be true, since the reason convinces 
us of the one, and the conscience of the other. 
St. Paul here is considering men under the 
first of these aspects, as the creatures of God, 
entirely dependent on God's will. It is to be 
observed that he does not say that God's will 
is arbitrary, but only that men are entirely 
dependent on God's will. The reasons by 
which God's will itself is determined are left 



in the inscrutable mystery which conceals 
God's nature from man. 

The objection and the answer given to it, 
partly here and partly chap. iii. 6, may be 
stated as follows : — 

Objector. — If men are . so entirely depend- 
ent on God's will, how can He with justice 
blame their actions ? 

Answer. — By the very constitution of thy 
nature thou art compelled to acknowledge the 
blame-worthiness of certain actions and the 
justice of their punishment (iii. 6) ; therefore 
it is self-contradictory to say that a certain 
intellectual view of man's dependence on God 
would make these actions innocent ; vhou art 
forced to feel them guilty whether thou wilt or 
no, and (ix. 20) it is vain to argue against the 
constitution of thy nature, or its Author. 

The metaphysical questions relating to this 
subject which have divided the Christian world 
are left unsolved by Scripture, which does not 
attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency 
between the objective and subjective views of 
man and his actions. Hence many have been 
led to neglect one side of the truth for the sake 
of making a consistent theory : thus the Pela- 
gians have denied the dependence of man's 
will on God, and the Fatalists have denied the 
freedom of man's moral agency. 

We may further observe that St. Paul does 
not here explicitly refer to eternal happiness 
or to its opposite. His main subject is the na- 
tional rejection of the Jews, and the above more' 
general topics are only incidentally introduced. 



568 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xrx. 



IX. 



21 Jrmt %t formtfcr it, SMJjg Jjast l\sm mab* tat tjjus F" 1 " Jpatlj not 

ijie prjtte pjofcr 0ber tjxe Han/' 2 to make out of the same lump one ves- 
sel for honor, and one for dishonor ? But what if God (though willing to 
show forth His wrath, and to make known His power) endured with 
much long-suffering vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction [and cast 
them not at once away] ? And what if thus He purposed to make 
known the riches of His glory bestowed upon vessels of mercy, which He 

24 had before prepared for glory ? And such are we, whom He has called 
not only from among the Jews, but from among the Gentiles, as He saith 

25 also in Hosea, " Jf ixrilX rail %ttt tttg p£0ple fojjirfy httn aiso the jew- 

wrf mg people, attb jpr folabeb foljujj teas not frelabeb ; 



22 



23 



ish Scriptures 
6 speak of the 
calling of the 

26 attb it gjmH ^mr. to pass tljat in % plaa ixrljm it toas Section 



of the disobe- 
dient Jews. 



saib nnta %m, ^ an nnt mg pwrple, %te sjjall %g 

27 b£ talleb % S01XS 0f % libinj #0tr/' 4 But Esaias cries concerning 

Israel, saying, " Cjxcwglj % tomber of tlje sons of Jf srad fo as % 

2s sanb of % sea [onlg] tjje remnant 5 sljall fo sabt&; for |fa botjj 

.complete Pis ^reckoning, aab ruttetlj it sljort in rijjjjfecwstwss ; jpa, 

a sljort mhoiting foill % ITorb mak* upon % .eartlj." 6 And as 



1 Isaiah xlv. 9. Not literally from either 
LXX. or Hebrew, but apparently from memo- 
ry out of LXX. There is also a very similar 
passage in Isaiah xxix. 16, where, however, 
the context has less bearing on St. Paul's 
subject than in the place above cited. 

2 Jeremiah xviii. 6, not quoted literally, but 
according to the sense. In this and in other 
similar references to the Old Testament, a 
few words were sufficient to recall the whole 
passage to St. Paul's Jewish readers (compare 
Rom. iv. 18) ; therefore, to comprehend his 
argument, it is often necessary to refer to the 
context of the passage from which he quotes. 
The passage in Jeremiah referred to is as fol- 
lows : — Then I went down to the potter's house, 
.and behold he wrought a work on the wheels. And 
the ressd that he made of clay was marred in the 
■hands of the potter : so he made it again another 
vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 
; house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this pot- 
'ter ? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the 
if otter's hand, so are ye in my hand, house of 
Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning 



a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up 
and to pull down and to destroy it ; if that nation 
against whom I have pronounced turn from their 
evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do 
unto them. And at what instant I shall speak 
concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to 
build and to plant it ; if it do evil in my sight, 
that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the 
good wherewith I said I would benefit them. 
Similar passages might be quoted from the 
Apocryphal books ; and it might be said that 
the above-cited passage of Isaiah was referred 
to here. Yet this from Jeremiah is so apposite 
to St. Paul's argument, that he probably refers 
especially to it. 

3 Hosea ii. 23 (LXX. almost verbatim). 

4 Hosea i. 10 (LXX.). 

5 Compare remnant, xi. 5, lefi a remnant, xi. 
4, and left a seed remaining, ix. 29 ; all refer- 
ring to the same subject, viz. the exclusion of 
the majority of the Israelites from God's 
favor. 

6 Isaiah x. 22, 23 (LXX. almost, verbatim). 



EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 



IX. 



Esaias had said before, " (&mi$t % ^OXb oi ^abaollj fmfr Mt KS U 29 

s^tr remaining, kt {ratr Imn as jftofami, anir Ijati ban maiu like 
xxxtta (BamoxxR^" 1 

What shall we say, then ? We say that the Gentiles, 30 
though they sought not after righteousness, have attained to 
righteousness, even the righteousness of Faith ; but that the 31 
house of Israel, though they sought a law of righteousness, 
have not attained thereto. And why? Because 2 they sought 32 
it not by Faith, but thought to gain it by the works of the 
Law ; for they stumbled against the stone of stumbling, as it 33 

is written, " §^0ltr Jf lag in Ewxi u ntom oi stumbling, 
anfr a rack oi offtna ; anfr n0 man tjjat Ijatfr faitjr in 
Pirn sljall foe zoniouvfozb"* 

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for Israel x. 1 
is, that they may be saved ; for I bear them witness that they 2 
have a zeal for God, yet not guided by knowledge of God ; 4 
for because they knew not the righteousness of God, and 3 
sought to establish their own righteousness, therefore they 
submitted not to the righteousness of God. For the end of the 4 
Law is Christ, that all may attain righteousness who have faith 
in Him. For Moses writes concerning the righteousness of the 5 

Law, saying, " Cjp man tljat Jjat{j bam %s* tljings sfrall lifoe iljm- 

XU;" 5 but the righteousness of Faith speaks in this wise. Say not in 6 
thine heart, " WJj0 sljall nBttXtH XXtta |j*Htatt ? " 6 that is, " Who can 



The cause of 
this rejection 
of the Jews 
was, that they 
persisted in a 
false idea of 
righteousness, 
as consisting 
in outward 
works and 
rites, and 
refused the 
true right- 
eousness 
manifested to 
them in 
Christ, who 
was the end 
of the Law 
(x. 4). The 
Jew considers 
righteousness 
as the out- 
ward obedi- 
ence to certain 
enactments 
(x. 5). The 
Christian con- 
siders right- 
eousness as 



from the in- 
ward faith of 
the heart. 
Whoever has 
this faith, 
whether Jew 
or Gentile, 
shall be ad- 
mitted into 
God's favor. 



i Isaiah i. 9 (LXX.). 

2 Observe that in the preceding part of the 
chapter God is spoken of as rejecting the Jews 
according to His own will ; whereas here a 
moral reason is given for their rejection. This 
illustrates what was said in a previous note of 
the difference between the objective and sub- 
jective points of view. 

3 Isaiah xxviii. 16, apparently from LXX., 
but not verbatim, "stone of stumbling and 
rock of offence " being interpolated, and not 
found exactly anywhere in Isaiah, though in 
viii. 14 there are words nearly similar. Com- 
pare also Matt. xxi. 44. 

4 The word for knowledge here is very forci- 



ble ; and is the same which is used in 1 Cor. 
xiii. 12, Rom. i. 28, and Col. i. 10. 

6 Levit. xviii. 5 (LXX.) ; quoted also Gal. 
iii. 12. 

6 Deut. xxx. 12. St. Paul here, though he 
quotes from the LXX. (verse 8 is verbatim), 
yet slightly alters it, so as to adapt it better to 
illustrate his meaning. His main statement is, 
" the Glad-tidings of salvation is offered, and 
needs only to be accepted ; " to this he transfers 
the description which Moses has given of the 
Law, viz., " tbe Word is nigh thee," &c. ; 
and the rest of the passage of Deuteronomy 
he applies in a higher sense than that in which 
Moses had written it (according to the true 



X 



570 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

. 7 bring down Christ from heaven ? " nor say, " JKHfw gfmll btBZtXtb into 

8 t\t afrjTSS t" that is, " Who can raise up Christ from the dead ?" But 

how speaks it ? "Cjxc Wiox)s is nigfr tjjte; jefam xit ijjg m0ui{j anfr in 

9 t^g |jf£9xi ; " — that is, the Word Faith which we proclaim, saying, " If 
with thy mouth thou shalt confess Jesus for thy lord, and shalt have faith 
in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 

10 For faith unto righteousness is in the heart, and confession unto salvation 

11 is from the mouth. And so says the Scripture, " |t@ f!g|J tfjat jjatjj 

12 foitfj in Pim sjrall h& tOtlfOKXlbfit ; " 1 for there is no distinction be- 
tween Jew and Gentile, because the same [Jesus] is Lord over all, and 

13 He gives richly to all who call upon Him ; for" ®0®|i§ WW> *% 

gjrall tall np0ti % ram* of % iftrrtr sjjall fce saMr." 2 

14 How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they have put no i n order, 
faith ? And how shall they put faith in Him whom they never aiimayb'eso 

J r J admitted, the 

15 heard ? And how shall they hear of Him if no man bear the j^ve must 
tidings ? And who shall bear the tidings if no messengers be prJdaLS; y 

and it has 

sent forth ? 3 As it is written, " § 0to kauti&I UXt % fot 3S 

0f %m tljai hmx #Iatr-:tibmp 0f p*ax«, ijjat hmx 6Jtatr- sHE?* 

16 tibings 0f 300b" things ! " 4 Yet some have not hearkened to efpSyaa 
the Glad-tidings; as saith Esaias, " §jjrfr, fofrtf huth giixett warnl^of 

r ♦ r j 1 X * o ft i rejection 

17 fatty 10 0\XX teadjmg I So, then, faith comes by teach- *$£$££** 

18 ing; 6 and our teaching comes by the Word of God. But I tures ' 

say, have they not heard [the voice of the teachers] ? Yea, i( %htix 

nauvfo jjas Qom foxfy into nil % mxt\ f atti> %ir iooxhs nxda % 

19 KXlb% of i\]t i00rlb/' 7 Again I say, did not Israel know [the purpose 

Christian mode of using the Old Testament), 1 Isaiah xxviii. 16 (LXX.). See ix. 33. 

not to the Mosaic Law, but to the Gospel of 2 Joel ii. 32 (LXX.). 

Christ. The passage in Deuteronomy is as 3 This is a justification of the mission of 

follows : — " This commandment which I com- the Apostles to the Gentiles, which was an ©f- 

mand thee this day is not hidden from thee, neither fence to the Jews. See Acts xxii. 22. 

is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou 4 Isaiah lii. 7, apparently from the Hebrew, 

shouldst say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and not LXX. 

and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and 6 Isaiah liii. 1 (LXX.). 

do it ? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou 6 There is no English word which precisely 

shouldest say, who shall go over the sea for us and represents aKof) in its subjective as well as ob- 

bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it ? jective meaning. See note on I Thess. ii. 13. 

But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth 7 Ps. xix. 4 (LXX.). In the psalm this is 

and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it" said of " the heavens," which by their wonder- 



CHAP. XIX. 



EPISTLE TO THE BOMANS. 



571 



of God] ? yea, it is said first by Moses, " J fajill Xtizkt Jltftt 'fttiltiM 

against %m fojjixlj mt no ptcrple, aphtst r &mtik mtxan toitjr- 
smt unfterstabhrcj fail! <f make g0rt tomt^." 1 But Esaias speaks 
boldly, saying, "Jf fam founts of %m ijrat sougjri nu ttoi ; I toas 
wair* manifest nnta %m fyui ash&Er not affer mt" 2 But unto 
Israel he says, " %\\ img long fmfo <f gpeair fnrijr mg arms 3 nnt0 
a bmtrttrbnt anir gainsaging people/' 4 

I say, then, — must we 5 think that God has cast off His 
people ? 6 That be far from us ; for I am myself also an 
Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 
God has not cast off His people whom He foreknew. Yea, 
know ye not what is said in the Scriptures of Elias, how he 
intercedes with God against Israel, saying, " |£fxcfr, tjreg Jjafrs 

hilfeir Cljg }xr0pf)xts, anir iriggtfcr bxrhm C{raie altars, anir 
1 0nlg Ijaiie htm Mt, anir %g mk mg life als0," 7 But what says 

the answer of God to him ? " Jf 8 {jrtffii jr*t left t0 mgS^If a mumnt, 9 

tbm sdieit t^usanir mitt, fofm {jab* n0t trnfctieir % knn tor §aal." 

So likewise at this present time there is a remnant [of the house of 
Israel] chosen by gift of grace. But if their choice be the gift of grace, 
it can no more be deemed the wage of works ; for the gift that is earned 
is no gift : or if it be gained by works, it is no longer the gift of grace ; 
for work claims 10 wages, and not gifts. What follows then ? That which 



The Jews, 
however, are 
not all re- 
jected; those 
who believe in 
Christ have 
been selected 
by God 

(exXdyr)) 

as His people, 
and only the 
unbelieving 
portion re- 
jected. 



X 

20 



•21 



ful phenomena declare the glory of their 
Creator. There seems to be no comparison in 
the psalm (as some have thought) between the 
heavens and the word of God. St. Paul here 
quotes the Old Testament (as he so often 
does), not in its primary meaning, but apply- 
ing it in a higher sense, or perhaps only as a 
poetical illustration. As to the assertion of 
the universal preaching of the Gospel, Dean 
Alford well observes that it is not made in a 
geographical, but in a religious sense. The Gos- 
pel was now preached to all nations, and not 
to the Jews alone. 

i Deut. xxxii. 21 (LXX.). 

2 Is. lxv. 1 (LXX. with transposition). 

8 The metaphor is of a mother opening 
her arms to call back her child to her embrace. 
In this attitude the hands are spread open, and 
hence the " hands." 



4 Is. Ixr. 2 (LXX.). 

5 The particle here asks a question expect- 
ing a negative answer = is it true that ? must 
we think that ? Also see note on Gal. iii. 21. 

6 Alluding to Psalm xciv. 14 : " Jehovah 
shall not utterly cast out his people." (LXX.) 
No doubt St. Paul's antagonists accused him 
of contradicting this prophecy. 

7 1 Kings xix. 10. (LXX., but not verba- 
tim.) 

8 1 Kings xix. 18, more nearly according to 
the Hebrew than LXX. 

9 The verb corresponds to the noun in the 
next verse and in ix. 27. See note there. 

10 By work is here meant work xvhich earns 
wages. Compare iv. 4-5. The latter clause 
of this verse, however, is omitted by the best 
MSS. 



572 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xtx. 

. Israel seeks, Israel has not won ; but the chosen have won it, and the rest 

XI. 

8 were blinded, as it is written, " (Sntr jjallj Qxbm %m a Spirit flf 

nhxmhtx, z%ib fyut %g tfyoutb not m, aittr ms %t %g sfrouftr 

9 not jiear, unto fyl* frag." 1 And David says, " %zi %ir table bz 
mabt a bwxxz aixir a trap, antr a stumfaliitg-btek antr a rxwm^ens* 

10 mxia ijpci, %$t fytxx *g£S h hmkjtutb tjrai %g mag iwt ste, anir 
irjofaj iwfam %ir bark altoajr." 2 

11 Shall we say, 3 then, " they have stumbled to the end that Nori9the 
they might fall ? " That be far from us ; but rather their tfifunoeifev- 

ing Jews final, 

stumbling has brought salvation to the Gentiles, "tcr 4 pl*0- XdVthem 

12 bah Jfsml to ]mlau%%" Now if their stumbling enriches 



and their 
descendants 
forever from 
re-admission 



the world, and if the lessening of their gain gives wealth to into God's 

Church. As 

the Gentiles, how much more must their fulness do ! the oentiie 

' unbelievers 

13 For to you who are Gentiles I say that, as Apostle of the btuefVi? 

14 Gentiles, I glorify my ministration for this end, if perchance I the christian 

■■.■'■■ :.. Church, which 

might " maboht to j^akrttSg " my kinsmen, and save some on^mautock 

t, . . »i as * ne Jewish 

15 among them. . For if the casting ot them out is the reconcila- church, much 

more would 

tion of the world [to God] , what must the gathering of them ^verTon 
in be but life from the dead ? grafted 6 anew 6 

into that stock 

16 Now, if the first of the dough be hallowed, 5 the whole mass ^J^ieh 

7 ° ' they had been 

is thereby hallowed ; and if the root be hallowed, so are also brokenoflr - 

17 the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou 
being of the wild olive stock wast grafted in amongst them, and made to 

18 share the root and richness of the olive, yet boast not over the branches : 
but — if thou art boastful — thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 

19 Thou wilt say then, " The branches were broken off that I might be 

20 grafted in." It is true, — for lack of faith they were broken off, and by 

21 faith thou standest in their place : be not high-minded, but fear ; for if 
God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not 

1 This quotation seems to be compounded 4 Deut. xxxii. 21 (LXX.), quoted above, 
of Deut. xxix. 4, and Isaiah xxix. 10 (LXX.), ch. x. 19. 

though it does not correspond verbatim with 5 St. Paul alludes to the heave-offering pre- 

either. scribed Numbers xv 20 ; " Ye shall offer up 

2 Ps. lxix. 23, 24 (LXX. nearly verbatim). a cake of the first of your dough for a heave- 

3 Literally, I say then, shall we conclude that, offering, " 
&c. See note on veree 1. 



CHAP. XIX. 



EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 



573 



thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God ; towards 22 
them who fell, severity, but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue 
steadfast to His goodness ; for otherwise thou too shalt be cut off. And 
they also, if they persist »not in their faithlessness, shall be grafted in : 
for God is able to graft them in where they were before. For if thou 
wast cut out from that which by nature was the wild olive, and wast 
grafted against nature into the fruitful olive, how much more shall these, 
the natural branches, be grafted into the fruitful stock from whence they 



23 



24 



sprang 



Thus G-od's 
object has 
been, not to 
reject any, but 
to show 
mercy upon 
all mankind. 
His purpose 
has been to 
make use of 
the Jewish 
unbelief to 
call the Oen- 
tiles into His 
Church, and 
hy the admis- 
sion of the 
Ger. tiles to 
roubs the 
Jews to ac- 
cept His mes- 
sage, that all 
might at 
length receive 
His mercy. 



25 



26 



For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mys- 
tery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits ; that blind- 
ness has fallen upon a part l of Israel until the full body of 
the Gentiles shall have come in. And so all Israel shall be 
saved, as it is written, " ®v& oi %WU sfmll tOXttt % gtlifr- 27 

mx t atttr P* sjrall tutu aixmg xtttgflb'Imess ixom ^utob. 
%vfo ifris is mg ttsbmvad foiilj %m/' 2 " WBljnx Jf sljall 28 

iukt Ebmjr %k sing." 8 In respect of the Glad-tidings, 
[that it might be borne to the Gentiles], they are God's 
enemies for your sakes ; but in respect of God's choice, they 
are His beloved for their fathers' sakes : for no change of pur- 
pose can annul God's gifts and call. And as in times past you were your- 
selves 4 disobedient to God, but have now received mercy upon their dis- 
obedience ; so in this present time they have been disobedient, that upon 31 
your obtaining mercy they likewise might obtain mercy. For God has 32 
shut up 5 all together under disobedience, that He might have mercy upon 
all. depth of the bounty, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God ! 33 
how unfathomable are His judgments, and how unsearchable His paths ! 34 

Yea, " Mlj0 jjatjr krxoian % minir of % Ifcrrir, 0r fojw frailj bmx 
|Jis tam&zllax?"* Or "SHj)0 Ijatlj first gxixm nvio (Sob, %i (p 35 



29 

30 



1 Eor the phrase used here, compare 2 Cor. were equivalent to unbelief, which it is not. 



i. 14, 2 Cor. ii. 5, Rom. xv. 15. 

2 Isaiah lix. 20 (LXX. almost verbatim). 

8 Isaiah xxvii. 9 (LXX. nearly verbatim). 

4 Throughout this passage in the A. V., 
the word for disobedience is translated as if it 



Compare i. 30 : " disobedient to parents." 
6 " Shut up." Compare Gal. iii. 22. 
6 Isaiah xl. 13 (LXX. nearly verbatim). 

Quoted also (omitting the middle and adding 

the end of the verse) 1 Cor. ii. 16. 



Xll 



574 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

xi. 

36 s|r0ttlfr toswfre % rtcmttpmae? " * For from Him is the beginning, and 

by Him the life, and in Him the end of all things. 

Unto Him be glory forever. Amen. 

1 I exhort you, therefore, brethren, as you would acknowledge Exhortations 
the mercies of God, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy ed and earnest 

performance 

and well-pleasing unto God, which is your reasonable 2 worship. Jeiongingto 8 

2 And be not conformed to the fashion of this 3 world, but be g if£lnd era 

callings, and 

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by an unerr- ^J in^SrII? ess 
ing test 4 you may discern the will of God, even that which is ^ obi&enllP 

to the civil 

3 good, and acceptable, and perfect. For through the grace be- magistrates as 

stowed upon me [as Christ's Apostle], I warn every man g e n t' ra h> nd 

among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought love* as com- 
prehending all 
to think, but to seek a sober mind, according to the measure ne^nlor ° aii 

4 of faith 5 which God has given him. For as we have many shouldheper- 
limbs, which are all members of the same body, though they ii-i*) aa'm ' 

5 have not all the same office ; so we ourselves are all 6 one body Christ's 

6 in Christ, and fellow-members one of another ; but we have Sg. e y 
gifts differing according to the grace which God has given us. 7 He that 
has the gift of prophecy, let him exercise it 8 according to the proportion 

7 of his faith. He that has the gift of ministration, let him minister ; let 

8 the teacher labor in teaching ; the exhorter, in exhortation. He who 
gives, let him give in singleness of mind. He who rules, let him rule 

9 diligently. He who shows pity, let him show it gladly. Let your love be 

1 Job xli. 11 (according to the sense of the The expression 'is so perplexing, that one is 
Hebrew, but not LXX.). almost tempted to conjecture that the words 

2 Reasonable worship, as contrasted with the crept into the text here by mistake, having 
unreasonable worship of those whose faith rest- been originally a marginal explanation of " the 
ed only on outward forms. See note on i. 9. proportion of faith" just below. 

3 See note on 1 Cor. i. 20. 6 Literally " the many." 

4 See note on ii. 18. 7 The construction and the parallel both 

5 " Measure of faith " here seems (from the seem to require a comma at the end of verse 
context of the following verses) equivalent to 5, and a full stop in the middle of verse 6. 
"charism" as Chrysostom takes it. The par- 8 We think it better to take these elliptical 

' ticular talent given by God may be called a clauses as all imperative (with the A. V.) 

measure of faith, as being that by the use of rather than to consider them (with De Wette 

which each man's faith will be tried. (Com- and others) as "descriptive of the sphere of 

pare, as to the verbal expressions, 2 Cor. x. the gift's operation " up to a certain point* 

13.) This explanation is, perhaps, not very and then passing into the imperative. The 

satisfactory; but to understand measure as participles in verses 9, 16, and 17, seem to 

meaning amount is still less so, for a double refute De "Wette's arguments. 
gift of prophecy did not imply a double faith. 



chap. xa. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 575 

without feigning. Abhor that which is evil ; cleave to that which is good. .. 

Be kindly affectioned one to another in brotherly love ; in honor let each 10 

set his neighbor above himself. Let your diligence be free from sloth, let 11 

your spirit grow with zeal; be true bondsmen of your Lord. In your 12 
hope be joyful ; in your sufferings be steadfast ; in your prayers be un- 
wearied. Be liberal to the needs of the saints. And show hospitality 1 3,14 

to the stranger. Bless your persecutors ; yea, bless, and curse not. 15 

Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of 16 
one mind amongst yourselves. Set not your heart on high things, but 
suffer yourselves to be borne along * with the lowly. Be not wise in your 

own conceits. Repay no man evil for evil. " §$£ prxrfrifrmt tff 000b" 17 

Xtyttxt XXI % Sijjfji 0f ail mm" 2 If it be possible, as far as lies in 18 

yourselves, keep peace with all men. Revenge not yourselves, beloved, 19 
but give place to the wrath [of God] ; 3 for it is written, " WtV^tWXtt XS 

mine ; | brill repjr, mxi\ % ifcrrtr." 4 Therefore, " Jff tjjttu memg 20 
{pmgwr, feefr Jjim ; if \t ifrirst, gifee frim irrittk ; hx t m bo fraing, 

%«: sjmlt \mi$ tttuh 0f foe ttp0rt friS jjtatr." 5 Be not overcome by 21 
evil, but overcome evil with good. -. 

Let every man submit himself to the authorities of government ; for all 1 
authority comes from God, and the authorities which now are have been 
set in their place by God : therefore, he who sets himself against the au- 2 
thority resists the ordinance of God ; and they who resist will bring 
judgment upon themselves. For the magistrate is not terrible to good 3 
works, 6 but to evil. Wilt thou be fearless of his authority ? do what is 
good, and thou shalt have its praise. For the magistrate is God's minis- 4 
ter to thee for good. But if thou art an evil doer, be afraid ; for not by 
chance does he bear the sword [of justice] , being a minister of God, ap- 



1 This is the literal translation. melting of metals. It is obvious that " thou 

2 This is a quotation nearly verbatim from shalt heap coals of fire on his head " could 
Prov. iii. 4 (LXX.). See note on 2 Cor. viii. 21. never have meant " thou shalt destroy him ; " 

3 Such is the interpretation of Chrysostom, because to feed an enemy could in no senso 
and is supported by the ablest modern inter- destroy him. 

preters. For " wrath " in this sense, compare 6 We must remember that this was written 

Rom. v. 9, 1 Thess. ii. 16. before the Imperial Government had begun to 

4 Deut. xxxii. 35 (LXX., but not verba- persecute Christianity. It is a testimony in 
tim) ; see note on Heb. x. 30. favor of the general administration of the 

5 Prov. xxv. 21 (LXX.). There can be lit- Roman criminal law. 
tie doubt that the metaphor is taken from the 



576 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xtx. 

xiii. 

5 pointed to do vengeance upon the guilty. Wherefore you must needs 

6 submit, not only for fear, but also for conscience' sake ; for this also is the 
cause why you pay tribute, because the authorities of government are 

7 officers of God's will, and this is the very end of their daily work. Pay, 
therefore, to all their dues ; tribute to whom tribute is due ; customs to 

8 whom customs ; fear to whom fear ; honor to whom honor. Owe no debt 
to any man, save the debt of love alone ; for he who loves his neighbor 

9 has fulfilled the law. For the law which says, " CjjHtt sjjalt aot Com- 
mit fttmlterg ; Cfj0« sjmli tw no murtm; ; Cfmu sfrali not sieal ; 
® j}0tr sjjalt not hzux Msz faritass ; %\ou sjrali not tabrt " 1 (and 

whatsoever other commandment there be), is all contained in this one 

10 saying, " Clj0tt sjjdt Ioke tljJT Ittijjfjljor as ijjg&elf/' 2 Love works 
no ill to his neighbor ; therefore Love is the fulfilment of the Law. 

11 This do, knowing the season wherein we stand, and that for us it is high 
time to awake out of sleep, for our salvation is already nearer than when 

12 we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us there- 
fore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 

1 3 Let us walk (as in the light of day) in seemly guise ; not in rioting and 
drunkenness, not in dalliance and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 

14 But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and take no thought to 
. please your fleshly lusts. 

1 Him who is weak in his faith receive into your fellowship, uan^hJlm 

clung to su- 

2 imposing no determinations of doubtful questions. 3 Some ^stations 
have faith that they may eat all things : others, who are weak, 4 ^S a" d 

3 eat herbs alone. Let not him who eats despise him who ab- oe treated 

with indul- 

stains, nor let him who abstains judge him who eats, for God S G e e S^t 

4 has received him among 5 His people. Who art thou, that shouid a treat 

1 Exod. xx. 13-17 (LXX.). altogether. Thus Josephus {Life, § 3, quoted 

2 Levit. xix. 18 (LXX.). by Tholuck) mentions some Jewish priests 

3 Literally, not acting so as to make distinc- who, from such conscientious scruples, ab- 
tions [or determinations] which belong to disputa- stained while prisoners in Kome from all ani- 
tious reasonings. The same word is used in mal food. So Daniel and his fellow-captives 
Phil. ii. 14. in Babylon refused the king's meat and wine, 

4 These were probably Christians of Jew- and ate pulse alone, that they might not defile 
ish birth, who so feared lest they should (with- themselves (Dan. i. 8-12). The tone and 
out knowing it) eat meat which had been precepts of this 14th chapter of the Epistle 
offered to idols or was otherwise ceremonially correspond with 1 Cor. viii. 

unclean (which might easily happen in such a 6 Literally, received him unto Himself. 

place as Rome), that they abstained from meat 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 577 

^thSSty jidgest another's servant? To his own master he must stand 
fi n m f con e - ar or fall ; but he shall be made to stand, for God is able to x [ Vt 

demning one ~ 

another, se t him up. There are some who esteem one day above *> 

•whether Jews * J 

efnSfchSt another ; and again there are some who esteem all days alike ; l 
both into His let each be fully persuaded in his own mind. He who regards 6 

favor as their 

common ^j ie fay re g ar d s it unto the Lord ; and he who regards it not, 
disregards it unto the Lord. 2 He who eats, eats unto the Lord, for he 
gives God thanks ; and he who abstains, abstains unto the Lord, and gives 
thanks to God likewise. For not unto himself does any one of us either • 
live or die ; but whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we 8 
die, we die unto the Lord ; therefore, living or dying, we- are the Lord's. 
For to this end Christ died, and 3 lived again, that He might be Lord both 9 
of the dead and of the living. But thou, why judgest thou thy brother ? 10 
Or thou, why despisest thou thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the H 
judgment-seat of Christ. And so it is written, "^s | litre, saiijjf ijxe 

Ifrnft, jefarjj kmt sjrall hobo to me, arttr jebtnj itmgm sfmll axkitotol- 

jeujj£ (§0b\" 4 So, then, every one of us shall give account to God [not 12 
of his brethren, but] of himself. Let us, then, judge each other no more, 13 
but let this rather be your judgment, to put no stumbling-block or cause 
of falling in your brother's way. I know and am persuaded in the Lord H 
Jesus, that nothing is in itself unclean ; but whatever a man thinks un- 
clean is unclean to him. And if for meat thou grievest thy brother, thou 1«> 
hast ceased to walk by the rule of love. Destroy not him with thy meat 
for whom Christ died. 

I say, then, let not your good be evil spoken of. 5 For the kingdom of 1 6,1 7 
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 
Holy Spirit ; and he who lives in these things as Christ's bondsman is 18 
well-pleasing to God, and cannot be condemned 6 by men. Let us there- 19 
fore follow the things which make- for peace, such as may build us up 

1 Compare Col. ii. 16. Dean Alford has 3 "Rose again" is omitted by the best 
an excellent note on this verse. [Here, as at MSS. 

Gal. iv. 10, we may refer to the additional note * Isaiah xlv. 23 (LXX. not accurately, but 

on Col. ii. 16. — h.] apparently from memory). 

2 This negative clause is omitted by the 6 Compare 1 Cor. x. 29. 

majority of MSS., but is sanctioned by Chrys- « Literally, is capable of standing any test to 

ostom and other fathers, and retained in the which he may be put. 
text by Teschendorf : Griesbach and Lachmann 
omit it. 

37 



578 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xix. 

• together into one. Destroy not thou the work of God for a meal of meat. 

20 All things indeed [in themselves] are pure ; but to him that eats with 

21 stumbling all is evil. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink x wine, 
nor to do any 2 other thing, whereby thy brother is made to stumble. 3 

22 Hast thou faith [that nothing is unclean]? keep it for thine own comfort 

23 before God. Happy is he who condemns not himself by his own judg- 
xv ment. 4 But he who doubts is thereby condemned if he eats, because he 

1 has not faith 5 that he may eat ; and every faithless deed 6 is sin. And we, 
who are strong, 7 ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to 

2 please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for good ends, to 

3 build him up. For so 8 Christ pleased not Himself, but in Him was ful- 
filled that which is written, "■ Cfj£ XVgXQRtljZS of %m tFjttt XVgXOzfytb 

4 tljte fell OT01T AW." 9 For our instruction is the end of all which was 
written of old ; that by steadfast endurance, and by the counsel of the 

5 Scriptures, we may hold fast our hope. Now may God, from whom both 

6 counsel and endurance come, grant you to be of one mind together, ac- 
cording to the will of Christ, that you may all [both strong and weak], 
with one heart and voice, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 

7 Christ. Wherefore, receive one another into fellowship, to the glory of 
God, even as Christ also received you. 10 

8 For n I say that Jesus Christ came to be a minister of the circumcision, 

9 to maintain the truthfulness of God, and confirm the promises made to 
our fathers ; and that the Gentiles should praise God for His mercy, as it 

is written, " Jxrr tljb mxxu <f foill axknofoleirij* iljte am0ttg% <gm- 

1 This does not necessarily imply that any 5 Literally, he eats not from faith. 

of the weaker brethren actually did scruple to 6 Literally, every deed which springs not from 

drink wine ; it may be put only hypothetically. faith [that it is a right deed] is sin. 

But it is possible that they may have feared to 7 Literally, "We the strong." St. Paul 

taste wine, part of which had been poured in here addresses the same party whom he so 

libation to idols. Daniel (in the passage above often exhorts to patience and forbearance; 

referred to) refused wine. those who called themselves " the spiritual " 

2 It is strange that no critic has hitherto (Gal. vi. 1, 1 Cor. iii. 1), and boasted of their 
proposed the simple emendation of reading iv "knowledge" (1 Cor. viii. 1). See p. 390. 
instead of ev, which avoids the extreme awk- 8 The "even " of A. V. is not in the origi- 
wardness of the ellipsis necessitated by the nal. " For Christ also " is the literal English. 
Received Text. Compare John i. 3. The 9 Ps. lxix. 9 (LXX.). 

construction of the last clause is similar to 10 " You " (not " us ") is the reading of the 

that mix. 32. best MSS. 

3 We adopt the reading sanctioned by Tis- n The reading of the MSS- is "for," no! 
chendorf, which omits, one. or two words. " but." 

4 See?note on ii.>18. 



chap. xix. EPISTLE TO THE BOMANS. 579 

XV. 

tiles, anir imll shrg mxta iljjj xtumz" 1 And again it is said, " ^t]am f 10' 
g* (Sjcntifes, 'foiflj Pis pwrple ; " 2 and again, » |p xnwz % f arir, all n 

g* (fotiilcS, attb kttfr ||im, all g.C peoples ; " 3 and again Esaias saith, 

" Cfjra sljall tome % root nf Jesse, aitir Ije ijmt s^all rise to reign 12 
after % (Sextiiles : m jjim sljall tfje (Gentiles Ijope/' 4 Now may the 13 

God of hope 5 fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may 
abound in hope, through the mighty working of the Holy Spirit. 
st. Paul gives But ■"■ am persuaded, my brethren, not only by the reports 14 
tffi bow°iyto of others, 6 but by my own judgment, that you are already full 

the Roman 

fin 8t the s ' as °^ g° 0( lness, filled with all knowledge, and able, of yourselves, 
fies^ He to admonish one another. Yet I have written to you some- 15 

intends soon . ',,,-,, • . _.__.,. n . .. 

to visit them what boldly in parts 7 [or this letter J , to remind you [rather 
had^r/ady 16 than *° teach you] , because of that gift of grace which 16 
Apostolic 1S God bestowed upon me that I should be a minister of 

commission 

in the eastern Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, serving in the Glad-tidings 

parts of the > ; P ° 

asSe^id^ of God, that I might present the Gentiles to God, as a 

was not occu- . , ' 

pied hy other priest presents the offering, 8 a sacrifice well pleasing unto 
evl!'h?miist Him > tallowed by the working of the Holy Spirit. I have 17 
fem °to convey therefore the power of boasting in Christ Jesus, concerning 

the Greek r ° ' 

thi n ther U in 0na tne things of God ; for I will not dare [as some do] to glorify 13 
dangers which myself for the labors of others, 9 but I will speak only of the 

he expects to . . *-r «i 

meet there. works which Christ has wrought by me, to bring the Gentiles 
to obedience, by word and deed, with the might of signs and wonders, 19 
the might of the Spirit of God ; so that going forth from Jeru- 
salem, and round about as far as 10 Illyricum, I have fulfilled my task in 
bearing the Glad-tidings of Christ. And my ambition was to bear it 20 

1 Ps. xviii. 49 (LXX.)> but that this is already expressed in " some- 

2 Deut. xxxii. 43 (LXX.). See note on what boldly." The word " brethren " is 
ix. 25. . omitted in the best MSS. 

3 Ps. cxvii. 1 (LXX.). 8 Literally, "a minister of Jesus Christ unt» 

4 Isaiah xi. 10 (LXX.). the Gentiles, a priest presenting an offering in 
6 The reference of this to the preceding respect of the Glad-tidings of God, that the Gen- 

quotation is lost in A. V. through the trans- tiles might be offered up as an offering well pleas- 

lation of the verb and noun for " hope " by ing unto Him." The same thing is said under 

" hope " and "trust" respectively. a somewhat different metaphor, 2 Cor. xi. 2. 

6 Observe the force of the " I myself also." 9 Compare 2 Cor. x. 15, the whole of which 

7 For the meaning here, see 2 Cor. i. 14, passage is parallel to this. 

2 Cor. ii. 5. It might here be translated in some 10 See the remarks on this in Chap. XVII. 

measure (as Neander proposes, compare v. 24), p. 514. 



580 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

according to this rule, [that I should go], not where the name of Christ 

21 was known (lest I should be building on another man's foundation), but 
[where it was unheard] ; as it is written, " %Q tolj0m |pje toftS not 

spoken 0f, %jr sjjail m ; imfr % ptapie tofpor Ijate not {rarir djaii 

22 This is the cause why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 

23 But now that I have no longer room enough [for my labors] in these 

24 regions, and have had a great desire to visit you these many years, so 
soon as I take my journey into Spain I will come to you ; 2 for I hope to 
see you on my way, and to be set forward on my journey thither by you, 

25 after I have in some measure satisfied my desire of your company. But 
now I am going to Jerusalem, being employed 3 in a ministration to the 

26 saints. For the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia have willingly 
undertaken to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints 

27 in Jerusalem. Willingly, I say, they have done this ; and indeed they 
are their debtors ; for since the Gentiles have shared in the spiritual 
goods of the brethren in Jerusalem, they owe it in return to minister to 

28 them in their earthly goods. When, therefore, I have finished this task, 
and have given to them in safety the fruit of this collection, I will come 

29 from thence, by you, into Spain. And I am sure that when I come to 
80 you, my coming will receive the fulness 4 of Christ's 5 blessing. But I 

beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love which 
the Spirit gives, to help me in my conflict with your prayers to God on 

31 my behalf, that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judasa, and 
that the service which I have undertaken for Jerusalem may be favorably 

32 received by the Saints ; that so I may come to you in joy, by God's will, 

33 and may be refreshed in your companionship. The God of peace be with 
. vou all. Amen. 

XVI. J 

1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is 6 a ministering oommenda- 

2 servant of the Church at Cenchrea; that you may receive SSSSon^to 



1 Isaiah lii. 15 (LXX.). 4 Literally, I shall come in the fulness, &c. 

2 This " I will come to you " is probably 5 " Gospel " is not in any of the best 
an interpolation, as it is omitted by the best MSS. 

MSS. ; but it makes no difference in the 6 Alokovov (Deaconess). See p. 379, n. 7 ; 

sense. also p. 381, n. 1. 

3 The present participle, not (as in A. V.) 
the future. 



CHAP. XES, 



EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 



581 



numerous her in the Lord, as the saints should receive one another, and 

Roman Chris- 7 

tians. a ^ Yiqy i n any business * wherein she needs your help ; for 

she has herself aided many, and me also among the rest. 

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, 2 my fellow-laborers in the work of Christ 
Jesus, who, to save my life, laid down their own necks ; who are thanked, 
not by me alone, but by all the Churches of the Gentiles. Greet like- 
wise the Church which assembles at their house. 

Salute Epasnetus my dearly-beloved, who is the first-fruits of Asia 3 
unto Christ. 

Salute Mary, who labored much for me. 

Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and fellow-prisoners, 4 who 
are well known among the Apostles, and who were also in Christ before 
me. 

Salute Amplias, my dearly-beloved in the Lord. 

Salute Urbanus, my fellow-workman in Christ's service, and Stachys 
my dearly-beloved. 



XVI. 

a 



1 From the use of legal terms here, it would 
seem that the business on which Phoebe was 
visiting Rome was connected with some trial 
at law. 

2 The most ancient MSS. read Prisca for 
Priccilla here; the names being the same. 
Concerning these distinguished Christians, see 
p. 336. When and where they risked their 
lives for St. Paul, we know not, but may con- 
jecture at Ephesus. We see here that they had 
returned to Rome (whence they had been driven 
by the edict of Claudius) from Ephesus, where 
we left them last. It is curious to observe the 
wife mentioned first, contrary to ancient usage. 
Throughout this chapter we observe instances 
ef courtesy towards women sufficient to refute 
the calumnies of a recent infidel writer, who 
accuses St. Paul of speaking and feeling 
coarsely in reference to women ; we cannot but 
add our astonishment that the same writer 
should complain that the standard of St. Paul's 
ethics, in reference to the sexual relations, is 
not sufficiently elevated, while at the same time 
he considers the instincts of the German race 
to have first introduced into the world the true 
morality of these relations. One is inclined to 
ask whether the present facility of divorce in 
Germany is a legitimate development of the 



Teutonic instinct; and if so, whether the law 
of Germany, or the law of our Saviour (Mark 
x. 12), enforced by St. Paul (1 Cor. vii. 10), ex- 
presses the higher tone of morality, and tends 
the more to elevate the female sex. 

3 Asia, not Achaia, is the reading of the 
best MSS. Compare p. 349, note 2. The 
province of proconsular Asia is of course 
meant. 

* When were they St. Paul's fellow-pris- 
oners? Probably in some of those imprison- 
ments not recorded in the Acts, to which he 
alludes 2 Cor. xi. 23. It is doubtful whether 
in calling them his " kinsmen " St. Paul means 
that they were really related to him, or only 
that they were Jews. (Compare Rom. ix. 3.) 
The latter supposition seems improbable, be- 
cause Aquila and Priscilla, and others in this 
chapter, mentioned without the epithet of kins- 
men, were certainly Jews ; yet, on the other 
hand, it seems unlikely that so many of St. 
Paul's relations as ai*e here called " kinsmen " 
(verses 7,11,21) should be mentioned in a 
single chapter. Perhaps we may take a middle 
course, and suppose the epithet to denote that 
the persons mentioned were of the tribe of 
Benjamin. 



DS2 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xix. 

xvi. 

10 Salute Apelles, who has been tried and found trustworthy in Christ's 

work. 

Salute those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 1 

11 Salute Herodion, my kinsman. 

Salute those of the household of Narcissus 2 who are in the Lord's fel- 
lowship. 

12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, the faithful laborers in the Lord's 
service. 

Salute Persis the dearly-beloved, who has labored much in the 
Lord. 

13 Salute Rufus, 3 the chosen in the Lord and his mother, who is also 
mine. 

14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the 
brethren who are with them. 

15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas,. and 
all the saints who are with them. 

16 Salute one another with the kiss of holiness. 4 
The Churches of Christ [in Achaia] salute you. 

17 I exhort you, brethren, to keep your eyes upon those who warning 

-i • t t against self- 

cause divisions, and cast stumbling-blocks w the way of interested 

° J partisans. 

others, contrary to the teaching which you have learned. 

18 Shun them that are such ; for the master whom they serve is not our 
Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly : and by their fair speaking and 

19 flattery they deceive the hearts of the guileless. I say this, because the 



1 This Aristobulus was probably the great- this Epistle was written : the other was a 
grandson of Herod the Great, mentioned by favorite of Nero's, and is probably the person 
Josephus and Tacitus, to whom Nero in a. d. here named. Some of his slaves or freedmen 
55 gave the government of Lesser Armenia. had become Christians. This Narcissus was 
He had very likely lived previously at Rome, put to death by Galba (Dio. Ixiv. 3). 

and may still have kept up an establishment 3 St. Mark (xv. 21) mentions Simon of 

there, or perhaps had not yet gone to his gov- Cyrene as " the father of Alexander and Ru- 

ernment. See Tae. Ann. xiii. 7, and Joseph. fus; " the latter, therefore, was a Christian well 

Ant. xx. 5. known to those for whom St. Mark wrote, and 

2 There were two eminent persons of the probably is the same here mentioned. It is 
name of Narcissus at Rome about this time ; gratifying to think that she whom St. Paul 
one the well-known favorite of Claudius mentions here with such respectful affection 
(Suet. Claud. 28, Tac. ^Inn. xii. 57, 65, xiii. 1), was the wife of that Simon whp bore our 
who was put to death by Nero, a. d. 54, soon Saviour's cross. 

after the death of Claudius, and therefore before 4 See note on 1 Thess. v. 26, 



chap. xrx. 



EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 



583 



tidings of your obedience have been told throughout the world. On your 
own behalf, therefore, I rejoice : but I wish you not only to be simple in 
respect of evil, but to be wise for good. And the God of peace shall 20 
bruise Satan under your feet speedily. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 
salutations Timotheus, my fellow-laborer, and Lucius, and Jason, 1 and 21 

from Chris- m 

tiansat Sosipater, 2 my kinsmen, salute you. 

Rome at I? Tertius, who have written this letter, salute you in the 22 

Lord. 

Gaius, 3 who is the host, not of me alone, but also of the whole Church, 23 
salutes you. 

Erastus, 4 the treasurer of the city, and the brother Quartus, salute 
you. 
TOnSSion. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 24 

Now I commend you 5 unto Him who is able to keep you steadfast, 25 

according to my Glad-tidings, and the preaching 6 of Jesus Christ ■ 

whereby is unveiled the mystery which was kept secret in eternal times 7 
of old, but has now been brought to light, and made known to all the 26 
Gentiles by the Scriptures of the Prophets, by command of the eternal 
God ; that the Gentiles might be led to the obedience of faith 



1 Jason is mentioned as a Thessalonian, 
Acts xvii. 5 ; he had probably accompanied 
St. Paul from Thessalonica to Corinth. 

2 Sosipater is mentioned as leaving Corinth 
with St. Paul, soon after this epistle was writ- 
ten (Acts xx. 4). 

3 This Gaius (or Caius) is no doubt the 
same mentioned (1 Cor. i. 14) as baptized at 
Corinth by St. Paul with his own hands. In 
Acts xx. 4 we find " Gaius of Derbe " leaving 
Corinth with St. Paul, soon after the writing 
of this Epistle, but this may perhaps have been 
a different person ; although this is not certain, 
considering how the Jews migrated from one 
place to another, of which Aquila and Priscilla 
are an obvious example. 

4 Erastus is again mentioned (as stopping 
at Corinth) in 2 Tim. iv. 20. Probably the 
same Erastus who went with Timotheus from 
Ephesus to Macedonia, on the way towards 
Corinth (Acts xix. 22). 

6 If we retain the " to whom " in verse 27 



(with the great majority of MSS.) we must 
supply " I commend " or something equivalent 
here, or else leave the whole passage anaco- 
luthical. Examples of a similar commendation 
to God at the conclusion of a letter or speech 
are frequent in St. Paul. Compare 1 Thesi. 
v. 23, 2 Thess. ii. 16, and especially the con 
elusion of the speech (so nearly contempora 
neous with this Epistle) at Miletus, Acts xx. 
32. The complicated and involved construc- 
tion reminds us of the Salutation commencing 
this Epistle, and of Eph. i. 

6 Literally, proclamation. 

7 Meaning, probably, the times of the Ancient 
Dispensation. Compare the use of the same 
expression, Tit. i. 2. There is no inconsis- 
tency in saying that this mystery was " kept 
secret" under the Old Dispensation, and yet 
confirmed by the Prophetical Scriptures ; for 
it was hidden/row the Gentiles altogether, and 
the prophetical intimations of it were not un- 
derstood by the Jews. 



584 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XT*. 



XVI. 



27 unto Him, the only wise God, 1 1 commend you through Jesus Christ ; 
to whom be glory forever. Amen. 2 




Corinthian coin representing Cenchrea. 8 



1 If we were (on the authority of the Codex 
Vaticanus) to omit the "to whom" in this 
passage, the last three verses would become a 
continuous doxology. The translators of the 
A. V. have tacitly omitted this " to whom," 
although professing to follow the Textus Re- 
ceptus. 

2 Some MSS. insert the verses 25, 26, 27, 
after xiv. 23, instead of in this place ; but the 
greater weight of MS. authority is in favor of 
their present position. A good refutation of 
the objections which have been made against 
the authenticity of the last two chapters is 
given by De Wette and Neander; but, above 
all, by Paley's Horce Paulince, inasmuch as 
these very chapters furnish four or five of the 
most striking undesigned coincidences there 
mentioned. 

3 Little has been said as yet concerning 



Cenchrea, and some interest is given to the place 
both by the mention of its Church in the pre- 
ceding Epistle (Rom. xvi. 1), and by the de- 
parture of St. Paul from that port at the close 
of his first visit to Achaia ( Acts xviii. 18). TVe 
have seen (p. 360) that it was seventy stadia, 
or nearly nine miles distant from Corinth, and 
(p. 367) that its position is still pointed out by 
the modern Kikries, where some remains of the 
ancient town are visible. The road is described 
by Pausanias as leading from Corinth through 
an avenue of pine-trees, and past many tombs, 
among which two of the most conspicuous 
were those of the cynic Diogenes and the prof- 
ligate Thais. The coin here engraved is that 
to which allusion was made p. 367, n. 5. It is 
a colonial coin of Antoninus Pius, and repre- 
sents the harbor of Cenchrea exactly as it is 
described by Pausanias. 



CHAPTER XX. 



Isthmian Games. — Route through Macedonia. — "Voyage from Philippi. — Sunday at Troas. 
— Assos. — Voyage by Mitylene and Trogyllium to Miletus. — Speech to the Ephesian 
Presbyters. — Voyage by Cos and Rhodes to Patara. — Thence to Phoenicia. — Christians at 
Tyre. — Ptolemais. — Events at Cajsarea. — Arrival at Jerusalem. 

IN the Epistles which have been already set before the reader in the 
course of this biography, and again in some of those which are to 
succeed, St. Paul makes frequent allusion to a topic which engrossed the 
interest, and called forth the utmost energies, of the Greeks. The 
periodical games were to them rather a passion than an amusement : 
and the Apostle often uses language drawn from these celebrations, 
when he wishes to enforce the zeal and the patience with which a 
Christian ought to strain after his heavenly reward. The imagery he 
employs is sometimes varied. In one instance, when he describes the 
struggle of the >pirit with the flesh, he seeks his illustration in the 
violent contest of the boxers (1 Cor. ix. 26). In another, when he 
would give a strong representation of the perils he had encountered at 
Ephesus, he speaks as one who had contended in that ferocious sport 
which the Romans had introduced among the Greeks, the fighting of 
gladiators with wild beasts (ib. xv. 32). But, usually, his reference is 
to the foot-race in the stadium, which, as it was the most ancient, con- 
tinued to be the most esteemed, among the purely Greek athletic 
contests. 1 If we compare the various passages where this language is 
used, we find the whole scene in the stadium brought vividly before 
us, — the herald 2 who summons the contending runners, — -the course, 
which rapidly diminishes in front of them as their footsteps advance to 
the goal, 3 — the judge 4 who holds out the prize at the end of the course, 

1 The victory in the stadium at Olympia 2 " Having heralded." 1 Cor. ix. 27. 

was used in the formula for reckoning Olym- Plato says that the herald summoned the can- 

piads. The stadium was the Greek unit for didates for the foot-rac^first into the stadium, 
the measurement of distance. With St. Paul's 8 " Forgetting the things that are behind, 

frequent reference to it in the epistles, 1 Cor. and striving after the things that are before." 

ix. 24, Rom. ix, 16, Gal. ii. 2, v. 7, Phil. ii. 16, Phil. iii. 14. For the Course, see Phil. ii. 16, 

2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, should be compared two pas- and 2 Tim. iv. 7, besides Acts xx. 24, which is 

sages in the Acts, xx. 24, where he speaks of particularly noticed below, p. 602, n. 3. 
himself, and xiii. 25, where he speaks of John * 2 Tim. iv. 8. 

the Baptist. 685 



586 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

— the prize itself, a chaplet of fading leaves, which is compared with 
the strongest emphasis of contrast to the unfading glory with which the 
faithful Christian will be crowned, 1 — the joy and exultation of the victor^ 
which the Apostle applies to his own case, when he speaks of his converts 
as his " joy and crown," the token of his victory and the subject of his 
boasting. 2 And under the same image he sets forth the heavenly prize, 
after which his converts themselves should struggle with strenuous and 
unswerving zeal, — with no hesitating step (1 Cor. ix. 26), — pressing 
forward, and never looking back (Phil. iii. 13, 14), — even to the disre- 
gard of life itself (Acts xx. 24). And the metaphor extends itself 
beyond the mere struggle in the arena, to the preparations which were 
necessary to success, — to that severe and continued training, 3 which, 
being so great for so small a reward, was a fit image of that " training 
unto godliness," which has the promise not only of this life, but of that 
which is to come, — to the strict regulations 4 which presided over all the 
details, both of the contest and the preliminary discipline, and are used 
to warn the careless Christian of the peril of an undisciplined life, — to 
the careful diet, 5 which admonishes us that, if we would so run that we 
may obtain, we must be " temperate in all things." 6 

This imagery would be naturally and familiarly suggested to St. Paul 
by the scenes which ne witnessed in every part of his travels. At his 
own native place on the banks of the Cydnus, 7 in every city throughout 
Asia Minor, 8 and more especially at Ephesus, the stadium, and the train- 

1 See 1 Cor. ix. 24, Phil. iii. 14. It was a He was disqualified by certain moral and po- 
chaplet of green leaves, "a fading crown." litical offences. He was obliged to take an 
1 Cor. ix. 25. (Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 5, iv. 8; also oath that he had been ten months in training, 
1 Pet. v. 4.) The leaves varied with the locality and that he would violate none of the regula- 
where the games were celebrated. At the tions. Bribery was punished by a fine. The 
Isthmus they were those of the indigenous candidate was obliged to practise again in the 
pine. For a time, parsley was substituted for gymnasium immediately before the games, 
them ; but in the Apostle's day the pine-leaves under the direction of judges or umpires, who 
were used again. were themselves required to be instructed for 

2 Phil. iv. 1. 1 Thess. ii. 19. This subject ten months in the details of the games, 
illustrates the frequent use of the word " boast " 6 The physician Galen gives an account of 
by St. Paul. this prescribed diet. See Hor. A. P. 414. 

3 1 Tim. iv. 7, 8. The Gymnasium or train- Tertullian describes the self-restraint of the 
ing-ground was an important feature of every Athletes. 

Greek city. The word is not found in the 6 In the larger editions is an energetic pas- 
New Testament, but we find it in 1 Mace. i. 14 sage on this subject from St. Chrysostom, who 
and 2 Mace. iv. 9, \ybeve allusion is made to was very familiar with all that related to pub- 
places of Greek amusement built at Jerusa- lie amusements, both at Antioch and Constan- 
lem. tinople. 

4 " Except a man strive lawfully." 2 Tim. 7 It is worth observing, that the only in- 
ii. 5. The following were among the regula- scription from Tarsus published by Boeckh 
tions of the athletic contests. Every candidate relates to the restoration of the stadium. 

was required to be of pure Hellenic descent. 8 Nothing is more remarkable than the 



chap. xx. ISTHMIAN GAMES. 587 

ing for the stadium, 1 were among the chief subjects of interest to the 
whole population. Even in Palestine, and at Jerusalem itself, these 
busy amusements were well known. 2 But Greece was the very home 
from which these institutions drew their origin; and the Isthmus of 
Corinth was one of four sanctuaries, where the most celebrated games 
were periodically held. Now that we have reached the point where St. 
Paul is about to leave this city for the last time, we are naturally led to 
make this allusion : and an interesting question suggests itself here, viz., 
whether the Apostle was ever himself present during the Isthmian games. 
It might be argued a priori that this is highly probable ; for great 
numbers came at these seasons from all parts of the Mediterranean to 
witness or take part in the contests ; and the very fact that amusement 
and ambition brought some, makes it certain that gain attracted many 
others ; thus it is likely that the Apostle, just as he desired to be at 
Jerusalem during the Hebrew festivals, so would gladly preach the 
Gospel at a time when so vast a concourse met at the Isthmus, — whence, 
as from a centre, it might be carried to every shore with the dispersion 
of the strangers. But, further, it will be remembered, that, on his first 
visit, St. Paul spent two years at Corinth ; and though there is some 
difficulty in determining the times at which the games were celebrated, 
yet it seems almost certain that they recurred every second year, at the 
end of spring, or the beginning of summer. 3 Thus it may be con- 
fidently concluded that he was there at one of the festivals. As regards 
the voyage undertaken from Ephesus (p. 418), the time devoted to it 
was short ; yet that time may have coincided with the festive season ; 
and it is far from inconceivable that he may have sailed across the ^Egean 
in the spring, with some company of Greeks who were proceeding to 
the Isthmian meeting. On the present occasion he spent only three of 
the winter months in Achaia, and it is hardly possible that he could 
have been present during the games. It is most likely that there were 
no crowds among the pine-trees 4 at the Isthmus, and that the stadium at 

number and magnitude of the theatres and Olympian and Pythian games took place every 

stadia in the ruins of the great cities of Asia fourth year, the Nemean and Isthmian every 

Minor. A vast number, too, of the inscrip- second; the latter in the third and first year of 

tions relate to the public amusements. It is each Olympiad. The festival was held in the 

evident, as a traveller remarks, that these year 53 a. d., which is the first of an Olympiad ; 

amusements must have been one of the chief and (as we have seen) there is good reason for 

employments of the population. believing that the Apostle came to Corinth in 

1 See above, p. 586, n. 3. the autumn of 52, and left it in the spring of 

2 See the reference to Herod's theatre and 54. 

amphitheatre, p. 2. Hence the significance of 4 This pine (ttevk7)) still retains its ancient 
such a passage as Heb. xii. 1, 2, to the Hebrew name. See Sibthorpe's Flora Grcvca, as re- 
Christians of Palestine. ferred to by Canon Stanley in his Introd. to 

3 Of the four great national festivals, the 1 Cor. 



588 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XX. 



the Sanctuary of Neptune was silent and unoccupied when St. Paul 
passed by it along the northern road, on his way to Macedonia. 1 

His intention had been to go by sea to Syria, 2 as soon as the season of 
safe navigation should be come ; and in that case he would have embarked 
at Cenchrea, whence he had sailed during his second missionary jour- 
ney, and whence the Christian Phoebe had recently gone with the letter 
to the Romans. 3 He himself had prepared his mind for a journey to 
Rome ; 4 but first he was purposed to visit Jerusalem, that he might con- 
vey the alms which had been collected for the poorer brethren in' Mace- 
donia and Achaia. He looked forward to this expedition with some mis- 
giving ; for he knew what danger was to be apprehended from his Jewish 
and Judaizing enemies ; and even in his letter to the Roman Christians, 
he requested their prayers for his safety. And he had good reason to 
fear the Jews ; for ever since their discomfiture under Gallio they had 
been irritated by the progress of Christianity, and they organized a plot 
against the great preacher when he was on the eve of departing for Syria. 
We are not informed of the exact nature of this plot ; 5 but it was proba- 



1 A full account, both of the description 
which Pausanias gives of the sanctuary and of 
present appearances, may be seen in Leake. 
In our account of Corinth (Ch. XL, XII.), 
we have entered into no inquiry concerning 
the topography of the scene of the Isthmian 
games. (See p. 362.) Since St. Paul (as we 
have seen) makes many allusions to the 
athletic contests of the Greeks, and since we 
are now come to the point in his life when he 
leaves Corinth for the last time, it seems right 
that we should state what is known on the 
subject. 

No complete topographical delineation of 
the Isthmus exists. This district was omitted 
in the French Expedition de la Mor€e. "We 
have given opposite the plan of the ground 
near the sanctuary from Col. Leake's third 
volume, which accurately represents the rela- 
tive positions of the stadium, the theatre, and 
the temple. But we must add, that, since our 
last edition was published, the ground has 
been more exactly examined by the Rev. W. 
G. Clark, and a careful plan given in his 
Peloponnesus (1858). 

The Posidonium, or Sanctuary of Neptune, 
is at the narrowest part of the Isthmus, close 
by Schoenus, the present Kalamaki (see p. 360, 
n. 7 ) ; and modern travellers may visit the 
ruins on their way between Kalamaki and 
Lutraki, from one steamboat to the other. St. 



Paul would also pass by this spot if he went 
by land from Athens (p. 356, n. 5). The dis- 
tance from Corinth is about eight miles ; and 
at Hexamili, near Corinth, the road falls into 
that which leads to Cenchrea. (See p. 584, 
and Leake, iii. 286.) The military wall, which 
crossed the Isthmus to Lechaeum, abutted on 
the Sanctuary (p. 358, n. 1), and was for some 
space identical with the sacred enclosure. At 
no great distance are the traces of the canal 
which Nero left unfinished about the time of 
St. Paul's death (p. 360) ; and in many places 
along the shore, as any traveller may see on 
his way from Kalamaki to Lutraki, are those 
green pine-trees, whose leaves wove the " fad- 
ing garlands" which the Apostle contrasts 
with the " unfading crown," the prize for 
which he fought. 

2 Acts xx. 3. 

8 For Cenchrea, see the note at the end of 
the preceding chapter. Phoebe was a resident 
at Cenchrea. When she went to Rome, she 
probably sailed from Lechaeum. 

* See the end of Ch. XV. 

5 " The Jews generally settled in great 
numbers at seaports for the sake of commerce, 
and their occupation would give them peculiar 
influence over the captains and owners of 
merchant-vessels, in which St. Paul must have 
sailed. They might, however, form the pro- 
ject of seizing him or murdering him at Cen- 




POSIDONIUM AT THE ISTHMUS. 
(From Colonel Leake's Morea) 



chap. xx. ROUTE THEOUGH MACEDONIA. , 589 

bly a conspiracy against his life, like that which was formed at Damascus 
soon after his conversion (Acts ix. 23, 2 Cor. xi. 32), and at Jerusalem, 
both before and after the time of which we write (Acts ix. 29, xxiii. 12), 
and it necessitated a change of route, such as that which had once saved 
him on his departure from Bercea (Acts xvii. 14). 

On that occasion his flight had been from Macedonia to Achaia ; now it 
was from Achaia to Macedonia. Nor would he regret the occasion which 
brought him once more among some of his dearest converts. Again he 
saw the Churches on the north of the ^Egean, and again he went through 
the towns along the line of the Via Egnatia. 1 He re-appeared in the scene 
of his persecution among the Jews of Thessalonica, and passed on by 
Apollonia and Amphipolis to the place where he had first landed on the 
European shore. The companions of his journey were Sopater the son 
of Pyrrhus, 2 a native of Bercea, — Aristarchus and Secundus, both of 
Thessalonica, — with Gains of Derbe and Timotheus, — and two Chris- 
tians from the province of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus, whom we 
have mentioned before (p. 479), as his probable associates when he 
last departed from Ephesus. From the order in which these disciples 
are mentioned, and the notice of the specific places to which they be- 
longed, we should be inclined to conjecture that they had something to do 
with the collections which had been made at the various towns on the 
route. As St. Luke does not mention the collection, 3 we cannot expect 
to be able to ascertain all the facts. But since St. Paul left Corinth 
sooner than was intended, it seems likely that all the arrangements were 
not complete, and that Sopater was charged with the responsibility of 
gathering the funds from Bercea, while Aristarchus and Secundus took 
charge of those from Thessalonica. St. LuKe himself was at Philippi : 
and the remaining four of the party were connected with the interior or 
the coast of Asia Minor. 4 

The whole of this company did not cross together from Europe to Asia ; 
but St. Paul and St. Luke lingered at Philippi, while the others preceded 
them to Troas. 5 The journey through Macedonia had been rapid, and 

chrea with great probability of success." disciple of the same name who is mentioned 

Coram, on the Acts, by Rev. F. C. Cook, 1850. before along with Aristarchus ("Gaius and 

1 For the Via Egnatia and the stages be- Aristarchus, Macedonians," xix. 29). But it 
tween Philippi and Bercea, see pp. 275, 277, is almost certain that Timotheus was a native 
293. of Lystra, and not Derbe (see p. 227, n. i ) ; 

2 Such seems to be the correct reading; and Gaius [or Caius, see above, p. 426] was so 
and the addition may be made to distinguish common a name, that this need cause us no 
him from Sosipater. (Bom. xvi. 21.) difficulty. 

8 Except in one casual allusion at a later 5 It is conceivable, but not at all probable, 

period. Acts xxiv. 17. that these companions sailed direct from Cor- 

4 Some would read " and Timothy of inth to Troas, while Paul went through Mace- 

Derbe," in order to identify Gaius with the donia. Some would limit " these " to Tropin- 



590 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



the visits to the other Churches had been short. But the Church at Phil- 
ippi had peculiar claims on St. Paul's attention : and the time of his 
arrival induced him to pause longer than in the earlier part of his jour- 
ney. It was the time of the Jewish passover. And here our thoughts 
turn to the passover of the preceding year, when the Apostle was at 
Ephesus (p. 432). We remember the higher and Christian meaning 
which he gave to the Jewish festival. It was no longer an Israelitish 
ceremony, but it was the Easter of the New Dispensation. He was not 
now occupied with shadows ; for the substance was already in possession. 
Christ the Passover had been sacrificed, and the feast was to be kept with 
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Such was the higher 
standing-point to which he sought to raise the Jews whom he met, in Asia 
or in Europe, at their annual celebrations. 

Thus, while his other Christian companions had preceded him to Troas, 
he remained with Luke some time longer at Philippi, and did not leave 
Macedonia till the passover moon was waning. Notwithstanding this 
delay, they were anxious, if possible, to reach Jerusalem before Pentecost. 1 
And we shall presently trace the successive days through which they were 
prosperously brought to the fulfilment of their wish. 2 Some doubt has 
been thrown on the possibility of this plan being accomplished in the in- 



mus and Tychicus ; but this is quite unnatural. 
The expression "as far as Asia" seems to 
imply that St. Paul's companions left him at 
Miletus, except St. Luke (who continues the 
narrative from this point in the first person) 
and Trophimus (who was with him at Jerusa- 
lem, xxi. 29), and whoever might be the other 
deputies who accompanied him with the alms. 
(2 Cor. viii. 19-21.) 

1 Acts xx. 16. 

2 It may be well to point out here the gen- 
eral distribution of the time spent on the 
voyage. Forty-nine days intervened between 
Passover and Pentecost. The days of unleav- 
ened bread [Mark xiv. 12, Luke xxii. 7, Acts 
xii. 3, 1 Cor. v. 8] succeeded the Passover. 
Thus, St. Paul staid at least seven days at 
Philippi after the Passover (v. 6), — Jive days 
were spent on the passage to Troas (ib.), — 
six days (for so we may reckon them) were 
6pent at Troas (ib.), — four were occupied on 
the voyage by Chios to Miletus (w. 13-15, see 
below), — two were spent at Miletus, — in three 
days St. Paul went by Cos and Rhode to 
Patara (xxi. 1, see below), — two days would 
6ufiice for the voyage to Tyre (vv. 2, 3), — six 
days were spent at Tyre (v. 4), two were taken 



up in proceeding by Ptolemais to Csesarea 
(w. 7, 8). This calculation gives us thirty- 
seven days in all : thus leaving thirteen before 
the festival of Pentecost, after the arrival at 
Csesarea, which is more than the conditions 
require. We may add, if necessary, two or 
three days more during the voyage in the 
cases where we have reckoned inclusively. 

The mention of the Sunday spent at Troas 
fixes (though not quite absolutely) the day of 
the week on which the Apostle left Philippi. 
It was a Tuesday or a Wednesday. We might, 
with considerable probability, describe what 
was done each day of the week during the 
voyage; but we are not sure, in all cases, 
whether we are to reckon inclusively or exclu- 
sively, nor are we absolutely certain of the 
length of the stay at Miletus. 

It will be observed that all we have here 
said is independent of the particular year in 
which we suppose the voyage to have been 
made, and of the day of the week on which the 
14th of Nisan occurred. Greswell and Wiese- 
ler have made the calculation for the years 56 
and 58 respectively, and both have shown that 
the accomplishment of St. Paul's wish was 
practicable. Both too have allowed more time 



chap. xx. VOYAGE FROM PHILIPPI. 591 

terval ; for they did not leave Philippi till the seventh day after the four- 
teenth of Nisan was past. It will be our business to show that the plan 
was perfectly practicable, and that it was actually accomplished, with 
some days to spare. * 

The voyage seemed to begin unfavorably. The space between Neapo- 
lis and Troas could easily be sailed over in two days with a fair wind ; 
and this was the time occupied when the Apostle made the passage on 
his first coming to Europe. 1 On this occasion the same voyage occupied 
five days. We have no means of deciding whether the ship's progress 
was retarded by calms, or by contrary winds. 2 Either of these causes 
of delay might equally be expected in the changeable weather of those 
seas. St. Luke seems to notice the time in both instances, in the manner 
of one who was familiar with the passages commonly made between 
Europe and Asia : 3 and something like an expression of disappointment 
is implied in the mention of the " five days " which elapsed before the 
arrival at Troas. 

The history of Alexandria Troas, first as a city of the Macedonian 
princes, and then as a favorite colony of the Romans, 4 has been given 
before ; but little has been said as yet of its appearance. From the 
extent and magnitude of its present ruins (though for ages it has been a 
quarry both for Christian and Mohammedan edifices) we may infer what 
it was in its flourishing period. Among the oak-trees, which fill the vast 
enclosure of its walls, are fragments of colossal masonry. Huge 



than needful for the voyage between Patara mand of her movements. This would be 

and Tyre. highly unlikely for a person under the circum- 

We may observe here, that many commen- stances of St. Paul ; and we shall see that it 

tators write on the nautical passages of the was not the case in the present voyage, daring 

Acts as if the weather were always the same which, as at other times, he availed himself of 

and the rate of sailing uniform, or as if the the opportunities offered by merchant-vessels 

Apostle travelled in steamboats. His motions or coasters, 

were dependent on the wind. He might be 1 Acts xvi. 11. 

detained in harbor by contrary weather. Noth- 2 The course is marked in our map with a 

ing is more natural than that he should be five zigzag line. If the wind was contrary, the 

days on one occasion, and two on another, in vessel would have to beat. The delay might 

passing between Philippi and Troas ; just as equally have been caused by calms. 

Cicero was once fifteen, and once thirteen, in 3 It has been remarked above (p. 270) that 

passing between Athens and Ephesus. So St. St. Luke's vocation as a physician may have 

Paul might sail in two days from Patara to caused him to reside at Philippi and Troa^, 

Tyre, though under less favorable circum- and made him familiar with these coasts. The 

stances it might have required four or five, autoptical style (see p. 244) is immediately re* 

or even more. It is seldom that the same sumed with the change of the pronoun, 

passage is twice made in exactly the same time * For the history of the foundation of the 

by any vessel not a steamer. city under the successors of Alexander, and of 

Another remark may be added, that com- the feelings of Romans towards it, see the 

mentators often write as though St. Paul had concluding part of Ch. VIII. 
chartered his own vessel, and had the full com- 



692 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

columns of granite are seen lying in the harbor, and in the quarries on 
the neighboring hills. 1 A theatre, commanding a view of Tenedos and 
the sea, shows where the Greeks once assembled in crowds to witness 
their favorite spectacles. Open arches of immense size, towering from 
the midst of other great masses of ruin, betray the hand of Roman 
builders. These last remains — once doubtless belonging to a gym- 
nasium or to baths, and in more ignorant ages, when the poetry of 
Homer was better remembered than the facts of history, popularly 
called " The Palace of Priam " 2 — are conspicuous from the sea. We 
cannot assert that these buildings existed in the day of St. Paul, but we 
may be certain that the city, both on the approach from the water, and 
to those who wandered through its streets, must have presented an 
appearance of grandeur and prosperity. Like Corinth, Ephesus, or 
Thessalonica, it was a place where the Apostle must have wished to lay 
firmly and strongly the foundations of the Gospel. On his first visit, 
as we have seen (pp. 241-245), he was withheld by a supernatural 
revelation from remaining ; and on his second visit (pp. 478-480), 
though a door was opened to him, and he did gather together a com- 
munity of Christian disciples, yet his impatience to see Titus compelled 
him to bid them a hasty farewell. 3 Now, therefore, he would be the 
more anxious to add new converts to the Church, and to impress deeply, 
on those who were converted, the truths and the duties of Christianity : 
and he had valuable aid, both in Luke, who accompanied him, and the 
other disciples who had preceded him. 

The labors of the early days of the week that was spent at Troas are 
not related to us ; but concerning the last day we have a narrative which 
enters into details with all the minuteness of one of the Gospel histories. 
It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. 4 On the Sun- 

1 Alexandria Troas must have been, like 2 Dr. Clarke regards these ruins as the re- 
Aberdeen, a city of granite. The hills which mains of Alexandria Troas. He says that 
supplied this material were to the N. E. and "■ these three arches of the building make a 
S. E. Dr. Clarke (vol. ii. p. 149) mentions a conspicuous figure from a considerable dis- 
stupendous column, which is concealed among tance at sea, like the front of a magnificent 
some trees in the neighborhood, and which he palace ; and this circumstance, connected with 
compares to the famous column of the Egyp- the mistake so long prevalent concerning the 
tian Alexandria. Fellows (p 58) speaks of city itself [viz. that it was the ancient Troy], 
hundreds of columns, and says that many are gave rise to the appellation of ' The Palace of 
bristling among the waves to a considerable Priam,' bestowed by mariners upon these 
distance out at sea. He saw seven columns ruins." See p. 242, n. 4. 
lying with their chips in a quarry, which is 3 2 Cor^ii. 13. 

connected by a paved road with the city. * " The first day of the week," v. 7. This 

Thus granite seems to have been to Alexandria is a passage of the utmost importance, as 

Troas what marble was to Athens. The showing that the observance of Sunday was 

granite columns of Troas have been used for customary. Cf. 1 Cor. xvi. 2. See p. 385. 
making cannon-balls for the defence of the 
Dardanelles. 



chap. xx. SUNDAY AT TKOAS. 593 

day morning the vessel was about to sail. 1 The Christians of Troas 
were gathered together at this solemn time to celebrate that feast of love 
which the last commandment of Christ has enjoined on all His followers. 
The place was an upper room, with a recess or balcony 2 projecting over 
the street or the court. The night was dark: three weeks had not 
elapsed since the Passover, 3 and the moon only appeared as a faint 
crescent in the early part of the night. Many lamps were burning in 
the room where the congregation was assembled. 4 The place was hot 
and crowded. St. Paul, with the feeling strongly impressed on his mind 
that the next day was the day of his departure, and that souls might be 
lost by delay, was continuing in earnest discourse, and prolonging it 
even till midnight, 5 when an occurrence suddenly took place, which filled 
the assembly with alarm, though it was afterwards converted into an 
occasion of joy and thanksgiving. A young listener, whose name was 
Eutychus, was overcome by exhaustion, heat, and weariness, and sank 
into a deep slumber. 6 He was seated or leaning in the balcony ; and, 
falling down in his sleep, was dashed upon the pavement below, and was 
taken up dead. 7 Confusion and terror followed, with loud lamenta- 
tion. 8 But Paul was enabled to imitate the power of that Master whose 
doctrine he was proclaiming. As Jesus had once said 9 of the young 
maiden, who was taken by death from the society of her friends, " She 
is not dead, but sleepeth," so the Apostle of Jesus received power to 
restore the dead to life. He went down and fell upon the body, like 
Elisha of old, 10 and, embracing Eutychus, said to the bystanders, " Do 
not lament ; for his life is in him." 

1 " About to depart on the morrow," ib. tire scene to which he refers stood now with 
See v. 13. By putting all these circumstances such minuteness and vividness before his 
together, we can almost certainly infer the day mind." Hackett on the Acts, Boston, U. S., 
of the week on which St. Paul left Troas. 1852. [See a similar instance in the case of 
See above. the mention of the proseucha at Philippi, Acts 

2 The word used here denotes an aperture xvi. 13.] 

closed by a wooden door, doubtless open in 6 " He continued his discourse till mid- 

this case because of the heat. See the note and night," v. 7. "While Paul was long dis- 

woodcut in the Pictorial Bible. These upper coursing," v. 9. 

rooms of the ancients were usually connected 6 The present participle in v. 9 seems to 

with the street by outside stairs, such as those denote the gradual sinking into sleep, as op- 

of which we see traces at Pompeii. posed to the sudden fall implied by the aorist 

3 See above, p. 590. participle in the next phrase. 

4 V. 8. Various reasons have been sug- ? It is quite arbitrary to qualify the words 
gested why this circumstance should be men- by supposing that he was only apparently 
tioned. Meyer thinks it is given as the dead. 

reason why the fate of the young man was 8 This is implied in the " Trouble not your- 

perceived at once. But it has much more the selves " below. The word denotes a loud and 

appearance of having simply " proceeded from violent expression of grief, as in Matt ix. 23, 

an eye-witness, who mentions the incident, not Mark v. 39. 
for the purpose of obviating a difficulty which 9 Matt. ix. 24 ; Mark v. 39. 

might occur to the reader, but because the en- 10 2 Kings iv. 34. In each case, as Prof. 

38 



594 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.sx. 

With, minds solemnized and filled with thankfulness by this wonderful 
token of God's power and love, they celebrated the Eucharistic feast. 1 
The act of Holy Communion was combined, as was usual in the 
Apostolic age, with a common meal : 2 and St. Paul now took some 
refreshment after the protracted labor of the evening, 3 and then con- 
tinued his conversation till the dawning of the day. 4 

It was now time for the congregation to separate. The ship was about 
to sail, and the companions of Paul's journey took their departure to go 
on board. 5 It was arranged, however, that the Apostle himself should 
join the vessel at Assos, which was only about twenty miles 6 distant by 
the direct road, while the voyage round Cape Lectum was nearly twice 
as far. He thus secured a few more precious hours with his converts at 
Troas ; and eagerly would they profit by his discourse, under the feeling 
that he was so soon to leave them: and we might suppose that the 
impression made under such circumstances, and with the recollection 
of what they had witnessed in the night, would never be effaced from the 
minds of any of them, did we not know, on the highest authority, that 
if men believe not the prophets of God, neither will they believe " though 
one rose from the dead." 

But the time came when St. Paul too must depart. The vessel might 
arrive at Assos before him ; and, whatever influence he might have with 



Hackett remarks, the act appears to have been Walpole's Memoirs, was part of two days on 

the sign of a miracle. the road, leaving Assos in the afternoon ; but 

1 V. 11, compared with v. 7. he deviated to see the hot springs and salt 

2 See p. 385. works. Mr. "Weston (MS. journal) left Assos 

3 When he had eaten, v. 11. This is distin- at three in the afternoon, and reached Troas 
guished in the Greek from the breaking bread. at ten the next morning ; but he adds, that it 

4 Having talked a long while. This, again, was almost impossible to find the road without 
is distinguished from the preaching mentioned a guide. 

above. In a paper on " Recent Works on Asia Mi- 

5 We might illustrate what took plaee at nor," in the Bibliotheca Sacra for October, 1851, 
this meeting by the sailing of the Bishop of it is said that Assos is nine miles from Troas. 
Calcutta from Plymouth in 1829. "He and This must be an oversight. It is, however, 
nis chaplain made impressive and profitable quite possible that Mitylene might have been 
addresses to us, the first part of the meeting, reached, as we have assumed below, on the 
as they had received orders to embark the Sunday evening. If the vessel sailed from 
same morning. I began then to speak, and in Troas at seven in the morning, she would 
the middle of my speech the captain of the easily be round Cape Lectum before noon. 
frigate sent for them, and they left the meet- If St. Paul left Troas at ten, he might arrive 
ing." — Memoir of Rev. E. Bickersteth, vol. i. a t Assos at four in the afternoon; and the 
p. 445. vessel might be at anchor in the roads of 

6 See p. 240. The impression derived from Mitylene at sevem Greswell supposes that 
modern travellers through this neglected re- they sailed from Assos on the Monday. This 
gion is, that the distance between Assos and would derange the days of the week as we 
Troas is rather greater. Sir C. Fellows reck- have given them below, but would not affect 
ons it at 30 miles, and he was in the saddle the general conclusion. 

from half-past eight to five. Dr. Hunt, in 



CHAP. XX. 



assos. 595 



the seamen, he could not count on any long delay. He hastened, there- 
fore, through the southern gate, past the hot springs, 1 and through the 
oak-woods, 2 — then in full foliage, 3 — which cover all that shore with 
greenness and shade, and across the wild water-courses on the western 
side of Ida. 4 Such is the scenery which now surrounds the traveller on 
his way from Troas to Assos. The great difference then was, that there 
was a good Roman road, 5 which made St. Paul's solitary journey both 
more safe and more rapid than it could have been now. We have seldom 
had occasion to think of the Apostle in the hours of his solitude. But 
such hours must have been sought and cherished by one whose whole 
strength was drawn from communion with God, and especially at a time 
when, as on this present journey, he was deeply conscious of his weak- 
ness, and filled with foreboding fears. 6 There may have been other rea- 
sons why he lingered at Troas after his companions : but the desire for 
solitude was (we may well believe) one reason among others. The dis- 
comfort of a crowded ship is unfavorable for devotion : and prayer and 
meditation are necessary for maintaining the religious life even of an 
Apostle. That Saviour to whose service he was devoted had often prayed 
in solitude on the mountain, and crossed the brook Kedron to kneel 
under the olives of Gethsemane. And strength and peace were surely 
sought and obtained by the Apostle from the Redeemer, as he pursued 
his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring, among the oak-woods 
and the streams of Ida. 

No delay seems to have occurred at Assos. He entered by the Sacred 
Way among the famous tombs, 7 and through the ancient gateway, and 
proceeded immediately to the shore. We may suppose that the vessel 
was already hove to and waiting when he arrived ; or that he saw her 
approaching from the west, through the channel between Lesbos and the 
main. He went on board without delay, and the Greek sailors and the 



1 Mentioned by Fellows and Hunt. 6 Compare Eom. xv. 30, 31, Acts xx. 3, 

2 All travellers make mention of the woods with Acts xx. 22-25, xxi. 4, 13. 

of Vallonea oaks in the neighborhood of 7 This Street of Tombs ( Via Sacra) is one 

Troas. The acorns are used for dyeing, and of the most remarkable features of Assos. It 

form an important branch of trade. The col- is described by Fellows in his excellent ac- 

lecting of the acorns, and shells, and gall-nuts, count of Assos. The Street of Tombs ex- 

cmploys the people during a great part of the tends to a great distance across the level 

year. One traveller mentions an English ves- ground to N. W. of the city. Some of the 

sel which he saw taking in a load of these tombs are of vast dimensions, and formed 

acorns. each of one block of granite. These remains 

3 The woods were in full foliage on the are the more worthy of notice because the 
18th of March. Hunt. word sarcophagus was first applied in Koman 

4 For the streams of this mountain, see p. times to this stone of Assos (lapis Assius), 
240, n. 5. from the peculiar power it was supposed to 

5 See note on the preceding page. possess of aiding the natural decay of corpses. 



598 



THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XX. 



Apostolic missionaries continued their voyage. As to the city of Assos 
itself, we must conclude, if we compare the description of the ancients 
with present appearances, that its aspect as seen from the sea was 
sumptuous and grand. A terrace with a long portico was raised by a 
wall of rock above the water-line. Above this was a magnificent gate, 1 
approached by a flight of steps. Higher still was the theatre, which com- 
manded a glorious view of Lesbos and the sea, and those various build- 
ings which are now a wilderness of broken columns, triglyphs, and friezes. 
The whole was crowned by a citadel of Greek masonry on a cliff of gran- 
ite. Such was the view which gradually faded into indistinctness as the 
vessel retired from the shore, and the summits of Ida rose in the evening 
sky. 2 

The course of the voyagers was southwards, along the eastern shore 
of Lesbos. When Assos was lost, Mitylene, the chief city of Lesbos, 
came gradually into view. The beauty of the capital of Sappho's island 
was celebrated by the architects, poets, and philosophers of Rome. Like 
other Greek cities, which were ennobled by old recollections, it was 
honored by the Romans with the privilege of freedom. 3 Situated on the 
south-eastern coast of the island, it would afford a good shelter from the 
north-westerly winds, whether the vessel entered the harbor or lay at an- 
chor in the open roadstead. 4 It seems likely that the reason why they lay 



1 The view opposite is from a drawing by 
the Rev. G. F. Weston, who visited Assos in 
1845. In his MS. journal he speaks of it as 
follows : " Proceeding 300 or 400 yards [from 
the theatre] in a N. W. direction, you come to 
the great gate of the city, a very interesting 
specimen of Greek architecture. An arch is 
formed by one stone overlapping that beneath 
it. There are remains also of two flanking 
towers with splayed loopholes, and the wall 
running up to the precipices of the Acropolis 
is almost perfect. Higher up, towards the 
Acropolis, are two more curious arches. Run- 
ning N. W. from the great gate is the Via 
Sacra." See the preceding note. 

2 The travellers above mentioned speak in 
strong terms of the view ftpm the Acropolis 
towards Lesbos and the sea. Towards Ida 
and the land side the eye ranges over the 
windings of a river through a fruitful plain. 

Fellows conceives that the remains here 
mentioned have been preserved from the dep- 
redations committed on other towns near the 
coast, in consequence of the material being 
the " same gray stone as the neighboring rock, 
and not having intrinsic value as marble." 



He observed "no trace of the Romans." 
Leake says "that the "hard granite of Mount 
Ida " has furnished the materials for many of 
the buildings, and even the sculptures ; and he 
adds that " the whole gives perhaps the most 
perfect idea of a Greek city that anywhere 
exists." 

3 For a sketch of the history of Mitylene, 
and for remarks on the orthography of the 
word, see Smith's Diet, of Geography. In our 
larger editions is a view of the town with the 
mountains behind. 

4 " The chief town of Mitylene is on the 
S. E. coast, and on a peninsula (once an is- 
land) forming two small harbors : of these the 
northern one is sheltered by a pier to the 
north, and admits small coasters. . . . The 
roadstead, which is about seven miles N. from 
the S. E. end of the island, is a good summer 
roadstead, but the contrary in winter, being 
much exposed to the S. E. and N. E. winds, 
which blow with great violence." — Purdy's 
Sailing Directory, p. 154. It should be par- 
ticularly observed that St. Paul's ship would 
be sheltered here from the N. W. We shall 
see, as we proceed, increasing reason for be- 




m 
o 

GQ 









CHAP. XX. 



CHIOS. — SAMOS. 597 



here for the night was, because it was the time of dark moon, 1 and they 
would wish for .daylight to accomplish safely the intricate navigation 
between the southern part of Lesbos and the mainland of Asia Minor. 

In the course of Monday they were abreast of Chios (v. 15). The 
weather in these seas is very variable : and, from the mode of expression 
employed by St. Luke, it is probable that they were becalmed. An 
English traveller under similar circumstances has described himself as 
" engrossed from daylight till noon " by the beauty of the prospects with 
which he was surrounded, as his vessel floated idly on this channel 
between Scio and the continent. 2 On one side were the gigantic masses 
of the mainland : on the other were the richness and fertility of the 
island, with its gardens of oranges, 3 citrons, almonds, and pomegranates, 
and its white scattered houses overshadowed by evergreens. Until the 
time of its recent disasters, Scio was the paradise of the modern Greek : 
and a familiar proverb censured the levity of its inhabitants, 4 like that 
which in the Apostle's day described the coarser faults of the natives of 
Crete* (Tit. i. 12). 

The same English traveller passed the island of Samos after leaving 
that "of Chios. So likewise did St. Paul (v. 15). But the former sailed 
along the western side of Samos, and he describes how its towering cloud- 
capped heights are contrasted with the next low island to the west. 5 The 
Apostle's course lay along the eastern shore, where a much narrower 
" marine pass " intervenes between it and a long mountainous ridge of 
the mainland, from which it appears to have been separated by some 
violent convulsion of nature. 6 This high promontory is the ridge of 

lieving that the wind blew from this quar- changes u*e subsequent to the discovery of 

ter. America. See p. 20, n. 1. The wines of 

1 The moon would be about six days old Chios were always celebrated. Its coins dis- 
(see above), and would set soon after mid- play an amphora and a bunch of grapes, 
night. We are indebted for this suggestion 4 The proverb says that it is easier to find 
to Mr. Smith (author of the Voyage and Ship- a green horse than a sober-minded Sciot. 
wreck of St. Paul), and we take this oppor- 5 See the view which Dr. Clarke gives of 
tunity of acknowledging our obligations to his this remarkable " marine pass," vol. ii. p. 192. 
MS. notes in various parts of this chapter. The summit of Samos was concealed by a thick 

2 Dr. Clarke's Travels, vol. ii. p. 188. See covering of clouds, and he was told that its 
the whole description. This applies to a period heights were rarely unveiled. See again vol. 
some yeai*s before the massacre of 1822. For iii. pp. 364-367. Compare Norie's Sailing Di- 
notices of Scio, and a description of the rectory, p. 150. " Samos, being mountainous, 
scenery in its nautical aspect, see the Sailing becomes visible twenty leagues off; and the 
Directory, pp. 124-128. summit of Mount Kerki retains its snow 

3 It must be remembered that the vegeta- throughout the year." The strait through 
tion, and with the vegetation the scenery, of which Dr. Clarke sailed is called the Great 
theshor.es of the Mediterranean, have varied Boghaz, and is ten miles broad. The island to 
with the progress of civilization. It seems the west is Icaria. 

that the Arabians introduced the orange in 6 This strait is the Little Boghaz, which is 

the early part of the middle ages. Other reckoned at about a mile in breadth both by 



598 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

Mycale, well known in the annals of Greek victory over the Persians. 
At its termination, not more than a mile from Samos, is the anchorage 
of Trogyllium. Here the night of Tuesday was spent ; apparently for 
the same reason as that which caused the delay at Mitylene. The moon 
set early : and it was desirable to wait for the day before running into the 
harbor of Miletus. 1 

The short voyage from Chios to Trogyllium had carried St. Paul 
through familiar scenery. The bay across which the vessel had been 
passing was that into which the Cayster 2 flowed. The mountains on the 
mainland were the western branches of Messogis and Tmolus, 3 the ranges 
that enclose the primeval plain of " Asia." The city, towards which it 
is likely that some of the vessels in sight were directing their course, was 
Ephosus, where the Apostolic labors of three years had gathered a com- 
pany of Christians in the midst of unbelievers. One whose solicitude was 
so great for his recent converts could not willingly pass by and leave 
them unvisited : and had he had the command of the movements of the 
vessel, we can hardly believe that he would have done so. He would 
surely have landed at Ephesus, rather than at Miletus. The same wind 
which carried him to the latter harbor would have been equally advan- 
tageous for a quick passage to the former. And, even had the weather 
been unfavorable at the time for landing at Ephesus, he might easily have 
detained the vessel at Trogyllium ; and a short journey by land north- 
ward would have taken him to the scene of his former labors. 4 

Yet every delay, whether voluntary or involuntary, might have been 
fatal to the plan he was desirous to accomplish. St. Luke informs us 

Strabo and Chandler. We shall return pres- of Trogyllium, bearing the name of " St. 

ently to this ridge of Mycale in its relation Paul's Port." 

to the interior, when we refer to the journey of 2 See what is said of the Cayster, pp. 410, 

the Ephesian elders to Miletus. It was evident- 461 . 

ly a place well known to sailors, from Strabo's 3 See again, on these Ephesian mountains, 

reckoning the distance from hence to Sunium p. 462. 

in Attica. 4 Trogyllium, as we have seen, is at the 
1 We should observe here again that Tro- point where the coast projects and forms a 
gyllium, though on the shore of the mainland, narrow strait between Asia Minor and Samos. 
is protected by Samos from the north-westerly The coast recedes northwards towards Ephe- 
winds. With another wind it might have sus, and southwards towards Miletus; each 
been better to have anchored in a port to the of these places being about equidistant from 
N. E. of Samos, now called Port Yathy, which Trogyllium. Up to this point from Chios, St. 
is said, in the Sailing Director}/ (p. 119), to be Paul had been nearly following the line of the 
"protected from every wind but the N. W." Ephesian merchant-vessels up what is now 
We may refer here to the clear description called the gulf of Scala Nuova. By compar- 
and map of Samos by Tournefort, Voyage du ing the Admiralty Chart with Strabo and 
Levant, i. pp. 156, 157. But the Admiralty Chandler, a very good notion is obtained of 
Charts (1530 and 1555) should be consulted the coast and country between Ephesus and 
for the soundings, &c. An anchorage will Miletus, 
be seen just to the east of the extreme point 



CHAP . XX . MILETUS. — TBQGYLLIUM. 599 

here (and the occurrence of the remark shows us how much regret was 
felt by the Appstle on passing by Ephesus) that his intention was, if 
possible, to be in Jerusalem at Pentecost (v. 16). Even with a ship at 
his command, he could not calculate on favorable weather, if he lost his 
present opportunity : nor could he safely leave the ship which had con- 
veyed him hitherto ; for he was well aware that he could not be certain 
of meeting with another that would forward his progress. He deter- 
mined, therefore, to proceed in the same vessel, on her southward course 
from Trogyllium to Miletus. Yet the same watchful zeal which had 
ur^ed him to employ the last precious moments of the stay at Troas in 
his Master's cause suggested to his prompt mind a method of re-impress- 
ing the lessons of eternal truth on the hearts of the Christians at 
Ephesus, though he was unable to revisit them in person. He found that 
the vessel would be detained at Miletus l a sufficient time to enable him 
to send for the presbyters of the Ephesian Church, with the hope of their 
meeting him there. The distance between the two cities was hardly 
thirty miles, and a good road connected them together. 2 Thus, though 
the stay at Miletus would be short, and it might be hazardous to attempt 
the journey himself, he could hope for one more interview, — if not 
with the whole Ephesian Church, at least with those members of it 
whose responsibility was the greatest. 

The sail from Trogyllium, with a fair wind, would require but little 
time. If the vessel weighed anchor at daybreak on Wednesday, she 
would be in harbor long before noon. 3 The message was doubtless sent 
to Ephesus immediately on her arrival ; and Paul remained at Miletus 
waiting for those whom the Holy Spirit, by his hands, had made " over- 
seers " over the flock of Christ (v. 28). The city where we find the 
Christian Apostle now waiting, while those who had the care of the 
vessel were occupied with the business that detained them, has already 
been referred to as more ancient than Ephesus, 4 though in the age of St. 

1 It is surely quite a mistake to suppose, in consequence of the state of the weather or 

with some commentators, that St. Paul had the darkness. 

the command of the movements of the vessel. 2 Pliny says that Magnesia is fifteen miles 

His influence with the captain and the seamen from Ephesus, and Magnesia was about equi- 

might induce them to do all in their power to distant from Ephesus, Tralles, and Miletus, 

oblige him ; and perhaps we may trace some For further notices of the roads, we must refer 

such feeliag in the arrangements at Assos, to our larger editions. 

just as afterwards at Sidon (Acts xxvii. 3), 3 The distance is about seventeen nautical 

when on his voyage to Rome. But he mus* miles and a half. If the vessel sailed at six in 

necessarily have been content to take advan- the morning from Trogyllium, she would easily 

tage of such opportunities as were consistent be in harbor at nine. 

with the business on which the vessel sailed. 4 See above, p. 410. Compare p. 462. Thus 

She evidently put in for business to Troas, the imperial coins of Miletus are rare, and the 

Miletus, and Patara. At the other places she autonomous coins begin very early, 
seems to have touched merely for convenience, 



600 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xx. 

Paul inferior to it in political and mercantile eminence. Even in Homer, 
the " Carian Miletus " appears as a place of renown. Eighty colonies 
went forth from the banks of the Maeander, and some of them were 
spread even to the eastern shores of the Black Sea, and beyond the 
Pillars of Hercules to the west. It received its first blow in the Persian 
war, when its inhabitants, like the Jews, had experience of a Babylonian 
captivity. 1 It suffered once more in Alexander's great campaign ; 2 and 
after his time it gradually began to sink towards its present condition of 
ruin and decay, from the influence, as it would seem, of mere natural 
causes, — the increase of alluvial soil in the delta having the effect of 
removing the city gradually farther and farther from the sea. Even in 
the Apostle's time, there was between the city and the shore a considera- 
ble space of level ground, through which the ancient river meandered in 
new windings, like the Forth at Stirling. 3 Few events connect the 
history of Miletus with the transactions of the Roman Empire. When 
St. Paul was there, it was simply one of the second-rate seaports on this 
populous coast, ranking, perhaps, with Adramyttium or Patara, but 
hardly with Ephesus or Smyrna. 4 

The excitement and joy must have been great among the Christians of 
Ephesus, when they heard that their honored friend and teacher, to whom 
they had listened so often in the school of Tyrannus, was in the harbor 5 
of Miletus, within the distance of a few miles. The presbyters must 
have gathered together in all haste to obey the summons, and gone with 
eager steps out of the southern gate, which leads to Miletus. By those 
who travel on such an errand, a journey of twenty or thirty miles is not 
regarded long and tedious, nor is much regard paid to the difference 
between day and night. 6 The presbyters of Ephesus might easily reach 

1 Herod, v. 30, vi. 18. ward to the time when Samos and other 

2 Arrian, Anab. i. 19, 20. ■ islands will unite with the shore, and the pres- 

3 This is the comparison of Sir C. Fellows. ent promontories will be seen inland. See 
The Maeander was proverbial among the an- Kiepert's Hellas, for a representation of the 
cients, both for the sinuosities of its course, coast as it was in the early Greek times; and 
and the great quantity of alluvial soil brought for a true delineation of its present state, see 
down by the stream. Pliny tells us that is- the Admiralty Chart, No. 1555. 

lands near Miletus had been joined to the 4 For Smyrna, see again pp. 410, 462. 
continent, and Strabo relates that Priene, once 5 Strabo says that Miletus had four har- 
a seaport, was in his time forty stadia from the bors, one of which was for vessels of war. 
sea. Fellows says that Miletus was once a No trace of them is to be seen now. 
headland in a bay, which is now a " dead fiat " 6 For a notion of the scenery of this jour- 
ten miles in breadth. Chandler (p. 202), on ney of the presbyters over or round the ridge 
looking down from Priene on the " bare and of Mycale, and by the windings of the Ma?an- 
marshy plain," says, " How different its aspect der, the reader may consult Chandler and Fel- 
when the mountains were boundaries of a lows. The latter describes the extensive view 
gulf, and Miletus, Myus, and Priene, maritime in each direction from the summit of the 
cities!" — And again (p. 207), he looks for- range. The former was travelling, like these 



chap. xx. SPEECH TO THE EPHESIAN PRESBYTERS. 601 

Miletus on the day after that on which the summons was received. 1 And 
though they might be weary when they arrived, their fatigue would soon 
be forgotten at the sight of their friend and instructor ; and God, also, 
" who comforts them that are cast down " (2 Cor. vii. 6), comforted him 
by the sight of his disciples. They were gathered together — probably in 
some solitary spot upon the shore — to listen to his address. This little 
company formed a singular contrast with the crowds which used to as- 
semble at the times of public amusement in the theatre of Miletus. 2 But 
that vast theatre is now a silent ruin, — while the words spoken by a care- 
worn traveller to a few despised strangers are still living as they were that 
day, to teach lessons for all time, and to make known eternal truths to all 
who will hear them, — while they reveal to us, as though they were merely 
human words, all the tenderness and the affection of Paul, the individual 
speaker. AcTS 



He reminds 
them of hia 



Brethren, 3 ye know yourselves, 4 from the first day that I 18 
pSa" came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you 

throughout all the time; serving the Lord Jesus 5 with all 6 19 
lowliness of mind, and with many tears 7 and trials which befell me through 
the plotting 8 of the Jews. And how I kept 9 back none of those things 20 
which are profitable for you, but declared them to you, and taught you 
both publicly and from house 10 to house ; testifying both to Jews and 21 
Gentiles their u need of repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And now, as for me, 12 behold I go to Jerusalem 13 in spirit 22 

presbyters, in April ; and " the weather was 4 " Ye yourselves," emphatic, 

unsettled ; the sky was blue and the sun shone, 5 " The Lord," as Col. iii. 24. With this 

but a wet wintry north wind swept the clouds self-commendation Tholuck compares 1 Thess. 

along the top of the range of Mycale." ii. 10, and 2 Cor. vi. 3, 4. See note on verse 

1 We may remark here, in answer to those 33 below. " Felix," says Bengel, " qui sic exor- 
who think that the emano-KOL mentioned in this diri potest conscientiam auditorum testando." 
passage were the bishops of various places in 6 "AIL" Tholuck remarks on the charac- 
the province of Asia, that there was evidently teristic use of " all " in St. Paul's Epistles, 
no time to summon them. On the converti- 7 " Tears." Compare 2 Cor. ii. 4, and Phil, 
bility of enioiiOTzoe. and Trpeofivrepog, see below. iii. 18. 

2 In our larger editions is a view of Miletus 8 "Plotting of Jews." Compare 1 Cor. xr. 
from Laborde. The two conspicuous features 31. 

are the great theatre and the windings of the 9 " Kept bach nothing." Compare 2 Cor. iv. 

Mseander towards the sea. 2, and 1 Thess. ii. 4. 

3 " Brethren "-is found here in the Uncial 10 "House to house." ComparelThess.ii.il. 
Manuscript d (Codex Bezae) and in some u Observe that the definite article is used 
early versions; and we have adopted it, be- here. The repentance (which they ought to 
cause it is nearly certain that St. Paul would have) towards God, frc. 

not have begun his address abruptly without 12 See next note. 

some such word. Compare all his other re- 13 The order of the words, according to the 

corded speeches in the Acts. true reading, gives this turn to the passage. 



602 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XX. 



foredoomed to chains ; yet I know not the things which shall befall me 

23 there, save that in every city ! the Holy Spirit gives the same testimony, 

24 that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, 2 
neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course 
with joy, 3 and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify 
the Glad-tidings of the grace of God. 

25 And now, behold I know that ye all, 4 among whom I have Hiafarewell 
gone from city to city, proclaiming the kingdom of God, shall warmn s- 

26 see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to witness this day, that I 

27 am clear from the blood 5 of all. For I have not shunned to declare unto 

28 you all the counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and 
to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, 6 to feed 

29 the Church of God, 7 which He purchased with His own blood. For this I 
know, that after my departure grievous wolves shall enter in among you, 

30 who will not spare the flock. And from your own selves will men arise 
speaking perverted words, that they may draw away the disciples after 

31 themselves. 8 Therefore, be watchful, and remember that for the space of 



St. Paul was " bound" i. e. a prisoner in chains, 
but as yet only in the spirit, not in body. This 
is not the Holy Spirit, from which it is dis- 
tinguished by the addition of " Holy " in the 
verse below. This explanation of the passage 
(which agrees with that of Grotius and Chrys- 
ostom) seems the natural one, in spite of the 
objections of De Wette and others. 

1 We have two examples of this afterwards, 
namely, at Tyre (Acts xxi. 4) and at Caesarea 
(Acts xxi. 10, 11). And from the present 
passage we learn that such warnings had been 
given in many places during this journey. 
St. Paul's own anticipations of danger appear 
Bom. xv. 31. 

2 The reading adopted by Tischendorf 
here, though shorter, is the same in sense. 

3 Compare 2 Tim. iv. 7, and Phil. ii. 16. 
See the remarks which have been made in the 
early part of this chapter on this favorite 
metaphor of St. Paul, especially p. 585, n. 1. 
[See also p. 157, n. 6. — h.] 

4 This "all" includes not only the Ephe- 
sian presbyters, but also the brethren from 
Macedonia. ( See Acts xx. 4. ) The ' ' gone " 
is, literally, " gone through." With regard to 
the expectation expressed by St. Paul, it must 



be regarded as a human inference from the 
danger which he knew to be before him. If 
(as we think) he was liberated after his first 
imprisonment at Rome, he did see some of his 
present audience again. Tholuck compares 
Phil. i. 20, i. 25, and ii. 24. 

5 See xviii. 6. " Your blood be upon your 
own heads : I am- clean." 

6 'Emanoizovc. It is scarcely necessary to 
remark, that in the New Testament the words 
eirioiioiroc and TrpeofivTepog are convertible. 
Compare verse 1 7 and Tit. i. 5, 7, and see p. 
378. Tholuck remarks that this reference to 
the Holy Spirit as the author of church gov- 
ernment is in exact accordance with 1 Cor. xiL 
8, 11, and 28. 

7 We have retained the T. R. here since 
the MSS. and fathers are divided between the 
readings " God " and "Lord." At the same 
time, we must acknowledge that the balance of 
authority is rather in favor of " Lord." A 
very candid and able outline of the evidence 
on each side of the question is given by Mr. 
Humphry. The sentiment exactly agrees with 
1 Cor. vi. 20. 

8 We read "themselves" with Lachmann 
on the authority of some of the best MSS. 



XX. 



chap. xx. GRIEF OF SEPARATION. 

three years 1 I ceased not to warn every one of you, night and day, with 
tears. 2 

And 3 now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the 32 

Final com- ' J ' 

Sod d and n ex°- word of His grace ; even to Him who is able to build you up 
diSrrterested and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sancti- 

exertion. 

fied. When I was with you, 4 1 coveted no man's silver or gold, 33 
or raiment. Yea, ye know yourselves 5 that these hands ministered to 34 
my necessities, and to those who were with me. 6 And all this I did for 35 
your example ; to teach you that so laboring ye ought to support the 
helpless, 7 and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, " It 



The close of this speech was followed by a solemn act of united suppli- 
cation (Acts xx. 36). St. Paul knelt down on the shore with all those 
who had listened to him, and offered up a prayer to that God who was 
founding His Church in the midst of difficulties apparently insuperable ; 
and then followed an outbreak of natural grief, which even Christian 
faith and resignation were not able to restrain. They fell on the Apos- 
tle's neck and clung to him, and kissed him again and again, 8 sorrowing 
most because of his own foreboding announcement, that they should 
never behold that countenance again, on which they had often gazed 9 
with reverence and love (ib. 37, 38). But no long time could be devoted 
to the grief of separation. The wind was fair, 10 and the vessel must 

1 This space of three years may either be pare 1 Thess. ii. 5-11, 2 Thess. iii. 7-9, 1 Cor. 
used (in the Jewish mode of reckoning) for ix. 4-^75, 2 Cor. xii. 14, &c. 

the two years and upwards which St. Paul 6 This mention of his companions and 

spent at Ephesus ; or, if we suppose him, to attendants is characteristic. St. Paul seems 

speak to the Macedonians and Corinthians also always to have been accompanied by a band of 

(who were present), it may refer to the whole disciples, who helped him in the discharge of 

time (about three years and a half), since he the many duties in which he was involved by 

came to reside at Ephesus in the autumn of " the care of all the churches." Compare Gal. 

54 a. d. i. 2 for the expression. 

2 See p. 601, n. 7. We have much satis- t "The weak," i. e. the poor. This inter- 
faction in referring here to the second of A. pretation is defended by Chrysostom, and con- 
Monod's recently published sermons. (Saint firmed by Aristophanes, quoted by Wetstein. 
Paul, Cinq Discours. Paris, 1851.) The interpretation of Calvin (who takes it as 

3 This conclusion reminds us of that of the the weak in faith), which is supported by Ne- 
letter to the Komans so recently written. Com- ander and others, seems hardly consistent with 
pare Rom. xvi. 25. the context. 

4 This is the force of the aorist, unless we 8 The Greek verb (v. 37) is in the imper- 
prefer to suppose it used (as often by St. Paul) feet. 

for a perfect. 9 " Gaze on his face," v. 38. The expres- 

5 This way of appealing to the recollection sion is stronger than that used by St. Paul 
of his converts in proof of his disinterested- himself, v. 25. 

ness is highly characteristic of St. Paul. Com- 10 See below. 



604= THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

depart. They accompanied the Apostle to the edge of the water 
(ib. 38) .* The Christian brethren were torn away from the embrace of 
their friends ; 2 and the ship sailed out into the open sea, while the pres- 
byters prepared for their weary and melancholy return to Ephesus. 

The narrative of the voyage is now resumed in detail. It is quite 
clear, from St. Luke's mode of expression, that the vessel sailed from 
Miletus on the day of the interview. With a fair wind she would easily 
run down to Cos in the course of the same afternoon. The distance is 
about forty nautical miles ; the direction is due south. The phrase used 
implies a straight course and a fair wind, 3 and we conclude, from the 
well-known phenomena of the Levant, that the wind was north-westerly, 
which is the prevalent direction in those seas. 4 With this wind the vessel 
would make her passage from Miletus to Cos in six hours, passing the 
shores of Caria, with the high summits of Mount Latmus on the left, and 
with groups of small islands (among which Patmos (Rev. i. 9) would be 
seen at times) 5 studding the sea on the right. Cos is an island about 
twenty-three miles in length, extending from south-west to north-east, 
and separated by a narrow channel from the mainland. 6 But we should 
rather conceive the town to be referred to, which lay at the eastern 
extremity of the island. It is described by the ancients as a beautiful 
and well-built city : and it was surrounded with fortifications erected by 
Alcibiades towards the close of the Peloponnesian war. Its symmetry 
had been injured by an earthquake, and the restoration had not yet been 
effected ; but the productiveness of the island to which it belonged, and 
its position in the Levant, made the city a place of no little consequence. 
The wine and the textile fabrics of Cos were well known among the 
imports of Italy. Even now no harbor is more frequented by the mer- 
chant-vessels of the Levant. 7 The roadstead is sheltered by nature from 
all winds except the north-east, and the inner harbor was not then, as is 
is now, an unhealthy lagoon. 8 Moreover, Claudius had recently bestowed 

1 Prof. Hackett notices how the phrase, 6 This is to be distinguished from the chan- 
tey accompanied him to the ship, suits the place, nel mentioned below, between the southern side 
which had then a long level between the town of Cos and Cape Crio. 

and the anchorage. 7 " No place in the Archipelago is morefre- 

2 The English translation of xxi. 1, "got- quented by merchant-vessels than this port." 
ten from them," is too weak. Purdy, p. 115. 

3 They ran before the wind, xxi. 1. See 8 See the description of the town and anchor- 
what has been said before on this nautical age in Turdy : — " The town is sheltered from 
phrase, p. 246. westerly winds by very high mountains," p. 

4 For what relates to this prevalent wind, 114. " The road is good in all winds except 
gee below. the E. N. E.," p. 115. A view of the modern 

6 Dr. Clarke describes a magnificent even- city of Cos from the anchorage, as well as the 

ing, with the sun setting behind Patmos, present soundings, and the traces of the an- 

which he saw on the voyage from Samos to cient port, is given in the Admiralty Chart 

Cos. No. 1550. 



CHAP. XX. 



RHODES. 



605 



peculiar privileges on the city. 1 Another circumstance made it the 
resort of many strangers, and gave it additional renown. It was the seat 
of the medical school traditionally connected with ^Esculapius ; and the 
temple of the god of healing was crowded with votive models, so as to 
become in effect a museum of anatomy and pathology. 2 The Christian 
physician St. Luke, who knew these coasts so well, could hardly be 
ignorant of the scientific and religious celebrity of Cos. We can imagine 
the thankfulness with which he would reflect — as the vessel lay at 
anchor off the city of Hippocrates — that he had been emancipated from 
the bonds of superstition, without becoming a victim to that scepticism 
which often succeeds it, especially in minds familiar with the science of 
physical phenomena. 3 

On leaving the anchorage of Cos, the vessel would have to proceed 
through the channel which lies between the southern shore of the island 
and that tongue of the mainland which terminates in the Point of 
Cnidus. If the wind continued in the north-west, the vessel would be 
able to hold a straight course from Cos to Cape Crio (for such is the 
modern name of the promontory of Triopium, on which Cnidus was 
built), and after rounding the point she would run clear before the wind 
all the way to Rhodes. 4 Another of St. Paul's voyages will lead us to 



1 Tac. Ann. xii. 61. 

2 S*.e p. 271, n. 1. Perhaps the fullest 
account of Cos is that given by Dr. Clarke, 
vol. ii. pp. 196-213, and again after his return 
from Egypt, vol. iii. pp. 321-329. He de- 
scribes the celebrated plane-tree, and from this 
island he brought the altar which is now in 
the Public Library at Cambridge. We may 
refer also to a paper on Cos by Col. Leake in 
the second volume of the Transactions of the 
Royal Society of Literature. See Smith's Diet, 
of Geog. 

3 If we attached any importance to the tra- 
dition which represents St. Luke as a painter, 
we might add that Cos was the birthplace of 
Apelles as well as of Hippocrates. 

4 We shall return again to the subject of 
the north-westerly winds which prevail during 
the fine season in the Archipelago, and espe- 
cially in the neighborhood of Rhodes. Por the 
present the following authorities may suffice. 
Speaking of Rhodes, Dr. Clarke says (vol. ii. 
p. 223), " The winds are liable to little varia- 
tion ; they are N. or N. W. during almost 
every month, but these winds blow with great 
violence : " and again, p. 230, " A N. wind has 
prevailed from the time of our leaving the 



Dardanelles." Again (vol. iii. p. 378), in the 
same seas he speaks of a gale from the N. 
W. : — "It is surprising for what a length of 
time, and how often, the N. W. rages in the 
Archipelago. It prevails almost unceasingly 
through the greater part of the year," 380. 
And in a note he adds, " Mr. Spencer Smith, 
brother of Sir Sidney Smith, informed the 
author that he was an entire month employed in 
endeavoring to effect a passage from Rhodes to 
Stanchio [Cos] : the N. W. wind prevailed all 
the time with such force that the vessel in which he 
sailed could not double Cape Crio." We find 
the following in Node's Sailing Directory, p. 
127 : — " The Etesian winds, which blow from 
the N. E. and N. W. quarters, are the mon- 
soons of the Levant, which blow constantly 
during the summer, and give to the climate 
of Greece so advantageous a temperature. At 
this season the greatest part of the Mediter- 
ranean, but particularly the eastern half, in- 
cluding the Adriatic and Archipelago, are 
subject to N. W. winds. . . . When the sun, 
on advancing from the north, has begun to 
rarefy the atmophcre of southern Europe, the 
Etesians of spring commence in the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. These blow in Italy during 



606 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

make mention of Cnidus. 1 We shall, therefore, only say, that the 
extremity of the promontory descends with a perpendicular precipice to 
the sea, and that this high rock is separated hy a level space from the 
main, so that, at a distance, it appears like one of the numerous islands 
on the coast. 2 Its history, as well as its appearance, was well impressed 
on the mind of the Greek navigator of old ; for it was the scene of 
Conon's victory ; and the memory of their great admiral made the south- 
western corner of the Asiatic peninsula to the Athenians what the 
south-western corner of Spain is to us, through the memories of St. Vin- 
cent and Trafalgar. 

We have supposed St. Paul's vessel to have rounded Cape Crio, to have 
left the western shore of Asia Minor, and to be proceeding along the 
southern shore. The current between Rhodes and the main runs strongly 
to the westward ; 3 but the north-westerly wind 4 would soon carry the 
vessel through the space of fifty miles to the northern extremity of the 
island, where its famous and beautiful city was built. 

Until the building of its metropolis, the name of .this island was com- 
paratively, unknown. But from the time when the inhabitants of the 
earlier towns were brought to one centre, 5 and the new city, built by 
Hippodamus (the same architect who planned the streets of the Piraeus), 
rose in the midst of its perfumed gardens and its amphitheatre of hills, 
with unity so symmetrical that it appeared like one house, 6 — Rhodes has 
held an illustrious place among the islands of the Mediterranean. From 
the very effect of its situation, lying as it did on the verge of two of the 
basins of that sea, it became the intermediate point of the eastern and 
western trade. 7 Even now it is the harbor at which most vessels touch 
on their progress to and from the Archipelago. 8 It was the point from 

March and April." In Purdy's Sailing Direc- Cos and Cnidus. It was about the time of 

tory, p. 122, it is said of the neighborhood of the Peloponnesian war that the three earlier 

Smyrna and Ephesus : " The northerly winds cities of Lindus, Ialysus, and Camirus were 

hereabout continue all the summer, and some- centralized in the new city of Rhodes. " We 

times blow with unremitting violence for sev- find the Rhodian navy rising in strength and 

eral weeks." See again what Admiral Beau- consequence towards the time of Demos the- 

fort says of the N. W. wind at Patara. nes ; " and, after this period, it " makes nearly 

1 See Acts xxvii. 7. as great a figure in history as Venice does in 

2 In the Admiralty Chart of the gulf of the annals of Modern Europe." 

Cos, &c. (No. 1604), a very good view of Cape 6 This is the phrase of Diodorus Siculus. 

Crio is given. We shall speak of Cnidus 7 An interesting illustration of the trade 

more fully hereafter. Meantime we may refer of Rhodes will be found in vol. iii. of the 

to a view in Laborde, which gives an admira- Trans, of the Royal Society of Literature, in a 

ble representation of the passage between Cos paper on some inscribed handles of wine-ves- 

and Cape Crio. sels found at Alexandria. We shall refer to 

3 Purdy. 4 See above. this paper again when we come to speak of 
6 Herodotus simply mentions Rhodes as Cnidus. 

forming part of the Dorian confederacy with 8 ** Vessels bound to the ports of Karamania 



chap. xx. EHODES. 607 

which the Greek geographers reckoned their parallels of latitude and 
meridians of longitude. And we may assert that no place has been so 
long renowned for ship-building, if we may refer to the " benches, and 
masts, and ship-boards " of " Dodanim and Chittim," with the feeble con- 
structions of the modern Turkish dockyard, as the earliest and latest efforts 
of that Rhodian skill, which was celebrated by Pliny in the time of St. 
Paul. To the copious supplies of ship-timber were added many other 
physical advantages. It was a proverb, that the sun shone every day in 
Rhodes ; and her inhabitants revelled in the luxuriance of the vegetation 
which surrounded them. We find this beauty and this brilliant atmosphere 
typified in her coins, on one side of which is the head of Apollo radiated 
like the sun, while the other exhibits the rose-flower, the conventional 
emblem which bore the name of the island. 1 But the interest of what is 
merely outward fades before the moral interest associated with its history. 
If we rapidly run over its annals, we find something in every period, with 
which elevated thoughts are connected. The Greek period is the first, — 
famous not merely for the great Temple of the Sun, and the Colossus, 
which, like the statue of Borromeo at Arona, seemed to stand over the 
city to protect it, 2 — but far more for the supremacy of the seas, which 
was employed to put down piracy, for the code of mercantile law, by 
which the commerce of later times was regulated, and for the legislative 
enactments, framed almost in the spirit of Christianity, for the protection 
of the poor. This is followed by the Roman period, when the faithful ally, 
which had aided by her naval power in subduing the East, was honored 
by the Senate and the Emperors with the name and privileges of freedom : 3 
and this by the Byzantine, during which Christianity was established in 
the Levant, and the city of the Rhodians, as the metropolis of a province 
of islands, if no longer holding the empire of the Mediterranean, was at 

as well as to those of Syria and Egypt gene- been alluded to before in reference to Athens, 

rally touch here for pilots or for intelligence." p. 326 ; and in height they were nearly identi- 

Beaufort. " The southern harbor is generally cal, the latter being 106 feet, the former 105 

full of merchant- vessels." Purdy, p. 232. (70 cubits). See the paper referred to, p. 606, 

" The chief source of what little opulence it n. 7. 

still enjoys is in the number of vessels which 3 After the defeat of Antiochus, Rhodes 

touch here on their passage from the Archi- received from the Roman senate some valua- 

pelago to the eastward." lb. ble possessions on the mainland, including 

1 One of these coins is given in the larger part of Caria and the whole of Lycia. See 
editions. what has been said on the province of Asia, 

2 The Colossus was in ruins even in Stra- pp. 206, 207, comparing p. 209. These con- 
bo's time. It had been overthrown by an tinental possessions were afterwards with- 
earthquake according to Polybius. It seems drawn ; but the Rhodians were still regarded 
to be a popular mistake that this immense as among the allies of Rome. They rendered 
statue stood across the entrance of one of the valuable aid in the war against Mithridates, 
harbors. The only parallel in modern times is and were not reduced to the form of a prov- 
the statue of San Carlo Borromeo, which has ince till the reign of Vespasian. 



608 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

least recognized as the Queen of the iEgean. 1 During the earlier portion 
of the middle ages, while mosques were gradually taking the place of 
Byzantine churches, Rhodes was the last Christian city to make a stand 
against the advancing Saracens ; and again during their later portion, she 
re-appears as a city ennobled by the deeds of Christian chivalry ; so that, 
ever since the successful siege of Solyman the Magnificent, her fortifica- 
tions and her stately harbor, and the houses in her streets, continue to be 
the memorials of the Knights of St. John. Yet no point of Rhodian 
history ought to move our spirits with so much exultation as that day, 
when the vessel that conveyed St. Paul came round the low northern point 2 
of the island to her moorings before the city. We do not know that he 
landed like other great conquerors who have visited Rhodes. It would 
not be necessary even to enter the harbor, for a safe anchorage would be 
found for the night in the open roadstead. 3 " The kingdom of God 
cometh not with observation ; " and the vessel which was seen by the 
people of the city to weigh anchor in the morning was probably undis- 
tinguished from the other coasting craft with which they were daily 
familiar. 

No view in the Levant is more celebrated than that from Rhodes towards 
the opposite shore of Asia Minor. The last ranges of Mount Taurus 4 
come down in magnificent forms to the sea ; and a long line of snowy 
summits is seen along the Lycian coast, while the sea between is often an 
unruffled expanse of water under a blue and brilliant sky. Across this 
expanse, and towards a harbor near the farther edge of these Lycian 
mountains, the Apostle's course was now directed (Acts xxi. 1). To the 
eastward of Mount Cragus, — the steep sea-front of which is known to 
the pilots of the Levant by the name of the " Seven Capes," 5 — the river 
Xanthus winds through a rich and magnificent valley, and past the rums 
of an ancient city, the monuments of which, after a long concealment, 
have lately been made familiar to the British public. 6 The harbor of the 
city of Xanthus was situated a short distance from the left bank of the 
river. Patara was to Xanthus what the Piraeus was to Athens ; 7 and 



1 It was then the metropolis of the " Prov- 5 " These capes (called in Italian, the usual 
ince of the Islands." language of the pilots, sette capi) are the ex- 

2 Compare Purdy's Sailing Directory with tremities of high and rugged mountains, occu- 
the Admiralty Chart (No. 1639), attached to pying a space of ten miles." Purdy, p. 236. 
which is an excellent view of Rhodes. 6 The allusion is of course to the Xanthian 

3 See Purdy, p. 231. room in the British Museum. 

4 Compare p. 19. For the appearance of 7 Thus Appian speaks of Patara as tho 
this magnificent coast on a nearer approach, port of Xanthus, B. C. iv. 81. In the follow- 
see Dr. Clarke. For a description of these ing chapter he says that Andriace had the 
south-western mountains of Asia Minor, the same relation to Myra. (Acts xxvii. 5.) 
Travels of Spratt and Forbes may be consulted. 



PATABA. 



609 



though this comparison might seem to convey the idea of an importance 
which never belonged to the Lycian seaport, yet ruins still remain to 
show that it was once a place of some magnitude and splendor. The bay 
into which the river Xanthus flowed is now a " desert of moving sand," 
which is blown by the westerly wind into ridges along the shore, and is 
gradually hiding the remains of the ancient city ; 1 but a triple archway 
and a vast theatre have been described by travellers. 2 Some have even 
thought that they have discovered the seat of the oracle of Apollo, who 
was worshipped here, as his sister Diana was worshipped at Ephesus or 
Perga : 3 and the city walls can be traced among the sand-hills with the 
castle 4 that commanded the harbor. In the war against Antiochus, this 
harbor was protected by a sudden storm from the Roman fleet, when 
Livius sailed from Rhodes. 5 Now we find the Apostle Paul entering it 
with a fair wind, after a short sail from the same island. 

It seems that the vessel in which St. Paul had been hitherto sailing 
either finished its voyage at Patara, or was proceeding farther eastward 
along the southern coast of Asia Minor, and not to the ports of Phoenicia. 
St. Paul could not know in advance whether it would be " possible " for 



1 Admiral Beaufort was the first to describe 
Patara. Karamania, chap. i. It was also visit- 
ed by the Dilettanti Society. It is described 
by Sir C. Fellows both in his Lycia and 
his Asia Minor. In the Travels of Spratt 
and Forbes the destruction of the harbor and 
the great increase of sand are attributed to the 
rising of the coast. The following passage is 
transcribed at length from this work : — "A day 
was devoted to an excursion to Patara, which 
lies on the coast at some distance from the left 
bank of the river, about ten miles from Xan- 
thus. Tfe rode along the river-side to the 
sand-hills, passing large straw-thatched villages 
of gypsies on the way, and then crossed the 
sand-hills to the sea-side. ... At Patara is 
the triple arch, which formed the gate of the 
city, the baths, and the theatre, admirably 
described long ago by Captain Beaufort. The 
latter is scooped out of the side of a hill, and 
is remarkable for the completeness of the pro- 
scenium and the steepness and narrowness of 
the marble seats. Above it is the singular pit 
excavated on the summit of the same hill, 
with its central square column, conjectured 
with probability, by Admiral Beaufort, to have 
been the seat of the oracle of Apollo Patareus. 
The stones of which the column is built are 
displaced from each other in a singular man- 
ner, as if by the revolving motion of an earth- 



quake. A fine group of palm-trees rises 
among the ruins, and the aspect of the city 
when it was flourishing must have been very 
beautiful. Xow its port is an inland marsh, 
generating poisonous malaria ; and the mari- 
ner sailing along the coast would never guess 
that the sand-hills before him blocked up the 
harbor into which St. Paul sailed of old." 

2 A drawing of the gateway is given by 
Beaufort, p. 1. Views of the theatre, &c., of 
Patara will be found in the first volume of the 
Ionian Antiquities, published by the Dilettanti 
Society. 

3 See pp. 143, 144, and p. 464, &c. The 
coins of Patara show the ascendency of Apollo 
in the district. One is given in the larger edi- 
tions. 

4 Beaufort, p. 3. 

5 The Boman fleet had followed nearly the 
same course as the Apostle from the neighbor- 
hood of Ephesus, the following places being 
mentioned in order, — Miletus, Cnidus, Cos, 
Rhodes, Patara. Liv. xxxvii. 16. Vfe may 
add another illustration from Boman history, 
in Pompey's voyage, where the same places 
are mentioned in a similar order. After de- 
scribing his departure from Mitijlene, and his 
passing by Asia and Chios, Lucan proceeds to 
enumerate Ephesus, Cos, Cnidus, and Rhodes* 
Phars. viii. 



610 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. j 

him to arrive in Palestine in time for Pentecost (xx. 16) ; but an oppor- 
tunity presented itself unexpectedly at Patara. Providential circum- 
stances conspired with his own convictions to forward his journey, 
notwithstanding the discouragement which the fears of others had thrown 
across his path. In the harbor of Patara they found a vessel which was 
on the point of crossing the open sea to Phoenicia (xxi. 2). They went 
on board without a moment's delay ; and it seems evident from the mode 
of expression that they sailed the very day of their arrival. 1 Since 
the voyage lay across the open sea, 2 with no shoals or rocks to be dreaded, 
and since the north-westerly winds often blow steadily for several days in 
the Levant during spring, 3 there could be no reason why the vessel should 
not weigh anchor in the evening, and sail through the night. 4 

We have now to think of St. Paul as no longer passing through nar- 
row channels, or coasting along in the shadow of great mountains, but 
as sailing continuously through the midnight hours, with a prosperous 
breeze filling the canvass, and the waves curling and sounding round the 
bows of the vessel. There is a peculiar freshness and cheerfulness in 
the prosecution of a prosperous voyage with a fair wind by night. The 
sailors on the watch, and the passengers also, feel it, and the feeling is 
often expressed in songs or in long-continued conversation. Such cheer- 
fulness might be felt by the Apostle and his companions, not without 
thankfulness to that God " who giveth songs in the night " (Job xxxv. 
10), and who hearkeneth to those who fear Him, and speak often to one 
another, and think upon His name (Mai. iii. 16). If we remember, too, 
that a month had now elapsed since the moon was shining on the snows 
of Hasmus, 5 and that the full moonlight would now be resting on the great 
sail 6 of the ship, we are not without an expressive imagery, which we may 
allowably throw round the Apostle's progress over the waters between 
Patara and Tyre. 

The distance between these two points is three hundred and forty geo- 
graphical miles ; and if we bear in mind (what has been mentioned more 
than once) that the north-westerly winds in April often blow like mon- 
soons in the Levant, and that the rig of ancient sailing vessels was 
peculiarly favorable to a quick run before the wind, 7 we come at once to 
the conclusion that the voyage might easily be accomplished in forty-eight 
hours. 8 Every thing in St. Luke's account gives a strong impression that 

1 This is shown not only by the expression 4 For this and other points connected with 
" we went aboard," but by the omission of the navigation of the ancients, we must refer 
any phrase for " next day," such as we find in to Ch. XXIII. 

xx. 15. 5 See above, p. 590. 

2 It is said that the ship was on the point 6 See Smith's Voyage and Shipwreck, p. 151. 
of sailing over or " crossing " to Phoenicia ? Smith, p. 180. 

3 See above, p. 605. 8 ( m e# fa Q rate wou ]d be rather more than 



CHAP. XX. 



TYRE. 611 



the weather was in the highest degree favorable ; and there is one pic- 
turesque phrase employed by the narrator, which sets vividly before us 
some of the phenomena of a rapid voyage. 1 Thai which is said in the 
English version concerning the " discovering " of Cyprus, and " leaving 
it on the left hand," is, in the original, a nautical expression, implying 
that the land appeared to rise quickly, 2 as they sailed past it to the south- 
ward. 3 It would be in the course of the second day (probably in the 
evening) that " the high blue eastern land appeared." The highest 
mountain of Cyprus is a rounded summit, and there would be snow upon 
it at that season of the year. 4 After the second night, the first land in 
sight would be the high range of Lebanon 5 in Syria (xxi. 3), and they 
would easily arrive at Tyre before the evening. 

So much has been written concerning the past history and present con- 
dition of Tyre, that these subjects are familiar to every reader, and it is 
unnecessary to dwell upon them here. 6 When St. Paul came to this city, 
it was neither in the glorious state described in the prophecies of Ezekiel 
and Isaiah, 7 when " its merchants were princes, and its traffickers the 
honorable of the earth," nor in the abject desolation in which it now ful- 
fils those prophecies, being " a place to spread nets upon," and showing 
only the traces of its maritime supremacy in its ruined mole, and a port 
hardly deep enough for boats. 8 It was in the condition in which it had 
been left by the successors of Alexander, — the island, which once held 
the city, being joined to the mainland by a causeway, — with a harbor 
on the north, and another on the south. 9 In honor of its ancient great- 
seven knots an hour. The writer once asked grammar are common in the language of sail- 
the captain of a vessel engaged in the Medi- ors. Thm an English seaman speaks of 
terranean trade, how long it would take to "rising the land," which is exactly what is 
sail with a fair wind from the Seven Capes to meant here. 

Tyre ; and the answer was, " About thirty 2 Mr. Smith says in a MS. note : " The 

hours, or perhaps it would be safer to say term indicates both the rapid approach to 
forty-eight." Now, vessels rigged like those land, and that it was .seen at a distance by 
of the ancients, with one large mainsail, would daylight." 

run before the wind more quickly than our own 3 We shall hereafter point out the contrast 

merchantmen. Those who have sailed before between this voyage and that which is men- 
the monsoons in the China seas have seen tioned afterwards in Acts xxvii. 4. 
junks (which are rigged in this respect like 4 The island is traversed by two chains 

Greek and Roman merchantmen) behind them running nearly east and west, and they are 
in the horizon in the morning, and before covered with snow in winter. Norie, p. 144. 
them in the horizon in the evening. The writer has been informed by Captain 

1 The word, in reference to sea-voyages, Graves, R. N., that the highest part is of a 
means " to see land, to bring land into view," rounded form. 5 Compare pp. 19, 49. 

by a similar figure of speech to that in which 6 One of the fullest accounts of Tyre will 

our sailors speak of "making land." So "ape- be found in Dr. Robinson's third volume. 
rire" is used in Latin, and "open" by our 7 Ezek. xxvi., xxvii., Isa. xxiii. 

own sailors. The grammatical construction 8 Sailing Directory, p. 259. 

in the Greek is peculiar ; but confusions of 9 Old Tyre was destroyed. New Tyre was 



612 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

ness, the Romans gave it the name of a free city ; 1 and it still commanded 
some commerce, for its manufactures of glass and purple were not yet 
decayed, 2 and the narrow belt of the Phoenician coast between the moun- 
tains and the sea required that the food for its population should be partly 
brought from without. 3 It is allowable to conjecture that the ship, which 
we have just seen crossing from Patara, may have brought grain from the 
Black Sea, or wine from the Archipelago, 4 — with the purpose of taking 
on from Tyre a cargo of Phoenician manufactures. We know that, what- 
ever were the goods she brought, they were unladed at Tyre (v. 3), and 
that the vessel was afterwards to proceed 5 to Ptolemais (v. 7). For this 
task of unlading, some days would be required. She would be taken into 
the inner dock ; 6 and St. Paul had thus some time at his disposal, which 
he could spend in the active service of his Master. He and his companions 
lost no time in u seeking out the disciples." It is probable that the Chris- 
tians at Tyre were not numerous ; 7 but a Church had existed there 
ever since the dispersion consequent upon the death of Stephen (pp. 
75, 109), and St. Paul and himself visited it, if not on his mission of 
charity from Antiocli to Jerusalem (p. 118), yet doubtless on his way 
to the Council (p. 187). There were not only disciples at Tyre, but 
prophets. Some of those who had the prophetical power foresaw the 
danger which was hanging over St. Paul, and endeavored to per- 
suade him to desist from his purpose of going to Jerusalem. We see 
that different views of duty might be taken by those who had the same 
spiritual knowledge, though that knowledge were supernatural. St. Paul 
looked on the coming danger from*a higher point. What to others was 
an overwhelming darkness, to him appeared only as a passing storm. 
And he resolved to face it, in the faith that He who had protected him 
hitherto would still give him shelter and safety. 

built on a small island, separated by a very ward-bound Alexandrian ship in one of the 

narrow channel from the mainland, with which harbors of Lycia. Acts xxvii. 5, 6. 
it was united by a dam in Alexander's siege; 5 We infer that St. Paul proceeded in the 

and thenceforward Tyre was on a peninsula. same vessel to Ptolemais, partly because the 

1 For the general notion of a free city phrase in v. 6 means " we went on board the 
[libera civitas) under the Empire, see p. 288. ship," and partly because it is not said that « 
Tyre seems to have been honored, like Athens, the vessel was bound for Tyre, but simply that 
for the sake of the past. she was to unlade there. 

2 For the manufactures of Tyre at a much 6 Scylax mentions a harbor within the 
later period, see p. 188, n. 2. walls. 

3 The dependence of Phoenicia on other 7 « Having sought out the disciples " is 
countries for grain is alluded to in Acts xii. the literal translation. Some search was re- 
20. (See p. 118, n. 8.) quired before the Christians were found. 

4 For the wine trade of the Archipelago, Perhaps the first inquiries would be made at 
see what has been said in reference to Ehodcs. the synagogue. [See p. 388, n. 5.] For a 
"VTe need not suppose that the vessel bound notice of the Jews at Tyre in later tfmes, we 
for Phoenicia sailed in the first instance from may again refer to p. 188, n. 2. 

Patara. St. Paul afterwards found a west- 






chap. xx. PTOLEMAIS. 613 

The time spent at Tyre in unlading the vessel, and probably taking in 
a new cargo, and possibly, also, waiting for a fair wind, 1 was " seven 
days," including a Sunday. 2 St. Paul " broke bread " with the disciples, 
and discoursed as he had done at Troas (p. 256) ; and the week-days, 
too, would afford many precious opportunities for confirming those who 
were already Christians, and for making the Gospel known to others, both 
Jews and Gentiles. When the time came for the ship to sail, a scene 
was witnessed on the Phoenician shore like that which had made the 
Apostle's departure from Miletus so impressive and affecting. 3 There 
attended him through the city gate, 4 as he and his companions went out 
to join the vessel now ready to receive them, all the Christians of Tyre, 
and even their " wives and children." And there they knelt down and 
prayed together on the level shore. 5 We are not to imagine here any 
Jewish place of worship, like the proseucha at Philippi ; 6 but simply that 
they were on their way to the ship. The last few moments were precious, 
and could not be so well employed as in praying to Him who alone can 
give true comfort and protection. The time spent in this prayer was 
soon passed. And then they tore themselves from each other's embrace ; 
the strangers went on board, 7 and the Tyrian believers returned home 
sorrowful and anxious, while the ship sailed southwards on her way to 
Ptolemais. 

There is a singular contrast in the history of those three cities on the 
Phoenician shore, which are mentioned in close succession in the conclud- 
ing part of the narrative of this Apostolic journey. Tyre, the city froin 
which St. Paul had just sailed, had been the seaport whose destiny 
formed the burden of the sublimest prophecies in the last days of the 
Hebrew monarchy. Ooesarea, the city to which he was ultimately bound, 
was the work of the family of Herod, and rose with the rise of Chrhi- 
tianity. Both are fallen now into utter decay. Ptolemais, which was the 
intermediate stage between them, is an older city than either, and has 
outlived them both. It has never been withdrawn from the field of 
history ; and its interest has seemed to increase (at least in the eyes of 

1 These suppositions, however, are not 5 The word here used is the same as in 
necessary; for the work of taking the cargo Acts xxvii. 39, 40, and denotes a sandy or 
from the hold of a merchant-vessel might pebbly beach, as opposed to a rocky shore, 
easily occupy six or seven days. 6 Hammond supposes that there was a pro- 

2 This, however, need not mean more than seucha near the place of embarkation. But 
"six days." Some think that by " accomplish- we need not suppose any reference to a Jewish 
ing the days " is meant that they " employed place of worship either here or at Miletus, 
the time in making ready for the journey," though it is interesting to bear in mind the 
comparing 2 Tim. iii. 17. [See on v. 15.] orationes littorales of the Jews. See p. 256. 

3 See above, p. 603. * g ee above, p. 612. 

4 The Greek expresses this more fully and 
vividly than the English. 



614 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

Englishmen) with the progress of centuries. Under the ancient name 
of Acco, it appears in the book of Judges (i. 31) as one of the towns of 
the tribe of Assher. It was the pivot of the contests between Persia and 
Egypt. Not unknown in the Macedonian and Roman periods, it re- 
appears with brilliant distinction in the middle ages, when the Crusaders 
called it St. Jean d'Acre. It is needless to allude to the events which 
have fixed on this sea-fortress, more than once, the attention of our own 
generation. 1 At the particular time when the Apostle Paul visited this 
place, it bore the name of Ptolemais, 2 — most probably given to it by 
Ptolemy Lagi, who was long in possession of this part of Syria, 3 — and it 
had recently been made a Roman colony by the Emperor Claudius. 4 It 
shared with Tyre and Sidon, 5 Antioch and Caesarea, the trade of the 
eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. With a fair wind, a short day's 
voyage separates it from Tyre. To speak in the language of our own 
sailors, there are thirteen miles from Tyre to Cape Blanco, and fifteen 
from thence to Cape Carmel ; and Acre — the ancient Ptolemais — is 
situated on the farther extremity of that bay, which sweeps with a wide 
curvature of sand to the northwards, from the headland of Carmel. 6 It 
is evident that St. Paul's company sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais within 
the day. 7 At the latter city, as at the former, there were Christian dis- 
ciples, 8 who had probably been converted at the same time and under the 
same circumstances as those of Tyre. Another opportunity was afforded 
for the salutations and encouragement of brotherly love ; but the mis- 
sionary party staid here only one day. 9 Though they had accomplished 
the voyage in abundant time to reach Jerusalem at Pentecost, they 
hastened onwards, that they might linger some days at Caesarea. 10 

One day's travelling by land 11 was sufficient for this part of their 
journey. The distance is between thirty and forty miles. 12 At Csesarea 

1 The events at the close of the last cen- 7 V. 7. Instead of the words "we that 
tury and others still more recent. It is surely were of Paul's company," the best MSS. have 
well that we should be able to associate this simply " we," which seems to have been altered 
place with the Apostle of the Gentiles as much into the longer phrase, as being the opening 
as with Sir Sidney Smith and Sir Charles of a separate section for reading in churches. 
Napier. The meaning of what begins the 7th verse 

2 So it is called in 1 Mace. v. 15, x. 1, &c. seems to be " thus accomplishing our voyage." 

3 See his life in Smith's Dictionary ofBiog- The rest of the journey was by land. 

raphy. 4 Pliny, v. 19, 17. 8 Both here and in v. 4 the Greek has the 

5 In the Acts of the Apostles, we find Tyre definite article. 

mentioned in connection with the voyages of 9 V. 7. 10 See below, v. 10. 

merchantmen, xxi. 3, and Sidon, xxvii. 3. n " The next day we departed," v. 8. We 

6 For a nautical delineation of this bay, may observe, that the word used here is far 
with the anchorage, Kaifa, &c, see the Admi- more suitable to a departure by land than by 
ralty Chart. The travellers who have described sea. 

the sweep of this bay from Carmel are so nu- 12 The Jerusalem Itinerary gives the dis- 

merous, that they need not be specified. tance as thirty-one miles, the stages being 



chap. xx. C^ESAKEA. 615 

there was a Christian family, already known to us in the earlier passages 
of the Acts of the Apostles, with whom they were sure of receiving a 
welcome. The last time we made mention of Philip the Evangelist 
(p. 74) was when he was engaged in making the Gospel known on 
the road which leads southwards by Gaza towards Egypt, about the 
time when St. Paul himself was converted on the northern road, when 
travelling to Damascus. Now, after many years, the Apostle and the 
Evangelist are brought together under one roof. On the former occa- 
sion, we saw that Caesarea was the place where the labors of Philip on 
that journey ended. 1 Thenceforward it became his residence if his life 
was stationary, or it was the centre from which he made other missionary 
circuits through Judaea. 2 He is found, at least, residing in this city by 
the sea, when St. Paul arrives in the year 58 from Achaia and Mace- 
donia. His family consisted of four daughters, who were an example 
of the fulfilment of that prediction of Joel, quoted by St. Peter, which 
said, that, at the opening of the new dispensation, God's Spirit should 
come on His " handmaidens " as well as His bondsmen, and that the 
" daughters," as well as the sons, should prophesy. 3 The prophetic 
power was granted to these four women at Caesarea, who seem to have 
been living that life of single devotedness 4 which -is commended by 
St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. vii.), and to have 
exercised their gift in concert for the benefit of the Church. 

It is not improbable that these inspired women gave St. Paul some 
intimation of the sorrows which were hanging over him. 5 But soon a 
more explicit voice declared the very nature of the trial he was to 
expect. The stay of the Apostle at Caesarea lasted some days (v. 10). 
He had arrived in Judaea in good time before the festival, and haste was 
now unnecessary. Thus news reached Jerusalem of his arrival ; and a 
prophet named Agabus — - whom we have seen before (p. 117) coming 
from the same place on a similar errand — went down to Caesa- 
rea, and communicated to St. Paul and the company of Christians 
by whom he was surrounded a clear knowledge of the impending 
danger. His revelation was made in that dramatic form which im- 
presses the mind with a stronger sense of reality than mere words can 

twelve, three, eight, and eight. The Anto- 1 Cor. xiv. 34; 1 Tim. ii. 12; and see p. 

nine Itinerary makes the distance greater, viz. 375. 

twenty-four and twenty. 4 It is difficult not to see some emphasis in 

1 Acts viii. 40. See p. 75, n. 1. the word "virgins." See Matt. xix. 12. 

2 The term "Evangelist" seems to have 6 Perhaps the force of " who did prophesy " 
been almost synonymous with our word (v. 9) is to be found in the fact that they did 
" Missionary." It is applied to Philip and to foretell what was to come. The word, how- 
Timothy. See p. 381 ; also p. 380, note. ever, has not necessarily any relation to the. 

8 Joel ii. 28, 29; Acts ii. 17, 18. Compare future. 



616 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

do, and which was made familiar to the Jews of old by the practice of 
the Hebrew prophets. As Isaiah (ch. xx.) loosed the sackcloth from 
his loins, and put off his shoes from his feet, to declare how the Egyp- 
tian captives should be led away into Assyria naked and barefoot, — or 
as the girdle of Jeremiah (ch. xiii.), in its strength and its decay, was 
made a type of the people of Israel in their privilege and their fall, — 
Agabns, in like manner, using the imagery of action, 1 took the girdle of 
St. Paul, and fastened it round his own 2 hands and feet, and said, 
" Thus saith the Holy Ghost : So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the 
man to whom this girdle belongs, and they shall deliver him into the 
hands of the Gentiles." 

The effect of this emphatic prophecy, both on Luke, Aristarchus, and 
Trophimus, 3 the companions of St. Paul's journey, and those Christians 
of Caesarea, 4 who, though they had not travelled with him, had learnt 
to love him, was very great. They wept, 5 and implored him not to go to 
Jerusalem. 6 But the Apostle himself could not so interpret the super- 
natural intimation. He was placed in a position of peculiar trial. A 
voice of authentic prophecy had been so uttered, that, had he been 
timid and wavering, it might easily have been construed into a warning 
to deter him. Nor was that temptation unfelt which arises from the 
sympathetic grief of loving friends. His affectionate heart was almost 
broken 7 when he heard their earnest supplications and saw the sorrow 
that was caused by the prospect of his danger; but the mind of the Spirit 
had been so revealed to him in his own inward convictions, that he could 
see the Divine counsel through apparent hinderances. His resolution was 
" no wavering between yea and nay, but was yea in Jesus Christ." 8 His 
deliberate pnrpose did not falter for a moment. 9 He declared that he 
was " ready not only to be bound, but to die at Jerusalem for the name 
of the Lord Jesus." And then they desisted from their entreaties. 
Their respect for the Apostle made them silent. They recognized the 
will of God in the steady purpose of His servant, and gave their 
acquiescence in those words in which Christian resignation is best 
.expressed: " The will of the Lord be done." 

The time was now come for the completion of the journey. The fes- 

1 See another striking instance in Ezck. iv. 8 For the companions of St. Paul at this 
Compare what has been said before in refer- moment, see p. 589, and n. 5. 

<ence to the gestures of Paul and Barnabas 4 "Both we and they of the place," v. 12. 

-when they departed from Antioch in Pisidia, 5 " What mean ye to weep," &c, v. 13. 

p. 162. 6 V. 12. 

2 It would be a mistake to suppose that 7 V. 13. 

Agabus bound Paul's hands and feet. Besides, 8 2 Cor. i. See above, p. 487. 

Agabus says, not "the man whom I bind," d This is implied in the presenf tense, v. 

■but " the man whose girdle this is." 14. 



chap. xx. JOXJEKEY TO JERUSALEM. 617 

tival was close at hand. Having made the arrangements that were 
necessary with, regard to their luggage, 1 — and such notices in Holy 
Scripture 2 should receive their due attention, for they help to set before 
us all the reality of the Apostle's journeys, — he and the companions 
who had attended him from Macedonia proceeded to the Holy City. 
Some of the Christians of Caesarea went along with them, not merely, as 
it would seem, to show their respect and sympathy for the Apostolic com- 
pany, 3 but to secure their comfort on arriving, by taking him to the house 
of Mnason, a native of Cyprus, who had been long ago converted to 
Christianity, 4 — possibly during the life of our Lord Himself, 5 — and 
who may have been one of those Cyprian Jews who first made the Gospel 
known to the Greeks at Antioch. 

Thus we have accompanied St. Paul on his last recorded journey to 
Jerusalem. It was a journey full of incident ; and it is related more 
minutely than any other portion of his travels. We know all the places 
by which he passed, or at which he staid ; and we are able to connect 
them all with familiar recollections of history. We know, too, all the 
aspect of the scenery. He sailed along those coasts of Western Asia, and 
among those famous islands, the beauty of which is proverbial. The very 
time of the year is known to us. It was when the advancing season was 
clothing every low shore, and the edge of every broken cliff, with a beau- 
tiful and refreshing verdure ; when the winter storms had ceased to be 
dangerous, and the small vessels could ply safely in shade and sunshine 
between neighboring ports. Even the state of the weather and the direc- 
tion of the wind are known. We can point to the places on the map where 
the vessel anchored for the night, 6 and trace across the chart the track that 
was followed, when the moon was full. 7 Yet more than this. We are 
made fully aware of the state of the Apostle's mind, and of the burdened 



1 " We weran made redi. " Wicl/.. "We i " An old disciple." The Greek adjective 
made oure selfes redy." Tyndale. "Wee reminds us of Acts vi. 15. 

toke up oure burthens." Cranmer. " We 5 He can hardly have been converted by St. 

trussed up our fardeles." Geneva. " Being Paul during his journey through Cyprus, or 

prepared." Rheims. The word "carriage" St. Paul would have been acquainted with him, 

in the Authorized Version is used as in Judg. which does not appear to have been the case, 

xviii. 21, 1 Sam. xvii. 22. Greswell sees, in He may have been converted by Barnabas, 

the allusion to the baggage, some indication (See Acts xv. 39.) But he was most probably 

of haste , but the contrary seems rather im- one of the earliest disciples of Christ. As to 

plied. the construction, see the article on this name 

2 See, for instance, 2 Tim. iv. 13. in the Diet, of the Bible. [See p. 109, and Ch. 
8 The frequent use of the word denoting V.] 

" to conduct " or " to accompany," in the ac- 6 See pp. 597, 598. 

counts of the movements of the Apostles and 7 See p. 610. 
their companions, is worthy of observation. 
See Acts xv. 3, xx. 38 ; Rom. xv. 24, &c, 



618 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xx. 

feeling under which this journey was accomplished. The expression of 
this feeling strikes us the more from its contrast with all the outward 
circumstances of the voyage. He sailed in the finest season, by the 
brightest coasts, and in the fairest weather ; and yet his mind was occu- 
pied with forebodings of evil from first to last ; — so that a peculiar shade 
of sadness is thrown over the whole narration. If this be true, we should 
expect to find some indications of this pervading sadness in the letters 
written about this time ; for we know how the deeper tones of feeling 
make themselves known in the correspondence of any man with his 
friends. Accordingly, we do find in The Epistle written to the Romans, 
shortly before leaving Corinth, a remarkable indication of discourage- 
ment, and almost despondency, when he asked the Christians at Rome to 
pray that, on his arrival in Jerusalem, he might be delivered from the 
Jews who hated him, and be well received by those Christians who dis- 
regarded his authority. 1 The depressing anxiety with which he thus 
looked forward to the journey would not be diminished, when the very 
moment of his departure from Corinth was beset by a Jewish plot against 
his life. 2 And we find the cloud of gloom, which thus gathered at the 
first, increasing and becoming darker as we advance. At Philippi and 
at Troas, indeed, no direct intimation is given of coming calamities ; but 
it is surely no fancy which sees a foreboding shadow thrown over that 
midnight meeting, where death so suddenly appeared among those that 
were assembled there with many lights in the upper chamber, while the 
Apostle seemed unable to intermit his discourse, as " ready to depart on 
the morrow." For indeed at Miletus he said, that already " in every 
city " 3 the Spirit had admonished him that bonds and imprisonment 
were before him. At Miletus it is clear that the heaviness of spirit 
under •which he started had become a confirmed anticipation of evil. 
When he wrote to Rome, he hoped to be delivered from the danger he 
had too much reason to fear. Now his fear predominates over hope ; 4 
and he looks forward, sadly but calmly, to some imprisonment not far 
distant. At Tyre, the first sounds that he hears on landing are the echo 
of his own thoughts. He is met by the same voice of warning, and the 
same bitter trial for himself and his friends. At Ocesarea his vague fore- 
bodings of captivity are finally made decisive and distinct, and he has a 



1 Rom. xv. 31 . We should remember that 8 See p. 602. 

he had two causes of apprehension, — one 4 Acts xx. 23 should be closely compared 

arising from the Jews, who persecuted him with Rom. xv. 30, 31. See also the note 

everywhere; the other from the Judaizing above (p. 601) on "bound in spirit." St. Paul 

Christians, who sought to depreciate his apos- seems to have suffered extremely both from the 

tolic authority. anticipation and the experience of impris'vx 

2 Seep. 589. ment. 



CHAP. XX. 



PAUL'S TEUST IK GOD. 



619 



last struggle with the remonstrances of those whom he loved. Never 
had he gone to Jerusalem without a heart full of emotion, — neither in 
those early years, when he came an enthusiastic hoy from Tarsus to the 
school of Gamaliel, — nor on his return from Damascus, after the greatest 
change that could have passed over an inquisitor's mind, — nor when he 
went with Barnabas from Antioch to the Council, which was to decide an 
anxious controversy. Now he had much new experience of the insidious 
progress of error, and of the sinfulness even of the converted. Yet his 
trust in God did not depend on the faithfulness of man ; and he went to 
Jerusalem calmly and resolutely, though doubtful of his reception among 
the Christian brethren, and not knowing what would happen on the 
morrow. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

Reception at Jerusalem. — Assembling of the Presbyters. — Advice given to St. Paul. — The 
Four Nazarites. — St. Paul seized at the Festival. — The Temple and the Garrison. — He- 
brew Speech on the Stairs. — The Centurion and the Chief Captain. — St. Paul before the 
Sanhedrin. — The Pharisees and Sadducees. — Vision in the Castle. — Conspiracy. — St. 
Paul's Nephew. — Letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix. — Night Journey to Antipatris. — 
Caesarea. 

" lAT""^"^^ we were come to Jerusalem, the Brethren received us glad- 
ly T ly." Such is St. Luke's description of the welcome which met the 
Apostle of the Gentiles on his arrival in the metropolis of Judaism. So 
we shall find afterwards l " the brethren" hailing his approach to Rome, 
and " coming to meet him as far as Appii Forum." Thus wherever he 
went, or whatever might be the strength of hostility and persecution 
which dogged his footsteps, he found some Christian hearts who loved the 
Glad-tidings which he preached, and loved himself as the messenger of 
the grace of God. 

The Apostle's spirit, which was much depressed, as we have seen, 2 by 
anticipations of coldness and distrust on the part of the Church at Jeru- 
salem, must have been lightened by his kind reception. He seems to 
have spent the evening of his arrival with these sympathizing brethren ; 
but on the morrow, a more formidable ordeal awaited him. He must 
encounter the assembled Presbyters of the Church ; and he might well 
doubt whether even the substantial proof of loving interest in their wel- 
fare, of which he was the bearer, would overcome the antipathy with 
which (as he was fully aware) too many of them regarded him. The 
experiment, however, must be tried ; for this was the very end of his 
coming to Jerusalem at all, at a time when his heart called him to Rome. 3 
His purpose was to endeavor to set himself right with the Church of 
Jerusalem, to overcome the hostile prejudices which had already so much 
impeded his labors, and to endeavor, by the force of Christian love and 
forbearance, to win the hearts of those whom he regarded, in spite of all 

1 Acts xxviii. 15. The same expression is 2 See the preceding chapter, pp. 588, 601- 

used in both cases. This is sufficient to refute 603, 612, 615, 616, 617, 619. 
the cavils which have been made, as though s See Acts xix. 21, Rom. i. 10-15, xv. 22- 

this verse (xxi. 17) implied unanimous cordi- 29. 
ality on the part of the Church at Jerusalem. 
620 



chap. xxi. ASSEMBLING OF THE PKESBYTEES. 621 

their weaknesses and errors, as brethren in Christ Jesus. Accordingly, 
when the morning came, 1 the Presbyters or Elders of the Church were 
called together by James 2 (who, as we have before mentioned, presided 
over the Church of Jerusalem) to receive Paul and his fellow-travellers, 
the messengers of the Gentile Churches. We have already seen how 
carefully St. Paul had guarded himself from the possibility of suspicion 
in the administration of his trust, by causing deputies to be elected by 
the several churches whose alms he bore, as joint trustees with himself 
of the fund collected. These deputies now entered together with him 3 
into the assembly of the Elders, and the offering was presented, — a 
proof of love from the Churches of the Gentiles to the mother Church, 
whence their spiritual blessings had been derived. 

The travellers were received with that touching symbol of brotherhood, 
the kiss of peace, 4 which was exchanged between the Christians of those 
days on every occasion of public as well as private meeting. Then the 
main business of the assembly was commenced by an address from St. 
Paul. This was not the first occasion on which he had been called to 
take a similar part, in the same city, and before the same audience. Our 
thoughts are naturally carried back to the days of the Apostolic Council, 
when he first declared to the Church of Jerusalem the Gospel which he 
preached among the Gentiles, and the great things which God had 
wrought thereby. 5 The majority of the Church had then, under the in- 
fluence of the Spirit of God, been brought over to his side, and had 
ratified his views by their decree. But the battle was not yet won ; he 
had still to contend against the same foes with the same weapons. 

We are told that he now gave a detailed account 6 of all that " God had 
wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry " since he last parted from 
Jerusalem four years before. 7 The foundation of the great and flourish- 
ing Church of Ephesus doubtless furnished the main interest of his nar- 
rative ; but he would also dwell on the progress of the several Churches 
in Phrygia, Galatia, and other parts of Asia Minor, and likewise those in 
Macedonia and Achaia, from whence he was just returned. In such a 
discourse, he could scarcely avoid touching on subjects which would 
excite painful feelings, and rouse bitter prejudice in many of his audience. 
He could hardly speak of Galatia without mentioning the attempted per- 
version of his converts there. He could not enter into the state of 



1 " The day following," v. i8. 6 g ee p . 191, & c . 

2 See p. 190. 6 "Particularly," v. 19. 

8 " Paul with us," ib. ? He had then endeavored to reach Jerusa- 

4 So Ave understand when he had saluted lem by the feast of Pentecost (Acts xviii. 21, 

them, v. 19. See 1 Thess. v. 26, and the note and see Wieseler), as on the present occa- 

p. 347. 8ion. 



622 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat. jot. 

Corinth without alluding to the emissaries from Palestine, who had intro- 
duced confusion and strife among the Christians of that city. Yet we 
cannot doubt that St. Paul, with that graceful courtesy which distin- 
guished both his writings and his speeches, softened all that was dis- 
agreeable, and avoided what was personally offensive to his audience, and 
dwelt, as far as he could, on topics in which all present would agree. 
Accordingly, we find that the majority of the assembled Elders were 
favorably impressed by his address, and by the tidings which he brought 
of the progress of the Gospel. The first act of the assembly was to 
glorify God for the wonders He had wrought. 1 They joined in solemn 
thanksgiving with one accord ; and the Amen (1 Cor. xiv. 16) which 
followed the utterance of thanks and praise from apostolic lips was 
swelled by many voices. 

Thus the hope expressed by St. Paul on a former occasion, 2 concerning 
the result of this visit to Jerusalem, was in a measure fulfilled. But 
beneath this superficial show of harmony there lurked elements of dis- 
cord, which threatened to disturb it too soon. We have already had 
occasion to remark upon the peculiar composition of the Church at Jeru- 
salem, and we have seen that a Pharisaic faction was sheltered in its 
bosom, which continually strove to turn Christianity into a sect of 
Judaism. We have seen that this faction had recently sent emissaries 
into the Gentile Churches, and had endeavored to alienate the minds of 
St. Paul's converts from their converter. These men were restless 
agitators, animated by the bitterest sectarian spirit ; and although they 
were numerically a small party, yet we know the power of a turbulent 
minority. But besides these Judaizing zealots, there was a large propor- 
tion of the Christians at Jerusalem, whose Christianity, though more 
sincere than that of those just mentioned, was yet very weak and imper- 
fect. The " many thousands of Jews which believed " had by no means 
all attained to the fulness of Christian faith. Many of them still knew 
only a Christ after the flesh, — a Saviour of Israel, — a Jewish Messiah. 
Their minds were in a state of transition between the Law and the 
Gospel, and it was of great consequence not to shock their prejudices too 
rudely, lest they should be tempted to make shipwreck of their faith, and 
renounce their Christianity altogether. Their prejudices were most 
wisely consulted in things indifferent by St. James ; who accommodated 
himself in all points to the strict requirements of the Law, and thus dis- 
armed the hostility of the Judaizing bigots. He was, indeed, divinely 
ordained to be the Apostle of this transition- Church. Had its councils 
been less wisely guided, had the Gospel of St. Paul been really repudiated 

i V. 20. a 2 Cor, vs. 12 



chap. xxi. ILL-FEELING AGAINST ST. PAUL. 623 

by the Church of Jerusalem, it is difficult to estimate the evil which 
might have resulted. This class of Christians was naturally very much 
influenced by the declamation of the more violent partisans of Judaism. 
Their feelings would be easily excited by an appeal to their Jewish 
patriotism. They might without diffcult be roused to fury against one 
whom they were taught to regard as a despiser of the Law, and a reviler 
of the customs of their forefathers. Against St. Paul their dislike had 
been long and artfully fostered ; and they would from the first have 
looked on him perhaps with some suspicion, as not being, like themselves, 
a Hebrew of the Holy City, but only a Hellenist of the Dispersion. 

Such being the composition of the great body of the Church, we cannot 
doubt that the same elements were to be found amongst the Elders also. 
And this will explain the resolution to which the assembly came, at the 
close of their discussion on the matters brought before them. They 
began by calling St. Paul's attention to the strength of the, Judaical party 
among the Christians of Jerusalem. They told him that the majority 
even of the Christian Church had been taught to hate his very name, and 
to believe that he went about the world " teaching the Jews to forsake 
Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to 
walk after the customs." They further observed that it was impossible 
his arrival should remain unknown ; his renown was too great to allow 
him to be concealed : his public appearance in the streets of Jerusalem 
would attract a crowd x of curious spectators, most of whom would be 
violently hostile. It was therefore of importance that he should do 
something to disarm this hostility, and to refute the calumnies which had 
been circulated concerning him. The plan they recommended was, that 
he should take charge of four Jewish Christians, 2 who were under a 
Nazaritic vow, accompany them to the temple, and pay for them the 
necessary expenses attending the termination of their vow. Agrippa I., 
not long before, had given the same public expression of his sympathy 
with the Jews, on his arrival from Rome to take possession of his throne. 3 
And what the King had done for popularity it was felt that the Apostle 
might do for the sake of truth and peace. His friends thought that he 
would thus, in the most public manner, exhibit himself as an observer of 
the Mosaic ceremonies, and refute the accusations of his enemies. They 
added, that, by so doing, he would not countenance the errors of those 



1 " A multitude," v. 22. Not " the multi- 2 That these Nazarites were Christians is 

tudc," nor the laity of the Church, as some evident from the words " We have." 
have imagined. Were such the meaning, the 3 " On arriving at Jerusalem, he offered 

Greek would have had the definite article. many sacrifices of thanksgiving : wherefore 

There seems to be some doubt about the also he ordered that many of the Xazantcs 

genuineness of the clause. See Tischen- should have their heads shorn." Joseph. Ant. 

dorf. xix. 6, 1. 



624 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxi. 

who sought to impose the Law upon Gentile converts ; because it had 
been already decided by the Church of Jerusalem, that the ceremonial 
observances of the Law were not obligatory on the Gentiles. 1 

It is remarkable that this conclusion is attributed expressly, in the 
Scriptural narrative, not to James (who presided over the meeting), but 
to the assembly itself. The lurking shade of distrust implied in the terms 
of the admonition was certainly not shared by that great Apostle who had 
long ago given to St. Paul the right hand of fellowship. We have already 
seen indications, that, however strict might be the Judaical observances of 
St. James, they did not satisfy the Judaizing party at Jerusalem, who 
attempted, under the sanction of his name, 2 to teach doctrines and enforce 
practices of which he disapproved. The partisans of this faction, indeed, 
are called by St. Paul (while anticipating this very visit to Jerusalem) 
" the disobedient party." 3 It would seem that their influence was not 
unfelt in the discussion which terminated in the resolution recorded. And 
though St. James acquiesced (as did St. Paul) in the advice given, it 
appears not to have originated with himself. 

The counsel, however, though it may have been suggested by suspicious 
prejudice, or even by designing enmity, was not in itself unwise. St. 
Paul's great object (as we have seen) in this visit to Jerusalem was 
to conciliate the Church of Palestine. If he could win over that Church 
to the truth, or even could avert its open hostility to himself, he would 
be doing more for the diffusion of Christianity than even by the conver- 
sion of Ephesus. Every lawful means for such an end he was ready 
gladly to adopt. His own principles, stated by himself in his Epistles, 
required this of him. He had recently declared that every compliance 
in ceremonial observances should be made, rather than cast a stumbling- 
block in a brother's way. 4 He had laid it down as his principle of action 
to become a Jew to Jews that he might gain the Jews, as willingly as 
he became a Gentile to Gentiles that he might gain the Gentiles. 5 He 
had given it as a rule, that no man should change his external observ- 
ances because he became a Christian ; that the Jew should remain a Jew 
in things outward. 6 Nay more, he himself observed the Jewish festivals, 
had previously countenanced his friends in the practice of Nazaritic vows, 7 
and had circumcised Timothy, the so.i of a Jewess. So false was the 

1 V. 25, comparing xv. 28 7 Acts xviii. 18, which we conceive to refer 

2 Acts xv. See Gal. ii. 12 to Aquila. (See p. 368.) But many inter- 
8 Rom. xv. 31. preters of the passage think that St. Paul him- 
4 Rom. xiv. 5 See 1 Cor. ix. 20. self made the vow. We cannot possibly as- 
6 1 Cor. vii. 17-19. Such passages are the sent to Mr. Lewin's view, that St. Paul was 

" best refutation of those who endeavor to repre- still, on his arrival at Jerusalem, under the 

sent the conduct here assigned to St. Paul as obligation of a vow taken in consequence of 

inconsistent with his teaching. See the dis- his escape at Ephesus. 
cussion pp. 229, 230. 



chap. xxi. NATtTKE OF THE KAZAEITIC VOW. 625 

charge that he had forbidden the Jews to circumcise their children. 1 In 
fact, the great doctrine of St. Paul concerning the worthlessness of cere- 
monial observances rendered him equally ready to practise as to forsake 
them. A mind so truly catholic as his was necessarily free from any 
repugnance to mere outward observances ; a repugnance equally super- 
stitious with the formalism which clings to ritual. In his view, circum- 
cision was nothing, and uncircumcision was nothing ; but faith, which 
worketh by love. And this love rendered him willing to adopt the most 
burdensome ceremonies, if by so doing he could save a brother from stum- 
bling. Hence he willingly complied with the advice of the assembly, and 
thereby, while he removed the prejudices of its more ingenuous members, 
doubtless exasperated* the factious partisans who had hoped for his refusal. 
Thus the meeting ended amicably, with no open manifestation of that 
hostile feeling towards St. Paul which lurked in the bosoms of some who 
were present. On the next day, which was the great feast of Pentecost, 2 
St. Paul proceeded with the four Christian Nazarites to the Temple. It 
is necessary here to explain the nature of their vow, and of the office 
which he was to perform for them. It was customary among the Jews 
for those who had received deliverance from any great peril, or who from 
other causes desired publicly to testify their dedication to God, to take 
upon themselves the vow of a Nazarite, the regulations of which are 
prescribed in the sixth chapter of the book of Numbers. 3 In that book no 
rule is laid down as to the time during which this life of ascetic rigor 
was to continue : 4 but we learn from the Talmud and Josephus 5 that 

1 It has been argued that this charge was rate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to 
true, because the logical inference from St. separate themselves unto the Lord, he shall 
Paul's doctrines was the uselessness of circum- separate himself from wine and strong drink. 
cision. But it might as well be said that the ... All the days of the vow of his separation 
logical inference from the decree of the Coun- there shall no razor come upon his head : until 
cil of Jerusalem was the uselessness of circum- the days be fulfilled in the which he sepa- 
cision. The continued observance of the law rateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be 
was of course only transitional. holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his- 

2 This mode of settling the vexed question head grow." Numb. vi. 2-5. 

of the "seven days" entirely removes the diffi- 4 Sometimes the obligation was for life, as 

culty arising out of the "twelve days," of in the cases of Samson, Samuel, and John the 

which St. Paul speaks (xxiv. 11) in his speech Baptist. That " seven days " in the instance 

before Felix. Yet it cannot be denied that, before us was the whole duration of the vow, 

on reading consecutively the twenty-sixth and seems impossible, for this simple reason, that 

twenty-seventh verses of the twenty -first chap- so short a time could produce no perceptible 

ter, it is difficult (whether or not we identify effect on the hair. Hemsen makes a mistake 

"the days of purification" with "the seven here in referring to the "seven days" in 

days") to believe that the same day is referred Numb. vi. 6, which contemplates only the ex- 

to in each verse. And when we come to xxiv. ceptional case of defilement in the course of 

11, we shall see that other modes of reckoning the vow. 
the time are admissible. 5 Josephus states this after mentioning.' 

3 " When either man or woman shall sepa- Berenice's vow, War, ii. 15, 1. 

40 



626 



THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXI. 



thirty days was at least a customary period. During this time the Naza- 
rite was bound to abstain from wine, and to suffer his hair to grow uncut. 
At the termination of the period, he was bound to present himself in the 
Temple with certain offerings, and his hair was then cut off and burnt 
upon the altar. The offerings required l were beyond the means of the 
very poor, and consequently it was thought an act of piety for a rich 
man 2 to pay the necessary expenses, and thus enable his poorer country- 
men to complete their vow. St. Paul was far from rich ; he gained his 
daily bread by the work of his own hands ; and we may therefore natu- 
rally ask how he was able to take upon himself the expenses of these 
four Nazarites. The answer probably is, that the assembled Elders had 
requested him to apply to this purpose a portion of the fund which he 
had placed at their disposal. However this may be, he now made him- 
self responsible for these expenses, and accompanied the Nazarites to the 
Temple, after having first performed the necessary purifications together 
with them. 3 On entering the Temple, he announced to the priests that 
the period of the Nazaritic vow which his friends had taken was accom- 
plished, and he waited 4 within the sacred enclosure till the necessary 
offerings were made for each of them, and their hair cut off and burnt 
in the sacred fire. 



1 "And this is the law of the Nazarite, 
when the days of his separation are fulfilled : 
he shall be brought unto the door of the tab- 
ernacle of the congregation ; and he shall offer 
his offering unto the Lord, one he-lamb of the 
first year without blemish for a burnt-offering, 
and one ewe-lamb of the first year without 
blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram with- 
out blemish for peace-offerings, and a basket 
of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour 
mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened 
bread anointed with oil, and their meat-offer- 
ing, and their drink-offerings. And the priest 
shall bring them before the Lord, and shall 
offer his sin-offering and his burnt-offering : 
and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of 
peace-offerings unto the Lord, with the basket 
of unleavened bread : the priest shall offer also 
his meat-offering and his drink-offering. And 
the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separa- 
tion at the door of the tabernacle of the con- 
gregation, and shall take the hair of the head 
of his separation, and put it in the fire which 
is under the sacrifice of the peace-offerings." 
Numb. vi. 13-18. 

2 Compare the case of Agrippa mentioned 
above. 



8 Purify thyself with them (xxi. 24), ivhen 
purified he went in (26), they found me purified 
(xxiv. 18). We do not agree with those com- 
mentators who interpret the first expression to 
mean " dedicate thyself as a Nazarite along 
with them." We doubt whether it could bear 
this meaning. At all events, the other is by 
far the most natural and obvious, and it cor- 
responds with the Septuagintal use of the 
same verb in Numbers xix. 12. 

4 The obvious translation of v. 26 seems to 
be, " He entered into the Temple, giving pub- 
lic notice that the days of purification were 
fulfilled [and staid there] till the offering for 
each one of the Nazarites was brought." The 
emphatic force of each one should be noticed. 
Publicity is implied in the word for giving 
notice. The persons to whom notice was given 
were the priests. 

This interpretation harmonizes with Wiese- 
ler's view of the whole subject. If we believe 
that several days were yet to elapse before the 
expiration of the Nazaritic ceremonies, we 
must translate, with Mr. Humphry — " mak- 
ing it known that the days of separation which 
must be fulfilled before the offering should be 
made were in the course of completion." 



chap. xxi. ST. PAUL SEIZED AT THE FESTIVAL. 627 

He might well have hoped, by thus complying with the legal cere- 
monial, to conciliate those, at least, who were only hostile to him because 
they believed him hostile to their national worship. And, so far as the 
great body of the Church at Jerusalem was concerned, he probably suc- 
ceeded. But the celebration of the festival had attracted multitudes to 
the Holy City, and the Temple was thronged with worshippers from 
every land ; and amongst these were some of those Asiatic Jews who 
had been defeated by his arguments in the Synagogue of Ephesus, 
and irritated against him during the last few years daily more and more, 
by the continual growth of a Christian Church in that city, formed in 
great part of converts from among the Jewish Proselytes. These men, 
whom a zealous feeling of nationality had attracted from their distant 
home to the metropolis of their faith, now beheld, where they least ex- 
pected to find him, the apostate Israelite, who had opposed their teach- 
ing and seduced their converts. An opportunity of revenge, which they 
could not have hoped for in the Gentile city where they dwelt, had 
suddenly presented itself. They sprang upon their enemy, and shouted 
while they held him fast, " Men of Israel, help. This is the man that 
teacheth all men everywhere against the People and the Law, and this 
Place." 1 Then as the crowd rushed tumultuously towards the spot, they 
excited them yet further by accusing Paul of introducing Greeks into 
the Holy Place, which was profaned by the presence of a Gentile. The 
vast multitude which was assembled on the spot, and in the immediate 
neighborhood, was excited to madness by these tidings, which spread 
rapidly through the crowd. The pilgrims who flocked at such seasons 
to Jerusalem were of course the most zealous of their nation ; very 
Hebrews of the Hebrews. We may imagine the horror and indignation 
which would fill their minds when they heard that an apostate from the 
faith of Israel had been seized in the very act of profaning the Temple 
at this holy season. A furious multitude rushed upon the Apostle ; and 
it was only their reverence for the holy place which preserved him from 
being torn to pieces on the spot. They hurried him out of the sacred 
enclosure, and assailed him with violent blows. 2 Their next course might 
have been to stone him or to hurl him over the precipice into the valley 
below. They were already in the Court of the Gentiles, and the heavy 
gates 3 which separated the inner from the outer enclosure were shut by 

1 " This place," v. 28, "this holy place," — must have remembered Stephen, and felt as 

ib. We should compare here the accusation though this attack on himself were a retribu- 

against Stephen, vi. 13. " He ceaseth not to tion. See below on xxii. 20. Cf. p. 65. 
speak blasphemous words against this holy 2 See Acts xxi. 31, 32. 

place." The two cases are in many respects 8 For an account of these gates, see be- 

parallel. We cannot but believe that Paul low. 



628 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PATJL. chap.xxi. 

the Levites, — when an unexpected interruption prevented the murderous 
purpose. 

It becomes desirable here to give a more particular description than 
we have yet done of the Temple-area and the sanctuary which it enclosed. 
Some reference has been made to this subject in the account of St. 
Stephen's martyrdom (p. 65), especially to that "Stone Chamber" — 
the Hall Gazith — where the Sanhedrin held their solemn conclave. 
Soon we shall see St. Paul himself summoned before this tribunal, and 
hear his voice in that hall where he had listened to the eloquence of the 
first martyr. But meantime other events came in rapid succession, for 
the better understanding of which it is well to form to ourselves a clear 
notion of the localities in which they occurred. 

The position of the Temple on the eastern side of Jerusalem, the rela- 
tion of Mount Moriah to the other eminences on which the city was built, 
the valley which separated it from the higher summit of Mount Zion, 
and the deeper ravine which formed a chasm between the whole city and 
the Mount of Olives, — these facts of general topography are too well 
known to require elucidation. 1 On the other hand, when we turn to the 
description of the Temple-area itself and that which it contained, we are 
met with considerable difficulties. It does not, however, belong to our 
present task to reconcile the statements in Josephus 2 and the Talmud 3 
with each other and with present appearances. 4 Nor shall we attempt 
to trace the architectural changes by which the scene has been modified, 
in the long interval between the time when the Patriarch built the altar 
on Moriah for his mysterious sacrifice, 5 and our own day, when the same 
spot 6 is the " wailing-place " of those who are his children after the flesh, 
but not yet the heirs of his faith. Keeping aloof from all difficult details, 
and withdrawing ourselves from the consideration of those events which 
have invested this hill with an interest unknown to any other spot on the 
earth, we confine ourselves to the simple task of depicting the Temple 
of Herod as it was when St. Paul was arrested by the infuriated Jews. 

1 Among the materials used in our account because of his general accuracy, and against 
of the Temple, we may particularly mention Middoth, because the Rabbis could write only 
Dr. Robinson's Researches, the memoir on from tradition. 

Jerusalem with the plan of the Ordnance Sur- 5 Gen. xxii. 

vey, published separately by Mr. G. Williams, 6 See Robinson, i. 350. "It is the nearest 

and Mr. Thrupp's Ancient Jerusalem. point in which the Jews can venture to ap- 

2 The two places in Josephus where proach their ancient temple ; and, fortunately 
Herod's Temple is described at length are for them, it is sheltered from observation by 
Ant. xv. 11, and War, v. 5. See also Ant. the narrowness of the land and the dead walls 
xx. 9, 7. around." It seems that the custom is men- 

3 The tract Middoth {Measures) in the tioned even by Benjamin of Tudela in the 
Mischna treats entirely of this subject. twelfth century. 

4 Mr. Thrupp argues in favor of Josephus, 



chap. xxi. THE TEMPLE OF HEEOD. 629 

That rocky summit, which was wide enough for the threshing-floor of 
Araunah, 1 was levelled after David's death, and enlarged by means of 
laborious substructions, till it presented the appearance of one broad 
uniform area. 2 On this level space the temples of Solomon and Zerub- 
babel were successively built : and in the time of the Apostles there were 
remains of the former work in the vast stones which formed the support- 
ing wall on the side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, 3 and of the latter in 
the eastern gate, which in its name and its appearance continued to be 
a monument of the Persian power. 4 The architectural arrangements 
of Herod's Temple were, in their general form, similar to the two which 
had preceded it. When we think of the Jewish sanctuary, whether in 
its earlier or later periods, our impulse is to imagine to ourselves some 
building like a synagogue or a church : but the first effort of our 
imagination should be to realize the appearance of that wide open space, 
which is spoken of by the prophets as the " Outer Court " or the " Court 
of the Lord's House ; " 5 and is named by Josephus the " Outer Temple," 
and, both in the Apocrypha and the Talmud, the " Mountain of the 
House." 6 That which was the " House " itself, or the Temple, properly 
so called, 7 was erected on the highest of a series of successive terraces, 
which rose in an isolated mass from the centre of the Court, or rather 
nearer to its north-western corner. 8 

In form, the Outer Court was a square ; a strong wall enclosed it ; the 
sides corresponded to the four quarters of the heavens, and each was a 
stadium or a furlong in length. 9 Its pavement of stone was of various 
colors : 10 and it was surrounded by a covered colonnade, the roof of which 
was of costly cedar, and was supported on lofty and massive columns of 
the Corinthian order, and of the whitest marble. 11 On three sides there 

1 1 Chron. xxi. 18 ; 2 Chron. iii. 1. 7 In the LXX. we find olaoc and vi\-br used 

2 See the description of this work in Jose- for that which was properly the Temple. The 
phus, War, v. 5, 1. Ant. xv. 11, 3. expression to lepov, in the N. T., is a general 

3 The lower courses of these immense term, inclusive of the whole series of courts, 
stones still remain, and are described by all So it is used by Josephus, who speaks of the 
travellers. Outer Court as the first tcpbv, the outer cepov, 

4 The Shushan Gate, which had a sculp- while he uses vaoc for the Temple itself. 
tured representation of the city of Susa, and 8 In Middoth it is distinctly said that the 
was preserved from the time of Zerubbabel. space from the east and south is greater than 
Middoth. That which is now called the that from the west and north. 

Golden Gate, " a highly ornamental double 9 We do not venture to touch the diffieul- 

gateway of Roman construction," is doubtless ties connected with the dimension of the Tcm- 

on the same spot. pie. Josephus is inconsistent both with the 

5 Ezek. xl. 17 ; Jer. xix. 14, xxvi. 2. In Talmud and himself. In one of his estimates 
2 Chron. iv. 9, it is called the Great Court. of the size of the whole area, the ground on 

6 The term with which we are most famil- which Antonia stood is included, 
iar, — "The Court of the Gentiles," — is i° War, v. 5, 2. 

never applied to this space by Jewish writers. u Ant. xv. 11, 5. He adds that the height 



630 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXI. 



were two rows of columns : but on the southern side the cloister deepened 
into a fourfold colonnade, the innermost supports of the roof being pilas- 
ters in the enclosing wall. About the south-eastern angle, where the 
valley was most depressed below the plateau of the temple, we are to 
look for that " Porch of Solomon" (John x. 23, Acts iii. 11) which is 
familiar to us in the New Testament : 1 and under the colonnades, or on the 
open area in the midst, were the " tables of the money-changers and the 
seats of them who sold doves," which turned that which was intended for a 
house of prayer into a " house of merchandise " (Johnii. 16), and " a den 
of thieves" (Matt. xxi. 13). Free. access was afforded into this wide en- 
closure by gates 2 on each of the four sides, one of which on the east was 
called the Royal Gate, and was perhaps identical with the " Beautiful 
Gate " of Sacred History, 3 while another on the west was connected with 
the crowded streets of Mount Zion by a bridge over the intervening 
valley. 4 

Nearer (as we have seen) to the north-western corner than the centre 
of the square, arose that series of enclosed terraces on the summit of 
which was the sanctuary. These more sacred limits were fenced off by a 
low balustrade of stone, with columns at intervals, on which inscriptions 
in Greek and Latin warned all Gentiles against advancing beyond them 
on pain of death. 5 It was within this boundary that St. Paul was accused 
of having brought his Heathen companions. Besides this balustrade, a 
separation was formed by a flight of fourteen steps leading up to the first 
platform, 6 which in its western portion was a narrow terrace of fifteen feet 



of the columns was 25 cubits (?), and their 
number 162, while each column was so wide 
that it required three men with outstretched 
arms to embrace it. 

1 See Joseph. Ant. xx. 9, 7. 

2 The statements of Josephus and Middoth 
with regard to the gates into the Outer Court 
are absolutely irreconcilable. 

3 The Shushan Gate, mentioned above. 

4 The supposed remains of this bridge, 
with some of the different theories respecting 
them, have been alluded to before. See p. 25, 
and the engraving. 

5 Joseph. War, v. 5, 2. In the Antiquities 
(xv. 11, 7) he does not say that the inscription 
was in different languages, but he adds that 
it announced death as the penalty of trans- 
gression. A similar statement occurs in 
Philo. 

This fence is mentioned again by Josephus 
in a striking passage, where Titus says to the 
Jews, after a horrible scene of bloodshed with- 



in the sacred limits : " Was it not yourselves, 
ye wretches, who raised this fence before your 
sanctuary ? Was it not yourselves that set the 
pillars therein at intervals, inscribed with 
Guek characters and our characters, and for- 
bidding any one to pass the boundary ? And 
was it not we that allowed you to kill any one 
so transgressing, though he were a Roman ? " 
War, vi. 2, 4. From this it appears that the 
Jews had full permission from the Romans to 
kill even a Roman, if he went beyond the 
boundary. These inscriptions have been al- 
luded to before in this work, p. 3. 

6 With this platform begins what is called 
" the second iepbv " by Josephus. For the 
fourteen steps see War, v. 5, 2. In Middoth 
the steps are twelve. Leaving aside the dis- 
cordance as to numbers, we may remark that 
we are left in doubt as to whether the balus- 
trade was above or below the steps. Mr. 
Thrupp places the steps within the barrier, p. 
328. 



chap. xxi. THE TEMPLE OF HEROD. 631 



wide round the walls of the innermost sanctuary, — while the eastern 
portion expanded into a second court, called the Court of the Women. 1 
By this term we are not to understand that it was exclusively devoted to 
that sex, but that no women were allowed to advance beyond it. This 
court seems to have contained the treasury 2 (Mark xii. 41, Luke xxi. 1) 
and various chambers, of which that at the south-eastern corner should 
be mentioned here, for there the Nazarites performed their vows ; 3 and 
the whole court was surrounded by a wall of its own, with gates on each 
side, — the easternmost of which was of Corinthian brass, with folding- 
doors and strong bolts and bars, requiring the force of twenty men to 
close them for the night. 4 We conceive that it was the closing of these 
doors by the Levites, which is so pointedly mentioned by St. Luke (Acts 
xxi. 30) : and we must suppose that St. Paul had been first seized within 
them, and was then dragged down the flight of steps into the Outer 
Court. 

The interest, then, of this particular moment is to be associated with 
the eastern entrance of the Inner from the Outer Temple. But to com- 
plete our description, we must now cross the Court of the Women to its 
western gate. The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies were still within and 
above the spaces we have mentioned. Two courts yet intervened between 
the court last described and the Holy House itself. The first was the 
Court of Israel, the ascent to which was by a flight of fifteen semicircular 
steps ; 5 the second, the Court of the Priests, separated from the former 
by a low balustrade. 6 Where these spaces bordered on each other, to the 
south, was the hall Gazith, 7 the meeting-place of the Sanhedrin, partly in 
one court and partly in the other. A little farther towards the north 
were all those arrangements which we are hardly able to associate with 
the thoughts of worship, but which daily reiterated in the sight of the 

1 War, v. 5, 2. See Ant. xv. 11, 5. from the east, by Ant. xv. 11. Such is the 

2 In Joseph. War, v. 5, 2, we find " Treas- position assigned to the gate of Corinthian brass 
uries" in the plural. Compare vi. 5, 2. by L'Empereur and Winer. Others (Light- 
L'Empereur, who edited the tract Middoth, foot, De Wette, Williams) makes it the west- 
places the treasury, or treasuries, in the wall em gate of the Court of the Women. 

of the Court of the Women, but facing the 5 War, v. 5, 3, also Middoth. 

Outer Court. 6 The information which Josephus gives 

3 Middoth. concerning these two courts (or rather two 

4 We can hardly doubt that this is the gate parts of one court) is scanty. Under the 
mentioned by Josephus, War, vi. 5, 3 : " The Court of Israel were rooms for the musical 
Eastern gate, made of brass, and very strong, instruments of the priests. Middoth. 

shut at nightfall with difficulty by twenty 7 Middoth. Reference has been made be- 

men." And this, we think, must be identical fore to this hall, in the narrative of Stephen's 

with that of War, v. 8, 3 : " One gate outside trials. P. 65, n. 4. See below, p. 642. Rab- 

the Temple, made of Corinthian brass." binical authorities say that the boundary-line 

This again is determined to be the gate by of Judah and Benjamin passed between Gazith 

which the Court of the Women was entered and the Holy Place. 



632 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxi. 

Israelites that awful truth that " without shedding of blood there is no 
remission," — the rings at which the victims were slaughtered, — the 
beams and hooks from which they were suspended when dead, — and the 
marble tables at which the entrails were washed : * — here, above all, was 
the Altar, the very place of which has been plausibly identified by the 
bore in the sacred rock of the Moslems, which appears to correspond 
exactly with the description given in the Mischna of the drain and cesspool 
which communicated with the sewer that ran off into the Kedron. 2 

The house itself remains to be described. It was divided into three 
parts, the Vestibule, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. From the 
Altar and the Court of the Priests to the Vestibule was another flight of 
twelve steps, the last of the successive approaches by which the Temple 
was ascended from the east. The Vestibule was wider 3 than the rest of 
the House : its front was adorned with a golden vine of colossal propor- 
tions : 4 and it was separated by a richly-embroidered curtain or veil from 
the Holy Place, which contained the Table of Show-bread, the Candle- 
stick, and the Altar of Incense. After this was the " second veil " (Heb. 
ix. 3), closing the access to the innermost shrine, which in the days of 
the Tabernacle had contained the golden censer and the ark of the cove- 
nant, but which in Herod's Temple was entirely empty, though still 
regarded as the " Holiest of All." (lb.) The interior height of the 
Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was comparatively small : but above 
them and on each side were chambers so arranged that the general 
exterior effect was that of a clere-story 5 rising above aisles : and the whole 
was surmounted with gilded spikes, 6 to prevent the birds from settling on 
the sacred roof. 

Such is a bare outline of the general plan of the Jewish Temple. 
Such was the arrangement of its parts, which could be traced, as in a 
map, by those who looked down from the summit of the Mount of Olives, 

1 Middoth. The position of these rings, 3 Josephus says that there were shoulders 
&c., was on the north side of the altar of on each side. 

burnt-offering, — to which the ascent was by a 4 Ant. xv. 11,3. War, v. 5, 4. Compare 

gradual slope on the south side. Middoth : " Vitis aurea expandebatur super 

2 This is the view of Prof. Willis. See portam templi ; " also Tactius: "Vitis aurea 
Williams' Memoir, p. 95. But it cannot be templo reperta." Hist. v. 5. 

regarded as absolutely certain. Mr. Thrupp 5 Williams, p. 97. 

(p. 317) objects that it is difficult to under- 6 War, v. 5, 6. Lightfoot (ch. xi.) thinks 

stand how so elevated a rock can be identical that the roof had pinnacles, " as King's Col- 

with the threshing floor of Araunah, which ledge Chapelle in Cambridge is decked in 

must have been levelled. He thinks the per- like manner, to its great beauty : " and he 

foration was the secret passage made by Herod adds that the roof was not flat, but rising in 

from Antonia. Joseph. Ant xv. 11, 7. The the middle, " as King's Colledge Chapelle may 

only authentic account ,of the " Rock of the be herein a parallel also." 
Sakrah " is thatcof Mr. Catherwood, given in 
jBartlett's Walks about Jerusalem. See Stan- 
ley's Sinai and Palestine, p. 177. 



chap. xxi. THE FORTEESS ANTONIA. 633 

as the modern traveller looks now from the same place upon the Mosque 
of Omar and its surrounding court. As seen from this eminence, — 
when the gilded front of the vestibule flashed back the rays of the sun, 
and all the courts glittered (to use the comparison of Josephus) with 
the whiteness of snow, — while the column of smoke rose over all, as a 
perpetual token of acceptable sacrifice, — and worshippers were closely 
crowded on the eastern steps and terraces in front of the Holy House, 
and Pilgrims from all countries under heaven were moving through the 
Outer Court and flocking to the same point from all streets in the city, — 
the Temple at the time of a festival must have been a proud spectacle to 
the religious Jqw. It must have been with sad and incredulous wonder 
that the four Disciples heard from Him who wept over Jerusalem, that 
all this magnificence was presently to pass away. 1 None but a Jew can 
understand the passionate enthusiasm inspired by the recollections and 
the glorious appearance of the national Sanctuary. And none but a 
Jew can understand the bitter grief and deep hatred which grew out of 
the degradation in which his nation was sunk at that particular time. 
Tins ancient glory was now under the shadow of an alien power. The 
Sanctuary was all but trodden under foot by the Gentiles. The very 
worship was conducted under the surveillance of Roman soldiers. We 
cannot conclude this account of the Temple without describing the for- 
tress which was contiguous, and almost a part of it. 

If we were to remount to the earlier history of the Temple, we might 
perhaps identify the tower of Antonia with the " palace " of which we 
read in the book of Nehemiah (ii. 8, vii. 2). It was certainly the build- 
ing which the Asmonean princes erected for their own residence under 
the name of Baris. 2 Afterwards rebuilt with greater strength and 
splendor by the first Herod, it was named by him, after his Romanizing 
fashion, in honor of Mark Antony. 3 Its situation is most distinctly* 
marked out by Josephus, who tells us that it was at the north-western 4 
corner of the Temple-area, with the cloisters of which it communicated 
by means of staircases (Acts xxi. 35, 40) . 5 It is difficult, however, to 
define the exact extent of ground which it covered in its renewed form 
during the time of the Herods. There is good reason for believing that 
it extended along the whole northern side of the great Temple court, 

1 Matt. xxiv. 2, 3 ; Mark xiii. 2, 3; Luke 4 Compare War, v. 5, 8, with Ant. xv. 11, 

xxi. 6. 2 Joseph. Ant. xv. 11, 4. 4, and War, i. 5, 4 ; i. 21, 1 ; also v. 4, 2. 

8 Josephus says of it: — " It was of old 5 Seethe next note but two for the clear 

called Baris, but afterwards named Antonia description which Josephus gives of this com- 

during the time of Antony's ascendency, munication between the fortress and the cloio- 

just as Sebaste and Agrippias gained their ters. 
later names from Sebastus [Augustus] and 
Agrippa." War, i. 5, 4. See p. 25. 



634 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xzi. 

from the north-western corner where it abutted on the city, to the north- 
eastern where it was suddenly stopped by the precipice which fronted the 
valley : and that the tank, which is now popularly called the Pool of 
Bethesda, was part of the fosse which protected it on the north. 1 
Though the ground on which the tower of Antonia stood was lower than 
that of the Temple itself, yet it was raised to such a height, that at least 
the south-eastern of its four turrets 2 commanded a view of all that went 
on within the Temple, and thus both in position and in elevation it was 
in ancient Jerusalem what the Turkish governor's house is now, — 
whence the best view is obtained over the enclosure of the Mosque of 
Omar. But this is an inadequate comparison. If we wish to realize 
the influence of this fortress in reference to political and religious 
interests, we must turn rather to that which is the most humiliating 
spectacle in Christendom, the presence of the Turkish troops at the 
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where they are stationed to control the 
fury of the Greeks and Latins at the most solemn festival of the Chris- 
tian year. Such was the office of the Roman troops that were quartered 
at the Jewish festivals in the fortress of Antonia. 3 Within its walls there 
were barracks for at least a thousand soldiers. 4 Not that we are to sup- 
pose that all the garrison in Jerusalem was always posted there. It is 
probable that the usual quarters of the " whole cohort" (Matt, xxvii. 27), 
or the greater part of it, were towards the western quarter of the city, 
in that " praetorium " (John xviii. 28) or official residence 5 where Jesus 
was mocked by the soldiers, and on the tessellated pavement 6 in front of 
which Pilate sat, and condemned the Saviour of the world. But at the 
time of the greater festivals, when a vast concourse of people, full of 
religious fanaticism and imbittered by hatred of their rulers, flocked into 

1 This view is ably advocated by Dr. Robin- vals watching the people, lest any insurrec- 
son in his account of Antonia (Res. i. pp. 431- tionary movement should arise. lb. [The 
436), and, as Mr. Williams remarks (Memoir, word rdy/za seems to be loosely used in Jose- 
p. 100), this reservoir (the Birket-Israel) may phus and elsewhere. See 1 Cor. xv. 23.] 

still be the Bethesda of the Gospel. See a 4 See below, p. 647, note on aivElpa. 

confirmation of Dr. Robinson's hypothesis, 5 This Praetorium seems to have been the 

from the observations of Mr. Walcott, Bib. old palace of Herod, connected with the tower 

Sac. i. p. 29. called Hippicus, which is identified by existing 

2 It had four smaller towers rising from its remains. It was on the western side of the 
angles, like the Tower of London, save that city, and is one of our fixed points in tracing 
that on the S. E. was higher than the others. the course of the ancient walls. 

War, v. 5, 8. 6 He took his seat on a tribunal at a place 

8 Where it joined the two colonnades of called " the Pavement," and in Hebrew, " Gab- 

the Temple, it had passages leading down to batha." John xix. 13. Something has been 

them both, through which the guard (for a said before (p. 364, n. 7) on the (3r)/j,a or tribu- 

Roman legion wa3 always quartered in the nal as the symbol of Roman power in the 

fort) went down, so as to take various posi- provinces, 
tions along the colonnades, in arms, at festi- 



chap. xxi. THE FOETEESS ANTONIA. 635 

the Temple courts, it was found necessary to order a strong military 
force into Antonia, and to keep them under arms, so that they might act 
immediately and promptly in the case of any outbreak. 

A striking illustration of the connection between the Fortress and the 
Temple is afforded by the history of the quarrels which arose in reference 
to the pontifical vestments. These robes were kept in Antonia during 
the time of Herod the Great. When he died, they came under the super- 
intendence of the Roman procurator. Agrippa I., during his short reign, 
exercised the right which had belonged to his grandfather. At his death 
the command that the Procurator Cuspius Fadus should take the vest- 
ments under his care raised a ferment among the whole Jewish people ; 
and they were only kept from an outbreak by the presence of an 
overwhelming force under Longinus, the Governor of Syria. An embassy 
to Rome, with the aid of the younger Agrippa, who was then at the 
imperial court, obtained the desired relaxation : and the letter is still 
extant in which Claudius assigned to Herod, King of Chalcis, the privi- 
lege which had belonged to his brother. 1 But under the succeeding 
Procurators, the relation between the fortress Antonia and the religious 
ceremonies in the Temple became more significant and ominous. The 
hatred between the imbittered Jews and those soldiers who were soon to 
take part in their destruction grew deeper and more implacable. Under 
Ventidius Cumanus, 2 a frightful loss of life had taken place on one occa- 
sion at the passover, in consequence of an insult perpetrated by one of 
the military. 3 When Felix succeeded him, assassination became frequent 
in Jerusalem : the high priest Jonathan was murdered, like Becket, in 
the Temple itself, with the connivance of the Procurator : 4 and at the 
very moment of which we write, both the soldiers and the populace were 
in great excitement in consequence of the recent " uproar " caused by 
an Egyptian impostor (Acts xxi. 38), who had led out a vast number of 
fanatic followers " into the wilderness " to be slain or captured by the 
troops of Felix. 5 

This imperfect description of the Temple-area and of the relations 
subsisting between it and the contiguous fortress is sufficient to set the 
scene before us, bn which the events we are now to relate occurred in 
rapid succession. We left St. Paul at the moment when the Levites had 

1 Joseph. Ant. xx. 1, 2. The letter is shall recur to the series of procurators in the 
quoted in the fifteenth chapter of Mr. Lewin's beginning of the next chapter. 

work on the Life and Epistles of St. Paul, a 8 Joseph. Ant. xx. 5, 2. War, li. 12, 1. 

chapter which contains much miscellaneous in- In this narrative the tower of Antonia and its 

formation concerning Jerusalem and the Jews guards are particularly mentioned, 

at this time. 4 War, ii. 13, 3. 

2 Tiberius Alexander, a renegade Jew, in- 5 The passages in Josephus which relate to 
tervened between Fadus and Cumanus. We this Egyptian, are Ant. xx. 8, 6 ; War, ii. 13, 5. 



636 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxi. 

closed the gates, lest the Holy Place should be polluted by murder, — 
and when the infuriated mob were violently beating the Apostle, with the 
full intention of putting him to death. The beginning and rapid prog- 
ress of the commotion must have been seen by the sentries on the 
cloisters and the tower : and news was sent up x immediately to Claudius 
Lysias, the commandant of the garrison, that " all Jerusalem was in an 
uproar" (v. 31). The spark had fallen on materials the most inflam- 
mable, and not a moment was to be lost if a conflagration was to be 
averted. Lysias himself rushed down instantly, with some of his sub- 
ordinate officers and a strong body of men, 2 into the Temple court. At 
the sight of the flashing arms and disciplined movements of the imperial 
soldiers, the Jewish mob desisted from their murderous violence. " They 
left off beating of Paul." They had for a moment forgotten that the 
eyes of the sentries were upon them : but this sudden invasion by their 
hated and dreaded tyrants reminded them that they were " in danger to 
be called in question for that day's uproar." (Acts xix. 40.) 

Claudius Lysias proceeded with the soldiers promptly and directly to 
St. Paul, 3 whom he perceived to be the central object of all the excite- 
ment in the Temple court : and in the first place he ordered him to be 
chained by each hand to a soldier : 4 for he suspected that he might be 
the Egyptian rebel, 5 who had himself baffled the pursuit of the Roman 
force, though his followers were dispersed. This being done, he proceed- 
ed to question the bystanders, who were watching this summary pro- 
ceeding, half in disappointed rage at the loss of their victim, and half in 
satisfaction that they saw him at least in captivity. But " when Lysias 
demanded who he was and what he had done, some cried one thing, and 
some another, among the multitude " (v. 33, 34) ; and when he found 
that he could obtain no certain information in consequence of the tumult, 
he gave orders that the prisoner should be conveyed into the barracks 
within the fortress. 6 The multitude pressed and crowded on the soldiers, 
as they proceeded to execute this order : so that the Apostle was actually 
" carried up " the staircase in consequence of the violent pressure from 
below. 7 And meanwhile deafening shouts arose from the stairs and from 
the court, — the same shouts, which, nearly thirty years before, sur- 

1 Literally "came up," v. 31. Compare 4 " Two chains." So St. Peter was bound, 
this with "ran down," in the next verse, and Acts xii. 

the " stairs," mentioned below. 5 This is evident from his question below, 

2 v. 32. If the word (chiliarch) translated v. 38. 

" chief captain " is to be understood literally 6 The word used here, v. 34, and below, 

of the commander of 1,000 men, the full com- xxii. 24, xxiii. 16, denotes, not " the castle," 

plemcnt of centurions in the castle would be but soldiers' " barracks " within it. It is the 

ten. word used of the camp of the Israelites in the 

3 " Then the chief captain drew near." Wilderness. (LXX.) * v. 35. 



chap. xxi. HEBEEW SPEECH TO THE PEOPLE. 637 

rounded the praetorium of Pilate, 1 — " Away with him, away with 
him!" 

At this moment, 2 the Apostle, with the utmost presence of mind, turned 
to the commanding officer who was near him, — and, addressing him in 
Greek, said respectfully, " May I speak with thee ? " Claudius Lysias was 
startled when he found himself addressed by his prisoner in Greek, and 
asked him whether he was then mistaken in supposing he was the Egyp- 
tian ringleader of the late rebellion. St. Paul replied calmly that he was 
no Egyptian, but a Jew ; and he readily explained his knowledge of Greek, 
and at the same time asserted his claim to respectful treatment, 3 by saying 
that he was a native of " Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city : " 
and he proceeded to request that he might be allowed to address the peo- 
ple. The request was a bold one ; and we are almost surprised that 
Lysias should have granted it : but there seems to have been something 
in St. Paul's aspect and manner, which from the first gained an influence 
over the mind of the Roman officer ; and his consent was not refused. 
And now the whole scene was changed in a moment. St. Paul stood 
upon the stairs and turned to the people, and made a motion with the 
hand, 4 as about to address them. And they too felt the influence of his 
presence. Tranquillity came on the sea of heads below : there was " a 
great silence : " and he began, saying, — . 

xsii. 
Brethren and Fathers, 5 hear me, and let me now defend myself before l 

you. 

The language which he spoke was Hebrew. 6 Had he spoken in Greek, 
the majority of those who heard him would have understood his words : 
but the sound of the holy tongue in that holy place fell like a calm on the 
troubled waters. The silence became universal and breathless : and the 
Apostle proceeded to address his countrymen as follows : — 



His "birth and 
education. 



I am myself 7 an Israelite, born indeed at Tarsus in Cilicia, 3 
yet brought up in this city, and taught at the feet of Gamaliel, 



1 Compare Luke xxiii. 18, John xix. 15. perhaps members of the Sanhedrin, ancient 

2 " "When he was on the point of being led Scribes and Doctors of the Law, who were 
in," v. 37. stirring up the people against the heretic. 

3 We need not repeat all that has been said The phrase generally translated in A. V. 
before concerning the importance of Tarsus. "Men and brethren" literally, "Men who are 
See pp. 20, 45-48, 98, 99, 220, 221. my brethren," may be equally translated 

4 V. 40. Compare xiii. 16, xxvi. 1, also "Brethren." 

xx. 34. 6 That is, it was the Hebraic dialect popu- 

5 To account for this peculiar mode of ad- larly spoken in Judaea, which we now call 
dress, we must suppose that mixed with the Syro-Chaldaic. 

crowd were men of venerable age and dignity, 7 The pronoun is emphatic. 



638 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxi, 

~ in the strictest doctrine of the law of our fathers ; and was zealous l in 

4 the cause of God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this His persecu- 

tion of the 

sect unto the death, binding with chains and casting into christians. 

5 prison both men and women. And of this the High Priest is my witness, 
and all the 2 Sanhedrin ; from whom, moreover, I received letters to the 
brethren, 3 and went 4 to Damascus, to bring those also who were there to 
Jerusalem, in chains, that they might be punished. 

6 But it came to pass that as I journeyed, when I drew nigh ffig 
to Damascus, about mid-day, suddenly there shone from heaven 810n " 

7 a great light round about me. And I fell to the ground, and heard a 

8 voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And I an- 
swered, Who art thou, Lord f and He said unto me, I am Jesus of Naza- 

9 reth, 5 whom thou persecutest. And the men who were with me saw the 
light, and were terrified ; 6 but they heard not the voice of Him that spake 

10 unto me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord ? And the Lord said unto me, 
Arise and go into Damascus, and there thou shalt be told of all things which 
are appointed for thee to do. 

11 And when I could not see, from the brightness of that light, hi 8 blindness, 

cure, and 

my companions led me by the hand, and so I entered into baptism. 

12 Damascus. And a certain Ananias, a devout 7 man according to the law, 
well reported of by all the Jews who dwelt there, came and stood beside 

13 me, and said to me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight ; and in that instant I 

14 received my sight, 8 and looked upon him. And he said, The God of our 

15 Fathers hath ordained thee to Jcnovj Ilis will, and to behold the Just One, and to 
hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His ivitness to all the world 9 

1 See the note on Gal. i. 14. 7 The corresponding Greek word is omitted 

2 The Presbytery. Compare Luke xxii. in some of the best MSS. (and altered in 
66. The high priest here appealed to was the others), probably because the copyists were 
person who held that office at the time of St. perplexed at finding it not here used in its 
Paul's conversion, probably Theophilus, who usual technical sense of a Jewish Proselyte. 
was high priest in 37 and 38 a. d. 8 The verb here has the double meaning of 

3 i. e. the Jews resident at Damascus. to recover sight and to look up; in the former 

4 Literally, I ivas on my road (imperf.). of which it is used in the accounts of blind 

5 Literally, Jesus the Nazarene. Saul was men healed in the Gospels. Here the A. V. 
going to cast the Nazarenes (so the Christians translates the same verb by two different 
were called, see Acts xxiv. 5) into chains and words. 

dungeons when he was stopped by the Lord 9 The meaning rather stronger than " all 

announcing Himself from heaven to be Jesus men." 
the Nazarene. 

6 The clause " and were terrified " is omitr 
ted in some of the best MSS. 



chap. xxi. HIS ADDKESS SUDDENLY INTEKKUPTED. 639 

xsii. 

of what thou hast seen and heard. And now, why dost thou delay ? Arise 16 

and be baptized} and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of Jesus. 2 

„. And it came to pass, after I had returned to Jerusalem, and 17 

His return to r ■ i j 

Jerusalem. w hii e j was praying in the Temple, that I was in a trance, and 
saw Him saying unto me, Make haste and go forth quickly from Jerusalem ; 18 
. for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I 19 

"So^togcfto said, 3 Lord, they themselves know that I continually 4 imprisoned 

and scourged in every synagogue the believers in Thee. And 20 
when the blood of thy martyr 5 Stephen was shed, I myself also was standing 
by and consenting gladly* to his death? and keeping the raiment of them who 
slew him. And He said unto me, Depart ; for I will send thee far hence 21 
unto the G entiles. 

At these words St. Paul's address to his countrymen was suddenly in- 
terrupted. Up to this point he had riveted their attention. 8 They listened, 
while he spoke to them of his early life, his persecution of the Church, 
his mission to Damascus. Many were present who could testify, on their 
own evidence, to the truth of what he said. Even when he told them of 
his miraculous conversion, his interview with Ananias, and his vision in 
the Temple, they listened still. With admirable judgment he deferred 
till the last all mention of the Gentiles. 9 He spoke of Ananias as a 
" devout man according to the law" (v. 12), as one " well reported of by 
all the Jews " (ib.), as one who addressed him in the name of " the God 

1 Literally, cause thyself to bebaptized (mid.). 7 " To his death," though omitted in the 
With the following compare 1 Cor. vi. 11. best MSS., is implied in the sense. 

2 The best MSS. read "His name," and 8 The verb for listening is in the imperfect; 
not " the Lord's name." The reference is to that for the outbreak is in the aorist. See the 
the confession of faith in Jesus, which pre- remarks on Stephen's speech, p. 66. 

ceded baptism. 9 As an illustration of St. Paul's wisdom, it 

3 St. Paul expected at first that the Jews is instructive to observe that in xxvi. 17 it is 
at Jerusalem (the members of his own party) distinctly said that Jesus himself announced 
would listen to him readily, because they could from heaven Paul's mission to the Gentiles ; 
not be more violent against the Nazarenes and that in ix. 15 the same announcement is 
than they knew him to have been : and he made to Ananias, — whereas in the address to 
therefore* thought that they must feel that the Jews this is kept out of view for the mo- 
nothing short of irresistible truth could have ment, and reserved till after the vision in the 
made him join the sect which he had hated. Temple is mentioned. And again we should 

4 Literally, 2" was imprisoning, I kept on im~ observe that while, in ix. 10, Ananias is spoken 
prisoning. of as a Christian (see 13), here he is described 

5 This word (literally Witness) had not yet as a strict and pious Jew. He was, in fact, 
acquired its technical sense, but here it may be both the one and the other. But, for the pur- 
translated Martyr, because the mode in which poses of persuasion, St. Paul lays stress here 
Stephen bore testimony was by his death. on the latter point. 

6 Compare liom. i. 32. 



640 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxi. 

of their Fathers " (v. 14). He showed how in his vision he had pleaded 
before that God the energy of his former persecution as a proof that his 
countrymen must surely be convinced by his conversion : and when he 
alluded to the death of Stephen, and the part which he had taken himself 
in that cruel martyrdom (v. 20), all the associations of the place where 
they stood * must (we should have thought) have brought the memory of 
that scene with pathetic force before their minds. But when his mission 
to the Gentiles was announced, — though the words quoted were the words 
of Jehovah spoken in the Temple itself, even as the Lord had once spoken 
to Samuel, 2 — one outburst of frantic indignation rose from the Temple- 
area and silenced the speaker on the stairs. Their national pride bore 
down every argument which could influence their reason or their rever- 
ence. They could not bear the thought of uncircumcised Heathens being 
made equal to the sons of Abraham. They cried out that such a wretch 
ought not to pollute the earth with his presence — that it was a shame to 
have preserved his life : 3 and in their rage and impatience they tossed off 
their outer garments (as on that other occasion, when the garments were 
laid at the feet of Saul himself), 4 and threw up dust into the air with 
frantic violence. 5 This commotion threw Lysias into new perplexity. He 
had not been able to understand the Apostle's Hebrew speech : and, when 
he saw its results, he concluded that his prisoner must be guilty of some 
enormous crime. He ordered him therefore to be taken immediately 
from the stairs into the barracks; 6 and to be examined by torture, 7 in 
order to elicit a confession of his guilt. Whatever instruments were ne- 
cessary for this kind of scrutiny would be in readiness within a Roman 
fortress; and before long the body 8 of the Apostle was " stretched out,'' 
like that of a common malefactor, " to receive the lashes," with the 
officer standing by, 9 to whom Lysias had intrusted the superintendence of 
this harsh examination. 

1 See above, p. 627, n. 1. place themselves near the gate of the palace, 

2 1 Sam. iii. where they suppose they are most likel) to be 

3 The correct reading appears to put the seen and heard, and then set up a horrid out- 
verb in the past. It will be remembered that cry, rend their garments, and throw dust into 
they were on the point of killing St. Paul, the air, at the same time demanding justice." 
when Claudius Lysias rescued him, xxi. 31. Hackett. 

4 Compare xxii. 23 with vii. 58. We need 6 See above, p. 636. 
not, however, suppose that this tossing of the 7 v. 24. 

garments and throwing of dust was precisely 8 We take the phrase to mean " for the 

symbolical of their desire to stone Paul. It thongs," i. e. the straps of which the scourges 

denoted simply impatience and disgust. were made. Others consider the word to de- 

5 " Sir John Chardin, as quoted by Harmer note the thongs or straps with which the of- 
(Obs. iv. 203), says that it is common for the fender was fastened to the post or pillar. In 
peasants in Persia, when they have a complaint either case, the use of the article is explained, 
to lay before their governors, to repair to them 9 We see this from v. 25, " he said to the 
by hundreds, or a thousand, at once. They centurion, who stood by." Claudius Lysias 



chap. xxi. HIS IMPRISONMENT. 641 

Thus St. Paul was on the verge of adding another suffering and disgrace 
to that long catalogue of afflictions, which he had enumerated in the last 
letter he wrote to Corinth, before his recent visit to that city (2 Cor. xi. 
23-25). Five times scourged by the Jews, once beaten with rods at Phil- 
ippic and twice on other unknown occasions, he had indeed been " in stripes 
above measure." And now he was in a Roman barrack, among rude 
soldiers, with a similar indignity * in prospect ; when he rescued himself, 
and at the same time gained a vantage-ground for the Gospel, by that ap- 
peal to his rights as a Roman citizen under which he had before sheltered 
his sacred cause at Philippi. 2 He said these few words to the centurion 
who stood by : " Is it lawful to torture one who is a Roman citizen, and 
uncondemned ? " The magic of the Roman law produced its effect in a 
moment. The centurion immediately reported the words to his com- 
manding officer, and said significantly, " Take heed what thou doest : for 
this man is a Roman citizen." Lysias was both astonished and alarmed. 
He knew full well that no man would dare to assume the right of citizen- 
ship if it did not really belong to him ; 3 and he hastened in person to his 
prisoner. A hurried dialogue took place, from which it appeared, not 
only that St. Paul was indeed a Roman citizen, but that he held this 
privilege under circumstances far more honorable than his interrogator ; 
for while Claudius Lysias had purchased 4 the right for " a great sum," 
Paul 5 " was free-born." Orders were instantly given 6 for the removal of 
the instruments of torture : and those who had been about to conduct the 
examination retired. Lysias was compelled to keep the Apostle still in 
custody ; for he was ignorant of the nature of his offence : and indeed 
this was evidently the only sure method of saving him from destruction 
by the Jews. But the Roman officer was full of alarm ; for in his treat- 
ment of the prisoner 7 he had already been guilty of a flagrant violation 
of the law. 

himself was not on the spot (see v. 26), but 5 It is unnecessary to repeat here what has 

had handed over the Apostle to a centurion been said concerning the citizenship of Paul 

who " stood by," as in the case of a military and his father. See pp. 42, 43. For the laws 

flogging with us. relating to the privileges of citizens, see again 

1 We must distinguish between the scout- p. 269. 

ging here (24, 25) and the beating with rods (Acts 6 This is not expressed, but it is implied 

xvi. 22; 2 Cor. xi. 25). In the present in- by what follows. "Immediately they went 

stance the object was not punishment, but ex- away/' &c. 

amination. 7 Lysias was afraid, because he had so 

, 2 Seep. 269. "bound" the Apostle, as he could not have 

3 Such pretensions were liable to capital ventured to do, had he known he was a Roman 
punishment. citizen. It seems, that in any case it would 

4 We learn from Dio Cassius, that the have been illegal to have had immediate re- 
civitas of Rome was, in the early part of the course to torture. Certainly it was contrary 
reign of Claudius, sold at a high rate, and to the Roman law to put any Roman citizen 
afterwards for a mere trifle. to the torture, either by scourging or in any 

41 



642 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. ckaf.xxx. 

On the following day 1 the commandant of the garrison adopted a 
milder method of ascertaining the nature of his prisoner's offence. He 
summoned a meeting of the Jewish Sanhedrin with the high priests, and 
brought St. Paul down from the fortress and set him before them, — 
doubtless taking due precautions to prevent the consequences which 
might result from a sudden attack upon his safety. Only a narrow space 
of the Great Temple Court intervened 2 between the steps which led 
down from the tower Antonia and those which led up to the hall 
Gazith, the Sanhedrin's accustomed place of meeting. If that hall was 
used on this occasion, no Heathen soldiers would be allowed to enter it ; 
for it was within the balustrade which separated the sanctuary from the 
Court. But the fear of pollution would keep the Apostle's life in safety 
within that enclosure. There is good reason for believing that the Sanhe- 
drin met at that period in a place less sacred, 3 to which the soldiers would 
be admitted; but this is a question into which we need not enter. Wher- 
ever the council sat, we are suddenly transferred from the interior of a 
Roman barrack to a scene entirely Jewish. 

Paul was now in presence of that council, before which, when he 
was himself a member of it, Stephen had been judged. That moment 
could hardly be forgotten by him : but he looked steadily at his inquisi- 
tors ; 4 among whom he would recognize many who had been his fellow- 
pupils in the school of Gamaliel, and his associates in the persecution of 
the Christians. That unflinching look of conscious integrity offended 
them, — and his confident words — " Brethren, 5 1 have always lived a 
conscientious 6 life before God, up to this very day" — so enraged the 
high priest, that he commanded those who stood near to strike him on the 
mouth. This brutal insult roused the Apostle's feelings, and he exclaimed, 
" God shall smite thee, thou whited wall : 7 sittest thou to judge me 
according to the law, and then in defiance of the law dost thou command 
me to be struck ? " If we consider these words as an outburst of natural 
indignation, we cannot severely blame them, when we remember St. 
Paul's temperament, 8 and how they were provoked. If we regard them 

other way. Under the Imperial regime, how- 6 This assertion of habitual conscientious- 

ever, so early as the time of Tiberius, this rule ness is peculiarly characteristic of St. Paul, 

was violated ; and torture was applied to citi- See 2 Tim. i. 3, where there is also a reference 

zens of the highest rank, more and more to his forefathers, as in v. 6 below. Compare 

freely. ch. xxvi. 

1 V. 30. 7 With " whited wall " compare Our Sa- 

2 See above. 3 See p. 65. viour's comparison of hypocrites with " whited 

4 Actsxxiii. 1. See p. 134, n. 1. sepulchres " (Matt, xxiii. 27). Lightfoot goes 

5 It should be observed, that, both here and so far here as to say that the words them- 
below (vv. 5, 6), he addresses the Sanhedrin as selves mean that Ananias had the semblance. 
equals, — " Brethren," — whereas in xxii. 1 he of the high priest's office without the reality, 
says, " Brethren and Fathers." 8 See p. 46. 



chap. xxi. ST. PAUL BEFOBE THE SANHEDKIN". 643 

as a prophetic denunciation, they were terribly fulfilled when this hypo- 
critical president of the Sanhedrin was murdered by the assassins in the 
Jewish war. 1 In whatever light we view them now, those who were 
present in the Sanhedrin treated them as profane and rebellious. " Bevi- 
lest thou God's high priest ? " was the indignant exclamation of the 
bystanders. And then Paul recovered himself, and said, with Christian 
meekness and forbearance, that he did not consider 2 that Ananias was 
high priest; otherwise he would not so have spoken, seeing that it is 
written in the Law, 3 " ®frau £halt ttot mrile ifre ntter of thy people*" But 
the Apostle had seen enough to be convinced that there was no prospect 
before this tribunal of a fair inquiry and a just decision. He therefore 
adroitly adopted a prompt measure for enlisting the sympathies of those 
who agreed with him in one doctrine, which, though held to be an open 
question on Judaism, was an essential truth in Christianity. 4 He knew 
that both Pharisees and Sadducees were among his judges, and well 
aware that, however united they might be in the outward work of perse- 
cution, they were divided by an impassable line in the deeper matters of 
religious faith, he cried out, " Brethren, I am a Pharisee, and all my 
forefathers were Pharisees : 5 it is for the hope of a resurrection from the 
dead that I am to be judged this day." This exclamation produced 
an instantaneous effect on the assembly. It was the watchword which 
marshalled the opposing forces in antagonism to each other. 6 The Phari- 
sees felt a momentary hope that they might use their ancient partisan as 
a new weapon against their rivals ; and their hatred against the Sadducees 
was even greater than their hatred of Christianity. They were vehement 
in their vociferations ; 7 and their language was that which Gamaliel had 
used more calmly many years before 8 (and possibly the aged Rabban may 
have been present himself in this very assembly) : 9 "If this doctrine be 

1 He was killed by the Sicarii. Joseph. know from Josephus, that there was the great- 
War, ii. 17, 9. est irregularity in the appointments about this 

2 The use of this English word retains time. Lastly, it has been suggested (p. 134, 
something of the ambiguity of the original. n. 1), that the imperfection of St. Paul's vision 
It is difficult to decide positively on the mean- (supposed to be implied in xxiii. 1) was the 
ing of the words. Some think that St. Paul cause of the mistake. 3 Ex. xxii. 28. 
meant to confess that he had been guilty of a 4 For these two sects, see the early part of 
want of due reflection, — others that he spoke . Ch. II. 

ironically, as refusing to recognize a man like 5 " Pharisees," not " Pharisee," is the read- 
Ananias as high priest, — others have even ing best supported by MSS., and the plural is 
thought that there was in the words an in- far more forcible. See pp. 31, 32. 
spired reference to the abolition of the sacerdo- 6 " There arose a discussion, . . . and the 
tal system of the Jews, and the sole priesthood multitude was divided," v. 7. Compare " they 
of Christ. Another class of interpreters re- strove," v. 9. 

gard St. Paul as ignorant of the fact that An- 7 " There arose a great cry," v. 9. 

anias was high priest, or argue that Ananias 8 Acts v. 39. 

was not really installed in his office. And we 9 It appears that he died about two yeara 



644 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chat. xxi. 

of God, ye cannot destroy it : beware lest ye be found to be fighting 
against God." " We find no fault in this man : what, if (as he says) l an 

angel or a spirit have indeed spoken to him " The sentence waa 

left incomplete or unheard in the uproar. 2 The judgment-hall became a 
scene of the most violent contention ; and presently Claudius Lysias 
received information of what was taking place, and fearing lest the Roman 
citizen, whom he was bound to protect, should be torn in pieces between 
those who sought to protect him, and those who thirsted for his destruc- 
tion, he ordered the troops to go down instantly, and bring him back into 
the soldiers' quarters within the fortress. 3 

So passed this morning of violent excitement. In the evening, when 
Paul was isolated both from Jewish enemies and Christian friends, and 
surrounded by the uncongenial sights and sounds of a soldier's barrack, 
— when the agitation of his mind subsided, and he was no longer strung 
up by the presence of his persecutors, or supported by sympathizing 
brethren, — can we wonder that his heart sank, and that he looked with 
dread on the vague future that was before him ? Just then it was that 
he had one of those visions by night, which were sometimes vouchsafed 
to him at critical seasons of his life, and in providential conformity with 
the circumstances in which he was placed. The last time when we were 
informed of such an event was when he was in the house of Aquila and 
Priscilla at Corinth, and when he was fortified against the intimidation 
of the Jews by the words, " Fear not : for I am with thee." (Acts xviii. 
9, 10.) The next instance we shall have to relate is in the worst part of 
the storm at sea, between Fair Havens and Malta, when a similar assur- 
ance was given to him : " Fear not : thou must stand before Csesar." 
(lb. xxvii. 24.) On the present occasion, events were not sufficiently 
matured for him to receive a prophetic intimation in this explicit form. 
He had, indeed, long looked forward to a visit to Rome : but the pros- 



after this time. See p. 53. "We may refer doctrine of the resurrection (v. 30). "When 

here to the observations of Mr. Birks in the Gamaliel interposes, it is noted that he was a 

Horce Apostolicce (No. xvi.) appended to his re- Phai'isee, &c." (v. 34). 

cent edition of the Horce Paulinoe, where he * There is probably a tacit reference to what 

applies the jealousy and mutual antipathy of St. Paul had said, in his speech on the stairs, 

the Sadducees and Pharisees, to explain the concerning his vision in the Temple, 
conduct of Gamaliel at the former trial, and 2 There seems no doubt that the words "let 

thus traces " an unobtrusive coincidence " be- us not fight against God," ought not to be in 

tween this passage and the narrative in Acts the text ; and that there is an aposiopesis, 

v. " First, the leaders in the persecution were either voluntary for the sake of emphasis, or 

Sadducees (v. 17). In the next place, it was compulsory because of the tumult. Perhaps 

a doctrinal offence which was charged upon the phrase " fighters against God," in Acts v. 

them (v. 28). Again, the answer of Peter, 39, may have led to the interpolation, 
while an explicit testimony to the claims of 3 xxiii. 10. 

Jesus, is an equally plain avowal of the 



CHAP. XXI. 



COKSPIKACY. 645 



pect now seemed farther off than ever. And it was at this anxious time 
that he was miraculously comforted and strengthened by Him who is 
" the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar 
off upon the sea ; who by His strength setteth fast the mountains ; who 
stilleth the noise of the seas and the tumult of the people." In the 
visions of the night, the Lord himself stood by him, and said, " Be of 
good cheer, Paul ; for as thou hast testified of me at Jerusalem, so must 
thou testify also at Rome." (lb. xxiii. 11.) 

The contrast is great between the peaceful assurance thus secretly 
given to the faith of the Apostle in his place of imprisonment, and the 
active malignity of his enemies in the city. When it was day, more than 
forty of the Jews entered into a conspiracy to assassinate Paul : * and, 
that they might fence round their crime with all the sanction of religion, 
they bound themselves by a curse, that they would eat and drink nothing 
till the deed was accomplished. 2 Thus fortified by a dreadful oath, they 
came before the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrin, 3 and pro- 
posed the following plan, which seems to have been readily adopted. 
The Sanhedrists were to present themselves before Claudius Lysias, with 
the request that he would allow the prisoner to be brought once more 
before the Jewish Court, -that they might enter into a further investiga- 
tion : 4 and the assassins were to lie in wait, and murder the Apostle on 
his way down 5 from the fortress. The plea to be brought before Lysias 
was very plausible : and it is probable, that, if he had received no 
further information, he would have acted on it : for he well knew that 
the proceedings of the Court had been suddenly interrupted the day 
before, 6 and he would be glad to have his perplexity removed by the 

1 With the direct narrative, v. 12-15, we only momentary, and that the temporary 
should compare closely the account given by schism had been bealed in the common wish to 
St. Paul's nephew, vv. 20, 21. destroy him. The Pharisees really hated him 

2 So we are told by Josephus that ten Jews the most. It would seem, moreover, from 
bound themselves by a solemn oath to as- xxiv. 15, that Pharisees appeared as accusers 
sassinate Herod, and that before their execution before Felix. 

they maintained "that their oath had been 4 Or rather "that he might enter, &c." 

well and piously taken." Ant. xv. 8, 3, 4. Such seems the true reading. See the next 

Hackett quotes from Philo a formal justiflca- note but two. 

tion of such assassinations of apostates. In 5 " Bring down," v. 15 and v. 20. So "take 

illustration of the form of the oath, Lightfoot down," v. 10, and "bringing down," xxii. 30. 

shows from the Talmud that those who were The accurate use of these words should be 

implicated in such an oath could obtain absolu- compared with what is said by Josephus and 

tion. by St. Luke himself of the stairs between the 

3 Most of the commentators are of opinion Temple and the fortress. They present us 
that only the Sadducean party is contemplated with an undesigned consistency in a matter of 
here, the Pharisees having espoused St. Paul's topography ; and they show that the writer 
cause. But it is far more natural to suppose was familiar with the place he is describing, 
that their enthusiasm in his behalf had been 6 See above. 



646 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxi. 

results of a new inquiry. 1 The danger to which the Apostle was exposed 
was most imminent : and there has seldom been a more horrible example 
of crime masked under the show of religious zeal. 

The plot was ready : 2 and the next day 3 it would have been carried 
into effect, when God was pleased to confound the schemes of the conspir- 
ators. The instrument of St. Paul's safety was one of his own relations, 4 
the son of that sister whom we have before mentioned (p. 46) as the 
companion of his childhood at Tarsus. It is useless to attempt to 
draw that veil aside which screens the history of this relationship from 
our view, though the narrative seems to give us hints of domestic inter- 
course at Jerusalem, 5 of which, if it were permitted to us, we would 
gladly know more. Enough is told to us to give a favorable impression, 
both of the affection and discretion of the Apostle's nephew : nor is he 
the only person the traits of whose character are visible in the artless 
simplicity of the narrative. The young man came into the barracks, 
and related what he knew of the conspiracy to his uncle ; to whom he 
seems to have had perfect liberty of access. 6 Paul, with his usual prompti- 
tude and prudence, called one of the centurions to him, and requested 
him to take the youth 7 to the commandant, saying that he had a commu- 
nication to make to him. 8 The officer complied at once, and took the 
young man with this message from " the prisoner Paul " to Claudius 
Lysias ; who — partly from the interest he felt in the prisoner, and 
partly, we need not doubt, from the natural justice and benevolence of 
his disposition — received the stranger kindly, " took him by the hand, 
and led him aside, and asked him in private " to tell him what he had to 
say. The young man related the story of the conspiracy in full detail, 
and with much feeling. Lysias listened to his statement and earnest 
entreaties ; 9 then, with a soldier's promptitude, and yet with the caution 
of one who felt the difficulty of the situation, he decided at once on what 

1 If the Sanhedrin were about to investi- Paul's sister and nephew resided at Jerusalem, 
gate (see v. 15), it would be in order that and, if so, why he lodged, not with them, but 
Claudius Lysias might obtain more informa- with Mnason (above, p. 617). 

tion : and it would be more natural for the 6 So afterwards at Cassarea, xxiv. 23. 

young man to put the matter before him in this " Felix commanded to let him have liberty, 

point of view. and that he should forbid none of his acquaint- 

2 Observe the young man's words, v. 21 : ance to minister or come to him." See the 
" and now are they ready, looking for a prom- next chapter for a description of the nature 
ise from thee." of the Citslodia, in which St. Paul was kept, 

3 " To-morrow," v. 20. It is in the young both at Jerusalem and Csesarea. 

man's statement that this precise reference to 7 The word for "young man " is indeter- 

time occurs. In v. 15, the word appears to be minate, but the whole narrative gives the im- 

an interpolation. pressiqn that he was a very young man. See 

4 vv. 16-22. p. 99, n. 4. 

5 Two questions easily asked, but not easily 8 vv. 17, 18. 

answered, suggest themselves — whether St. 9 "But do not thou yield unto them," v. 21. 



ohap.xxi. A NIGHT JOTONEY. 647 

lie would do, but without communicating the plan to his informant. He 
simply dismissed him, with a significant admonition, — " Be careful that 
thou tell no man that thou hast laid this information before me." 

When the young man was gone, Claudius Lysias summoned one or two 
of his subordinate officers, 1 and ordered them to have in readiness two 
hundred of the legionary soldiers, with seventy of the cavalry, and 
two hundred spearmen ; 2 so as to depart for Csesarea at nine in the 
evening, 3 and take Paul in safety to Felix the governor. The journey 
was long, and it would be requisite to accomplish it as rapidly as possible. 
He therefore gave directions that more than one horse should be provided 
for the prisoner. 4 We may be surprised that so large a force was sent to 
secure the safety of one man ; but we must remember that this man was 
a Roman citizen, while the garrison in Antonia, consisting of more than a 
thousand men, 5 could easily spare such a number for one day on such a 
service ; and further, that assassinations, robberies, and rebellions were 
frequent occurrences at that time in Judaea, 6 and that a conspiracy also 
wears a formidable aspect to those who are responsible for the public 
peace. The utmost secrecy, as well as promptitude, was evidently re- 
quired ; and therefore an hour was chosen, when the earliest part of the 
night would be already past. At the time appointed, the troops, with St. 
Paul in the midst of them, marched out of the fortress, and at a rapid 
pace took the road to Csesarea. 

It is to the quick journey and energetic researches of an American 
traveller that we owe the power of following the exact course of this 
night-march from Jerusalem to Csesarea. 7 In an earlier part of this 

1 The full complement of centurions would ten cohorts in a legion; and each legion con- 
be ten. See below, p. 650, n. 8. tained more than 6*000) men, besides an equal 

2 The rendering in the Authorized Version number of auxiliaries and a squadron of 
is probably as near as any other to the true horse : but see the next chapter, especially p. 
meaning. The singular word used here dis- 656. 6 See the next chapter, 
tinguishes the soldiers in question from legion- i See " A Visit to Antipatris," by the Rev. 
ary soldiers and from cavalry, and therefore Eli Smith, missionary in Palestine, in the 
doubtless means light-armed troops. Moreover Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. i. pp. 478-496. The 
the word seems to imply the use of some wea- journey was expressly taken (on the way from 
j)on simply carried in the right hand. As to Jerusalem to Joppa) for the purpose of asceiV 
the mixture of troops in the escort sent by taining St. Paul's route to Antipatris; and 
Claudius Lysias, we may remark that he sent the whole of this circuitous route to Joppa 
forces adapted to act on all kinds of ground, was accomplished in two days. The article is 
and from the imperfect nature of his informa- followed by some valuable remarks by Dr. 
tion he could not be sure that an ambuscade Eobinson, who entirely agrees with Mr. E. 
might not be laid in the way; and at least Smith, though he had previously assumed 
banditti were to be feared. See p. 656. (Bill. Res. iii. 46, 60) that St. Paul's escort 

3 " And at the third hour of the night," v. had gone by the pass of Bethoron, a route 
23. sometimes used, as by Cestius Gallius on his 

4 V. 24. march from Ca&sarea by Lydda to Jerusalem. 

5 The OTteipa was a cohort. There were Joseph. War, ii. 19, 1. 



648 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



work, we have endeavored to give an approximate representation of the 
Roman roads as they existed in Palestine ; 1 and we have had occasion 
more than once to allude to the route which lay between the religious and 
political capitals of the country. 2 To the roads previously mentioned we 
must add another, which passes, not by Lydda 3 (or Diospolis), but more 
directly across the intermediate space from Gophna to Antipatris. We 
have thus the whole route to Cassarea before us ; and we are enabled to 
picture to ourselves the entire progress of the little army, which took St. 
Paul in safety from the conspiracies of the Jews, and placed him under 
the protection of Felix the governor. 

The road lay first, for about three hours, northwards, 4 along the high 
mountainous region which divides the valley of the Jordan from the 
great western plain of Judaea. 5 About midnight they would reach 
Gophna. 6 Here, after a short halt, they quitted the northern road which 
leads to Neapolis 7 and Damascus, once travelled by St. Paul under widely 
different circumstances, — and turned towards the coast on the left. 
Presently they began to descend among the western eminences and 
valleys of the mountain-country, 8 startling the shepherd on the hills of 
Ephraim, and rousing the village peasant, who woke only to curse his 



1 Cli. III. In the larger editions these roads 
are shown in a map. 

2 Pp. 50, 97, 370, 617. 

3 See Acts ix. 32. For geographical illus- 
tration, we may refer to the movements of 
Peter in reference to Lydda, Joppa, Coesarea, 
and Jerusalem (ix. 38, x. 23, 24, xi. 2), and 
also those of Philip in reference to Scbaste (?) 
in Samaria, Azotus, Gaza, and Cassarea (viii). 

4 This part of the road has been mentioned 
before (p. 78) as one where Dr. Robinson fol- 
lowed the line of a Roman pavement. With 
the very full description in his third volume, 
pp. 75-80, the map in the first volume should 
be compared. Mr. E. Smith mentions this 
part of the route briefly, B. S. pp. 478, 479. 

5 P. 78. 

6 " We rode hastily to Bireh . . . reached 
Birch in 2 h. 20 m. . . . 35 m. from Bireh, 
we came to ruins. Here we found we had 
mistaken our path. . . . 30 m. from hence we 
took the following bearings, &c. . . . reached 
Jufna in 30 m." B. S. 479. Compare the 
time in Dr. Robinson's accourt. 

7 P. 78. 

8 " We started [from Jufna] by the oldest 
road to Kefr Saba. ... In 20 m. reached Bir 
Zeit. In this distance, we found evident re- 



mains of the pavement of a Roman road, af- 
fording satisfactory proof that we had not 
mistaken our route." B. S. 480. " The whole 
of our way down the mountain was a very 
practicable, and, for the most part, a very easy 
descent. It seemed formed by nature for a 
road ; and we had not descended far from the 
point where our observations were made, be- 
fore we came again upon the Roman pave- 
ment. This we continued to find at intervals 
during the remainder of the day. In some 
places, for a considerable distance, it was 
nearly perfect ; and then, again, it was en- 
tirely broken up, or a turn in our path made 
us lose sight of it. Yet we travelled hardly 
half an hour at any time without finding dis- 
tinct traces of it. I do not remember observ- 
ing anywhere before so extensive remains of 
a Roman road," p. 482. "A few minutes be- 
yond the village [Um Sufah], a branch of the 
road led off to the right, where, according to 
our guides, it furnishes a more direct route to 
Kefr Saba. But just at this point the Roman 
road was fortunately seen following the path 
on the left; and thus informed us very dis- 
tinctly that this was the direction for us to 
take," p. 483. 



CHAP. XXI. 



ANTIPATEIS. 



649 



oppressor, as he heard the hoofs of the horses on the pavement, and the 
well-known tramp of the Roman soldiers. A second resting-place might 
perhaps be found at Thamna, 1 a city mentioned by Josephus in the Jewish 
wars, and possibly the " Timnath Heres," where Joshua 2 was buried " in 
Mount Ephraim, in the border of his inheritance." And then they 
proceeded, still descending over a rocky and thinly-cultivated tract, 3 till 
about daybreak they came to the ridge of the last hill, 4 and overlooked 
" the great plain of Sharon coming quite np to its base on the west." 
The road now turned northwards, 5 across the rich land of the plain 
of Sharon, through fields of wheat and barley, 6 just then almost ready 
for the harvest. " On the east were the mountains of Samaria, rising 
gradually above each other, and bounding the plain in that direction : 
on the left lay a line of low wooded hills, shutting it in from the 
sea." Between this higher and lower range, but on the level ground, in 
a place well watered and richly wooded, was the town of Antipatris. 
Both its history and situation are described to us by Josephus. The 
ancient Caphar-Saba, from which one of the Asmonean princes had dug 
a trench and built a wall to Joppa, to protect the country from inva- 



1 One of the collateral results of Mr. Eli 
Smith's journey is the identification of the 
site of this city — not the Timnath of Josh, 
xv. 10 — but a place mentioned in the follow- 
ing passages of Josephus, Ant. xiv. 11, 2; 
War, in. 3, 5, iv. 8, 1 : also 1 Mace. ix. 50. 
The ruins are now called Tibneh. 

2 Josh. xix. 49, 50, xxiv. 30; Judg. ii. 8, 
9. Mr. E. Smith observed some remarkable 
sepulchres at Tibneh. 

3 B. S. 486, 487. The traveller was still 
guided by the same indications of the ancient 
road. " Hastening on [from Tibneh], and pass- 
ing occasionally portions of the Roman road, we 
reached in 40 m. the large town of Abud. . . . 
To the left of our road we passed several se- 
pulchral excavations, marking this as an an- 
cient pbce. Our path led us for a considera- 
ble distance down a gentle but very rocky 
descent, which was the beginning of a Wady. 
Through nearly the whole of it, we either rode 
upon or by the side of the Roman road. At 
length the Wady became broader, and with its 
declivities was chiefly occupied with fields of 
grain and other cultivation. . . . After clear- 
ing the cultivation in the neighborhood, we 
passed over a hilly tract, with little cultivation, 
and thinly sprinkled with shrubbery. ... In 
our descent, which was not great, we thought 
we could discern further traces of the Roman 



road. But it was nearly dark, and we may 
possibly have been mistaken." 

4 At this point is the village of Mejdel 
Yaba in the province of Nablous. " It stands 
on the top of a hill, with the valley of Belat on 
the south, a branch Wady running into it 
on the east, and the great plain of Sharon 
coming quite up to its base on the west," p. 
488. Mr. E. Smith arrived there at eight in 
the evening, having ridden about thirty miles 
since the morning. The next day he says : 
" I was disappointed in not procuring so many 
bearings from Mejdel Yaba as I had hoped. 
The rising sun shooting his rays down the 
side of the mountain prevented our seeing 
much in that direction," p. 490. 

5 From Mejdel Yaba Mr. E. Smith did not 
take the direct route to Kefr Saba, " which 
would have led northward, probably in the 
direction of the Roman road," but went more 
to the west, by Ras-el-Ain, and across the river 
Anjeh near its source, and then by Jiljulieh. 

6 " Its soil is an inexhaustible black loam, 
and nearly the whole of it was now under 
cultivation, presenting a scene of fertility and 
rural beauty rarely equalled. Immense fields 
of wheat and barley, waving in the breeze, 
were advancing rapidly to maturity," p. 491. 
This was on the 27th of April, almost the 
exact time of St. Paul's journey. 



650 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxi. 

sion, 1 was afterwards rebuilt by Herod, and named in honor of his father 
Antipater. 2 It is described in one passage as being near the mountains ; 3 
and in another, as in the richest plain of his dominions, with abundance 
both of water and wood. 4 In the narrative of the Jewish war, Antipatris 
is mentioned as one of the scenes of Vespasian's first military proceed- 
ings. 5 It afterwards disappears from history ; 6 but the ancient name is 
still familiarly used by the peasantry, and remains with the physical 
features of the neighborhood to identify the site. 7 

The foot-soldiers proceeded no farther than Antipatris, but returned 
from thence to Jerusalem (xxiii. 32). They were no longer necessary to 
secure St. Paul's safety ; for no plot by the way was now to be appre- 
hended ; but they might very probably be required in the fortress of 
Antonia. 8 It would be in the course of the afternoon that the remaining 
soldiers with their weary horses entered the streets of Caesarea. The 
centurion who remained in command of them 9 proceeded at once to the 
governor, and gave up his prisoner ; and at the same time presented the 
despatch, 10 with which he was charged by the commandant of the garrison 
at Jerusalem. 

We have no record of the personal appearance of Felix ; but if we 
may yield to the impression naturally left by what we know of his sensual 
and ferocious (Character, 11 we can imagine the countenance with which he 
read the following despatch. 12 " Claudius Lysias sends greeting to the 
most Excellent 13 Felix the governor. This man was apprehended by the 
Jews, and on the point of being killed by them, when I came and rescued 
him ivith my military guard : u for I learnt that he was a Roman citizen.™ 
And wishing to ascertain the charge which they had to allege against him, I 

1 Joseph. Ant. xiii. 15, 1 ; War, i. 4, 7. others returned. Possihly he is the same officer 

2 Ant. xvi. 5, 2 ; War, i. 21, 9. 3 War, i. 4, 7. who is mentioned xxiv. 23. 10 Acts xxiii. 33. 
4 Ant. xvi. 5, 2 ; War, i. 21, 9. n See next chapter. 12 Acts xxiii. 26. 
6 Hearing of the revolt of Vindex from 13 "His Excellency the Governor." This 

Nero, " he moved his forces in spring from is apparently an official title. Tertullus uses 

Caasarea towards Antipatris." — War, iv. 8, 1. the same style, in addressing Felix, xxiv. 3, 

6 It is mentioned by Jerome as a " small and Paul himself, in addressing Festus, xxvi. 
town half ruined." It occurs in Jerusalem 25. Hence we may suppose Theophilus (who 
Itinerary between Caesarea and Jerusalem; is thus addressed, Luke i. 3) to have been a 
and the distances are given. man holding official rank. 

7 The existence of a place called Kafar 14 In A. V. (through forgetfulness of the 
Saba in this part of the plain was known to definite article) this is unfortunately translated 
Prokesch, and its identity with Antipatris " with an army." 

was suggested by Raumer, Rob. Bib. Res. iii. 15 This statement was dexterously inserted 

45-47. This identity may be considered now by Claudias Lysias to save himself from dis- 

as proved beyond a doubt. For some remarks grace. But it was false ; for it is impossible not 

on minor difficulties, see our note here in the to see " I learnt " intends to convey the im- 

larger editions. pression that Paul's Roman citizenship was the 

8 It is explicitly stated that they came back cause of the rescue, whereas this fact did not 
to their quarters at Jerusalem. come to his knowledge till afterwards. Some 

9 One centurion would remain while the of the commentators have justly observed that 



CHAP. XXI. 



FELIX. 



651 



took him down 1 to their Sanhedrin: and there I found that the charge had 
reference to certain questions of their law, and that he was accused of no 
offence worthy of death or imprisonment. And now, having received infor- 
mation that a plot is about to be formed against the man's life, I send 2 him 
to thee forthwith, and I have told his accusers that they must bring their 
charge before thee? Farewell" 4 

Felix raised his eyes from the paper, and said, " To what province does 
he belong ? " It was the first question which a Roman governor would 
naturally ask in such a case. So Pilate had formerly paused, when he 
found lie was likely to trespass on " Herod's jurisdiction." Besides the 
delicacy required by etiquette, the Roman law laid down strict rules for 
all inter-provincial communications. In the present case there could be 
no great difficulty for the moment. A Roman citizen with certain vague 
charges brought against him was placed under the protection of a pro- 
vincial governor, who was bound to keep him in safe custody till the 
cause should be heard. Having therefore ascertained that Paul was a 
native of the province of Cicilia, 5 Felix simply ordered him to be kept in 
" Herod's praetorium," and said to Paul himself, " I will hear and decide 
thy cause 6 when thy accusers are come." Here, then, we leave the Apos- 
tle for a time. A relation of what befell him at Cassarea will be given in 
another chapter, to which an account of the political state of Palestine, 
and a description of Herod's city, will form a suitable introduction. 



this dexterous falsehood is an incidental proof 
of the genuineness of the document. 

1 " Took down." Here we may repeat what 
has been said above concerning the topography 
of Antonia and the Temple. 

2 This is the natural English translation. 
Our letters are expressed as from the writer's 
point of view : those of the ancients were adapt- 
ed to the position of the reader. 

3 " Before thee," at the termination, emphatic. 

4 " Farewell." The MS S. vary as to the gen- 
uineness of this word. If the evidence is equally 



balanced, we should decide in its favor ; for it 
is exactly the Latin " Vale." Such despatches 
from a subordinate to a commanding officer 
would naturally be in Latin. See p. 2. 

5 The word here is eirapxia, v. 34. It has 
already been observed (pp. 130, 131) that this 
is a general term for both the Emperor's and 
the Senate's provinces, just as qyefzuv is a 
general term for the government of either. 
For the province of Cilicia, see p. 214. 

6 Such is the meaning of the phrase, v. 35. 
So in xxiv. 22. 




View of Ccosarea. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

History of Judaea resumed. — Roman Governors. — Felix. — Troops quartered in Palestine. — 
Description of Cassarea. — St. Paul accused there. — Speech before Felix. — Continued Im- 
prisonment. — Accession of Festus. — Appeal to the Emperor. — Speech before Agrippa. 

W"B have pursued a long and varied narrative since we last took a 
general view of the political history of Judssa. The state of this 
part of the Empire in the year 44 was briefly summed up in a previous 
chapter (Ch. IV.)- It was then remarked that this year and the year 60 
were the two only points which we can regard as fixed in the annals of 
the earliest Church, and, therefore, the two best chronological pivots 
of the Apostolic history. 1 We have followed the life of the Apostle Paul 
through a space of fourteen years from the former of these dates ; and 
now we are rapidly approaching the second. Then we recounted the 
miserable end of King Agrippa I. Now we are to speak of Agrippa II. , 
who, like his father, had the title of King, though his kingdom was not 
identically the same. 2 

The life of the second Agrippa ranges over the last period of national 
Jewish history, and the first age of the Christian Church ; and both his 
life and that of his sisters Drusilla and Berenice are curiously connected, 
by manifold links, with the general history of the times. This Agrippa 
saw the destruction of Jerusalem, and lived till the first century was 
closed in the old age of St. John, — the last of a dynasty eminent for 
magnificence and intrigue. Berenice concluded a life of profligacy by a 
criminal connection with Titus, the conqueror of Jerusalem. 3 Drusilla 



1 We assume that Festus succeeded Felix Berenice is so mixed up with the history of 
in the year GO. In support of this opinion we the times, and she is so often mentioned, both 
must refer to the note (C) upon the Chrono- by Josephus and by Roman writers, that it is 
logical Table, Appendix III. desirable to put together here some of the 

2 Agrippa II. was made king of Chalcis principal notices of her life and character. 
a.d. 48 — he received a further accession of She was first married to her uncle, Herod, king 
territory a. d. 53, and died, at the age of 70, of Chalcis ; and after his death she lived with 
a. d. 99. He was intimate with Josephus, and her brother, Agrippa, not without suspicion of 
was the last prince of the Herodian house. the most criminal intimacy. (Joseph. Ant. xx. 

3 Titus seems to have been only prevented 7,3.) Compare Juvenal, vi. 155. 

from marrying this beautiful and profligate It was during this period of her life that she 

princess by the indignant feeling of the Ro- made that marriage with Polemo, king of 

mans. See Dio Cass. lxvi. 15. The name of Cilicia, which has been alluded to in the earlier 
652 



crap. xxn. JUDiEA. 653 

became the wife of Felix, and perished with the child of that union in 
the eruption of Vesuvius. 

We have s,aid that the kingdom of this Agrippa was not coincident 
with that of his father. He was never, in fact, King of Judaea. The 
three years during which Agrippa I. reigned at Caesarea were only an 
interpolation in the long series of Roman procurators who ruled Judaea, 
in subordination to the governors of Syria, from the death of Herod the 
Great to the final destruction of Jerusalem. In the year 44, the second 
Agrippa was only sixteen years old, and he was detained about the court 
of Claudius, while Cuspius Fadus was sent out to direct the provincial 
affairs at Caesarea. 1 It was under the administration of Fadus that those 
religious movements took place, which ended (as we have seen above, 
p. 635) in placing under the care of the Jews the sacred vestments kept 
in the tower of Antonia, and which gave to Herod king of Chalcis the 
management of the Temple and its treasury, and the appointment of the 
high priests. And in other respects the Jews had reason to remember 
his administration with gratitude ; for he put down the banditti which 
had been the pest of the country under Agrippa ; and the slavish com- 
pliment of Tertullus to Felix (Acts xxiv. 2, 3) might have been 
addressed to him with truth, — that " by him the Jews enjoyed great 
quietness, and that very worthy deeds had been done to the nation by 
his providence." He was succeeded by Tiberius Alexander, a renegade 
Alexandrian Jew, and the nephew of the celebrated Philo. 2 In relation 
to the life of this official in Judaea, there are no incidents worth record- 
ing : at a later period we see him at the siege of Jerusalem in command 
of Roman forces under Titus : 3 and the consequent inscriptions in his 
honor at Rome served to point the sarcasm of the Roman satirist. 4 Soon 
after the arrival of Ventidius Cumanus to succeed him as governor 5 in 
the year 48, Herod king of Chalcis died, and Agrippa II. was placed on 
his throne, with the same privileges in reference to the Temple and its 
worship which had been possessed by his uncle. " During the govern- 
ment of Cumanus, the low and sullen murmurs which announced the 
approaching eruption of the dark volcano, now gathering its strength in 
Palestine, became more distinct. The people and the Roman soldiery 

part of this work. (p. 23.) Soon she left on the occasion alluded to, p. 625. (See 

Polemo, and returned to her brother: and Joseph. War, ii. 15, 16.) 

then it was that St. Paul was brought before 1 Joseph. Ant. xix. 9, xx. 5, 1. War, ii. 

them at Caesarea. After this time, she became 11, 6. 

a partisan of Vespasian. Tac. Hist. ii. 81. 2 Joseph. Ant. xx. 5,2. 

Her connection with Vespasian's son is men- 8 War, v. 1,6. Compare ii. 18, 7 ; and iv. 

tioned by Suetonius and by Tacitus, as well as 10, 6. 

by Dio Cassius. The one redeeming passage 4 Juv. i.. 129. 

in her life is the patriotic feeling she displayed 6 Ant. xx. 5, 2. War, ii. 12, 1. 



654 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxu. 

began to display mutual animosity." * One indication of this animosity 
has been alluded to before, 2 — the dreadful loss of life in the Temple which 
resulted from the wanton insolence of one of the soldiers in Antonia at 
the time of a festival. Another was the excitement which ensued after 
the burning of the Scriptures by the Roman troops at Beth-Horon, on the 
road between Jerusalem and Csesarea. An attack made by the Samari- 
tans on some Jews who were proceeding through their country to a 
festival led to wider results. 3 Appeal was made to Quadratus, governor 
of Syria ; and Cumanus was sent to Rome to answer for his conduct to 
the Emperor. In the end he was deposed, and Felix, the brother of 
Pallas the freedman and favorite of Claudius, was (partly by the influ- 
ence of Jonathan the high priest) appointed to succeed him. 4 

The mention of this governor, who was brought into such intimate 
relations with St. Paul, demands that we should enter now more closely 
into details. The origin of Felix and the mode of his elevation would 
prepare us to expect in him such a character as that which is condensed 
into a few words by Tacitus, 5 — that, " in the practice of all kinds of lust 
and cruelty, he exercised the power of a king with the temper of a 
slave." The Jews had, indeed, to thank him for some good services to 
their nation. He cleared various parts of the country from robbers; 6 
and he pursued and drove away that Egyptian fanatic, 7 with whom 
Claudius Lysias too hastily identified St. Paul. 8 But the same historian 
from whom we derive this information gives us a terrible illustration of 
his cruelty in the story of the murder of Jonathan, to whom Felix was 
partly indebted for his own elevation. The high priest had presumed to 
expostulate with the governor on some of his practices, and assassins 
were forthwith employed to murder him in the sanctuary of the Temple. 9 
And as this crime illustrates one part of the sentence, in which Tacitus 
describes his character, so we may see the other parts of it justified and 
elucidated in the narrative of St. Luke ; — that which speaks of him as a 
voluptuary, by his union with Drusilla, whom he had enticed from her 
husband by aid of a magician, who is not unreasonably identified by some 
with Simon Magus, 10 — and that which speaks of his servile meanness, 

t 

1 Milman's Hist, of the Jews, ii. 203. Felix, it has been supposed that he was manu- 

2 See the preceding chapter, p. 635. For mitted by Antonia, the mother of Claudius. 
Bcth-Horon, see p. 647, n. 7. 5 Hist. v. 9. See Ant. xii. 54. 

3 Ant. xx. 6. War, ii. 12. 6 War, ii. 13, 2. 

4 Josephus and Tacitus differ as to the cir- 7 Ant. xx. 8, 6. War, ii. 13, 5. 
cumstances of his first coming into the East. 8 See the preceding chapter. 

According to one account, he was joint-pro- 9 Ant. xx. 8, 5. His treachery to Eleazar 

curator for a time with Cumanus, the latter the arch-robber, mentioned by Josephus in the 

holding Galilee, the former Samaria. From same section, should not be unnoticed, 
the circumstance of his being called Antonius 10 See p. 74, n. 3. 



chap. xxrr. THE ROMAN ARMY. 655 

by his trembling without repentance at the preaching of Paul, and by 
his detention of him in prison from the hope of a bribe. When he 
finally left the Apostle in bonds at Caesarea, this also (as we shall see) 
was done from a mean desire to conciliate those who were about to 
accuse him at Rome of mal-administration of the province. The final 
breach between him and the provincials seems to have arisen from a 
quarrel at Caesarea between the Jewish and Heathen population, which 
grew so serious, that the troops were called out into the streets, and both 
slaughter and plunder was the result. 

The mention of this circumstance leads us to give some account of 
the troops quartered in Palestine, and of the general distribution of the 
Roman army, without some notion of •which no adequate idea can be 
obtained of the Empire and the Provinces. Moreover, St. Paul is 
brought, about this part of his life, into such close relations with different 
parts of that military service, from which he draws some of his most 
forcible imagery, 1 that our narrative would be incomplete without some 
account both of the Praetorian guards and the legionary soldiers. The 
latter force may be fitly described in connection with Caesarea, and we 
shall see that it is not out of place to allude here to the former also, 
though its natural association is with the city of Rome. 

That division between the armed and unarmed provinces, to which 
attention has been called before (pp. 129-181) , 2 will serve to direct us to 
the principle on which the Roman legions were distributed. They were 
chiefly posted in the outer provinces or along the frontier, the immediate 
neighborhood of the Mediterranean being completely subdued under the 
sway of Rome. The military force required in Gaul and Spain was much 
smaller than it had been in the early days of Augustus. Even in Africa 
the frontier was easily maintained ; for the Romans do not seem to have 
been engaged there in that interminable war with native tribes which 
occupies the French in Algeria. The greatest accumulation of legions 
was on the northern and eastern boundaries of the Empire, — along the 
courses of the three frontier rivers, the Rhine, the Danube, and the 
Euphrates ; 3 and, finally, three legions were stationed in Britain, ana 
three in Judaea. We know the very names of these legions. Just as we 
find memorials of the second, the ninth, and the twentieth in connection 

1 See especially Eph. vi. 10-18; also 1 Cor. 3 In the time of Augustus we find four 
xiv. 8 ; 1 Thess. v. 8 ; and 2 Tim. ii. 3, 4. legions in the neighborhood of the Euphrates, 

2 We may add here, that the division of eight on the Rhine frontier, and six along the 
the provinces under the Emperors arose out of Danube (two in Mcesia, two in Pannonia, and 
an earlier division under the Republic, when a two in Dalmatia). In that of Hadrian, the 
Proconsul with a large military force was sent force on each of these rivers was considerably 
to some provinces, and a Propraetor with a greater. 

smaller force to others. 



656 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxn. 

with Chester * or York, so by the aid of historians or historic monuments 
we can trace the presence of the fifth, the tenth, and the fifteenth in 
Caesarea, Ptolemais, or Jerusalem. 2 And here two principles must be 
borne in mind which regulated the stations of the legions. They did not 
move from province to province, as our troops are taken in succession 
from one colony to another ; but they remained on one station for a vast 
number of years. And they were recruited, for the most part, from the 
provinces where they were posted : for the time had long passed away 
when every legionary soldier was an Italian and a freeborn Roman 
citizen. 3 Thus Josephus tells us repeatedly that the troops quartered in 
his native country were re-enforced from thence ; 4 not indeed from the 
Jews, — for they were exempt from the duty of serving, 5 — but from the 
Greek and Syrian population. 

But what were these legions ? We must beware of comparing them 
too exactly with our own regiments of a few hundred men ; for they 
ought rather to be called brigades, each consisting of more than 6,000 
infantry, with a regiment of cavalry attached. Here we see the explana- 
tion of one part of the force sent down by Claudius Lysias to Antipatris. 6 
Within the fortress of Antonia were stables for the horses of the troopers, 
as well as quarters for a cohort of infantry. But, moreover, every legion 
had attached to it a body of auxiliaries levied in the province, of almost 
equal number ; and here, perhaps, we find the true account of the 200 
" spearmen," who formed a part of St. Paul's escort, with the 200 legion- 
ary soldiers. Thus we can form to ourselves some notion of those troops 
(amounting, perhaps, to 35,000 men), the presence of which was so 
familiar a thing in Judasa, that the mention of them appears in the most 

1 Antiquarians acquainted with the monu- "began with Marius. The alauda of Caesar was 

ments of Chester are familiar with the letters formed of strangers : but these troops after- 

Leg. xx. v. v. (Valens Victrix). wards received the Roman citizenship. "With the 

' 2 In the History of Tacitus (v. 1 ) these three distinction between the Praetorian and legionary 

legions are expressly mentioned. Compare i. soldiers, all necessary connection between citi- 

10, ii. 4. The same legions are mentioned by zenship and military service ceased to exist. 

Josephus. See, for instance, War,\. 1, 6, r. In strict conformity with this state of things 

2 y 3. We have also notices of them on Syrian we find that Claudius Lysias was a citizen by 

coins and inscriptions. purchase, not because he was a military officer. 

It should be noticed that the passages just 4 Ant. xiv. 15, 10. War, i. 17, 1. 

adduced from Josephus and Tacitus refer to 5 Jos. Ant. xiv. 10, 11-19. 

the time when the Jewish war was breaking 6 "What is written here and in the preceding 

out. Judaea may have been garrisoned, not by chapter is based on the assumption that the 

legions, but by detached cohorts, during the cohort under the command of Claudius Lysias 

rule of Felix and Festus. was a legionary cohort. But it is by no means 

3 At first under the Republic all Roman certain that it was not an independent cohort, 

soldiers were Roman citizens. " But in propor- like those called "Augustan" and '-Italic." 

tion as the public freedom was lost in extent of It appears that such cohorts really contained 

conquest, war was gradually improved into an 1,000 men each, 
art and degraded into a trade." The change 



CHAP. xxn. 



THE ROMAN ARMY. 



657 



solemn passages of the Evangelic and Apostolic history, 1 while a Jewish 
historian gives us one of the best accounts of their discipline and exer- 
cises. 2 

But the legionary soldiers, with their cavalry and auxiliaries, were not 
the only military force in the Empire, and, as it seems, not the only one 
in Judaea itself. The great body of troops at Rome (as we shall see 
when we have followed St. Paul to the metropolis) were the Prgetorian 
Guards, amounting at this period to 10,000 men. 3 These favored forces 
were entirely recruited from Italy ; their pay was higher, and their time 
of service shorter ; and, for the most part, they were not called out on 
foreign service. 4 Yet there is much weight in the opinion which regards 
the Augustan Cohort of Acts xxvii. 1 as a part of this Imperial Guard. 5 
Possibly it was identical 6 with the Italic Cohort of Acts x. 1. It might 
well be that the same corps might be called " Italic," because its men 
were exclusively Italians ; and " Augustan," because they were properly 
part of the Emperor's guard, though some of them might occasionally be 
attached to the person of a provincial governor. And we observe that, 
while Cornelius (x. 1) and Julius (xxvii. 1) are both Roman names, it 
is at Cassarea that each of these cohorts is said to have been stationed. 
As regards the Augustan cohort, if the view above given is correct, one 
result of it is singularly interesting ; for it seems that Julius the centu- 
rion, who conducted the Apostle Paul to Rome, can be identified with a 



1 It must be borne in mind tbat some of 
the soldiers mentioned in the Gospels belonged 
to Herod's military force : but since his troops 
were disciplined on the Roman model, we need 
hardly make this distinction. 

2 War, iii. 5. 

3 Under Augustus there were nine cohorts. 
Under Tiberius they were raised to ten. The 
number was not increased again till after St. 
Paul's time. 

4 Such a general rule would hare excep- 
tions, — as in the case of our own Guards at 
"Waterloo and Sebastopol. 

5 This is a question of some difficulty. 
Two opinions held by various commentators 
may, we think, readily be dismissed. 1. This 
cohors Augusta was not a part of any legio Au- 
gusta. 2. It was not identical with the Sebasteni 
(so named from Sebaste in Samaria) men- 
tioned by Josephus : for, in the first place, this 
was a troop of horse ; and secondly, Ave should 
expect a different term to be used. 

Wieseler thinks this cohort was a special 
corps enrolled by Nero under the name of 
Augustani. They were the elite of the Prae- 
42 



torians, and accompanied Nero to Greece. 
The date of their enrolment constitutes a diffi- 
culty. But might not the cohort in question 
be some other detachment of the Prcetorian 
Guards ? 

It appears from Joseph. War, iii. 4, 2, 
that five cohorts (independently of the le- 
gions) were regularly stationed at Csesarea, and 
the Augustan cohort may very well have been 
one of them. But we are not by any means 
limited to those. Dean Alford remarks, very 
justly, that we must not assume, as too many 
commentators have done, that this cohort was- 
resident at Csesarea. 

6 See p. 26, n. 4, also p. 10S, n. 3, (in the 
account of Cornelius,) where it is shown that 
this corps cannot have been a cohort of Nero's 
Legio prima Italica. One objection to the 
view of Meyer, who identifies the two, is that 
Judasa was not under procurators at the 
time of the conversion of Cornelius. But 
there is great obscurity about the early dates 
in the Acts. If the " Augustan cohort " is 
identical with the Augustani of Nero, it is clear 
that the "Italic cohort " is not the same. 



658 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxh 

high degree of probability with Julius Priscus, who was afterwards pre- 
fect of the Praetorian Guards under the Emperor Vitellius. 1 

This brief notice may suffice, concerning the troops quartered in Pales- 
tine, and especially at Caesarea. The city itself remains to he described. 
Little now survives on the spot to aid us in the restoration of this hand- 
some metropolis. On the wide area once occupied by its busy population 
there is silence, interrupted only by the monotonous washing of the sea ; 
and no sign of human life, save the occasional encampment of Bedouin 
Arabs, or the accident of a small coasting vessel anchoring off the shore. 
The best of the ruins are ingulfed by the sand, or concealed by the en- 
croaching sea. The nearest road passes at some distance, so that com- 
paratively few travellers have visited Caesarea. 2 Its glory was short-lived. 
Its decay has been complete, as its rise was arbitrary and sudden. Strabo, 
in the reign of Augustus, describes at this part of the inhospitable coast of 
Palestine nothing but a landing-place, with a castle called Strato's Tower. 
Less than eighty years afterwards we read in Tacitus and Pliny of a city 
here, which was in possession of honorable privileges, which was the 
" Head of Judaea," as Antioch was of Syria. Josephus explains to us 
the change which took place in so short an interval, by describing the 
work which Herod the Great began and completed in twelve years. 3 
Before building Antipatris in honor of his father (see p. 650), he built on 
the shore between Dora and Joppa, where Strato's castle stood, near the 
boundary of Galilee and Samaria, a city of sumptuous palaces in honor 
of Augustus Caesar. The city was provided with every thing that could con- 
tribute to magnificence, 4 amusement, 5 and health. 6 But its great boast 
was its harbor, which provided for the ships which visited that dangerous 
coast a safe basin, equal in extent to the Piraeus. 7 Yast stones were sunk 
in the sea to the depth qf twenty fathoms, 8 and thus a stupendous break- 
water 9 was formed, curving round so as to afford complete protection from 



1 The argument is given in full by Wieseler. (p. 119). Some traces of it are said to re- 

2 Thus Dr. Robinson was prevented from main. 

visiting or describing what remains. The full- 6 The arrangement of the sewers is partic- 

est account is perhaps that in Buckingham's ularly mentioned by Josephus. The remains 

Travels (i. 197-215). See also Irby and Man- of the aqueducts are still visible. 

gles, and Lamartine. There is an excellent 7 This is the comparison of Josephus, 

description of the place, with illustrations, at Antiq. In the " War " he says it was greater 

the end of the first volume of Dr. Traill's than the Piraeus. 

Josephus. We may refer now to the views in 8 Most of the stones were 50 feet long, 18^ 

Tan de Velde's Pays d 'Israel. feet broad, and 9 feet deep. Josephus, how-; 

3 Antiq. xv. 9, 6. War, i. 21, 5-8. ever, is not quite consistent with himself in 

4 The buildings were of white stone. his statement of the dimensions. 

5 It contained both a theatre and an amphi- 9 This breakwater has been compared to 
theatre. The former possesses great interest for that of Plymouth : but it was more like that 
us, as being the scene of the death of Agrippa of Cherbourg, and the whole harbor may more 



chap. xxn. C^SAREA. 659 

the south-westerly winds, 1 and open only on the north. Such is an im- 
perfect description of that city, which in its rise and greatest eminence is 
exactly contemporaneous with the events of which we read in the Gospels 
and the Acts of the Apostles. It has, indeed, some connection with later 
history. Vespasian was here declared emperor, and he conferred on it the 
title of a colony, with the additional honor of being called by his own 
name. Here Eusebius 2 and Procopius were born, and thus it is linked 
with the recollections of Constantine and Justinian. After this time its 
annals are obscured, though the character of its remains — which have 
been aptly termed " ruins of ruins " — show that it must have long been 
a city of note under the successive occupants of Palestine. 3 Its chief 
association, however, must always be with the age of which we are writing. 
Its two great features were its close connection with Rome and the empe- 
rors, and the large admixture of Heathen strangers in its population. 
Not only do we see here the residence of Roman procurators, 4 the quar- 
ters of imperial troops, 5 and the port by which Judasa was entered from 
the west, but a Roman impress was ostentatiously given to every thing that 
belonged to Caesarea. The conspicuous object to those who approached 
from the sea was a temple dedicated to Cassar and to Rome : 6 the harbor 
was called the " Augustan harbor : " 7 the city itself was " Augustan 
Caesarea." 8 And, finally, the foreign influence here was so great, that 
the Septuagint translation of the Scriptures was read in the Synagogues. 9 
There was a standing quarrel between the Greeks and the Jews, as to 

fitly be compared to the harbors of refuge a quarry, furnishing shafts and ready-wrought 

now (1852) in construction at Holyhead and blocks, &c, for public buildings at Acre and 

Portland. elsewhere. 

1 Josephus particularly says that the places * We are inclined to think that the " prae- 
on this part of the coast were " bad for anchor- torium" or "palace "of Herod (Acts xxiii. 
age on account of the swell towards (i. e. 35) was a different building from the official 
from) the S. W." — a passage which deserves residence of Felix and Festus. This seems to 
careful attention, as illustrating Acts xxvii. be implied in xxiv. 24 and xxy. 23. We shall 
12. have occasion again to refer to the word 

2 He was the first biblical geographer (as irpatTupcov, Ch. XXVI. 

Forbiger remarks in his account of Caesarea), 5 See above on the Augustan cohort, 

and to him we owe the Onomasticon, translated 6 This temple has been alluded to before, 

by Jerome. This place was also one of the p. 107. Josephus says that in the temple were 

scenes of Origen's theological labors. two statues, one of Rome and one of Caesar. 

3 See the Appendix of Dr. Traill's Jose- Ant. In War, he says that the statues were 
phis, vol. i. xlix-lvi, where a very copious colossal, that of Caesar equal in size to the 
account is given of the existing state of Csesa- Olympian Jupiter, and that of Eome to the 
rea. Its ruins are described as " remains from Argive Juno. 

which obtrude the costly materials of a succes- 7 "VVe find this term on coins of Agrippa I. 

sion of structures, and which furnish a sort One of them is given in our larger editions, 
of condensed commentary upon that series of 8 So it is called by Josephus. Ant. xv. 1, 

historical evidence which we derive from 51. 
books." Of late years they have been used as 9 Lightfoot on Acts vi. 1. See p. 34, n. 3. 



660 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL.. chap.xxii. 

whether it was a Greek city or a Jewish city. The Jews appealed to the 
fact that it was built by a Jewish prince. The Greeks pointed to the 
temples and statues. 1 This quarrel was never appeased till the great war 
broke out, the first act of which was the slaughter of 20,000 Jews in the 
streets of Caesarea. 2 

Such was the city in which St. Paul was kept in detention among the 
Roman soldiers, till the time should come for his trial before that un- 
scrupulous governor, whose character has been above described. His 
accusers were not long in arriving. The law required that causes should 
be heard speedily ; and the Apostle's enemies at Jerusalem were not 
wanting in zeal. Thus, " after five days," 3 the high priest Ananias and 
certain members of the Sanhedrin 4 appeared, with one of those advo- 
cates who practised in the law courts of the provinces, where the forms 
of Roman law were imperfectly known, and the Latin language imper- 
fectly understood. 5 The man whose professional services were engaged 
on this occasion was called Tertullus. The name is Roman, and there 
is little doubt that he was an Italian, and spoke on this occasion in 
Latin. 6 The criminal information was formally laid before the govern- 
or. 7 The prisoner was summoned, 8 and Tertullus brought forward the 
charges against him in a set speech, which we need not quote at length> 
He began by loading Felix with unmerited praises, 9 and then proceeded 
to allege three distinct heads of accusation against St. Paul, — charging 
him, first with causing factious disturbances among all the Jews through- 
out the Empire 10 (which was an offence against the Roman Government, 
and amounted to Majestas or treason against the Emperor), — -secondly 
with being a ringleader of " the sect of the Nazarenes " n (which involved 

1 Ant. xx. 8, 7. War, ii. 13, 7. the law courts in every part of the Empire 

2 War, ii. 18, 1. See p. 665. See p. 2. 

3 It is most natural to reckon these five 6 See again p. 2, for remarks on Tertullus 
days from the time of St. Paul's departure and the peculiarly Latin character of the 
from Jerusalem. speech here given. 

4 " With the Elders ; " by which we are to 7 , « They laid information before the gover- 
understand representatives or deputies from nor against Paul," xxiv. 1. See xxv. 2. 

the Sanhedrin. 8 " When he was summoned/' v. 2. The 

5 The accuser and the accused could plead presence of the accused was required by the 
in person, as St. Paul did here : but advocati Roman law. 

(^ropsc) were often employed. It was a com- 9 See above. It is worth while to notice 
mon practice for young Roman lawyers to go here one phrase which is exactly the Latin tud 
with consuls and praetors to the provinces, and providentid. It may be illustrated by the in- 
to " qualify themselves by this provincial prac- scription : provid. aug. on the coin of Com- 
tice for the sharper struggles of the forum at modus in the titlepage of this edition, 
home." We have an instance in the case of 10 A mover of sedition among all the Jews 
Cselius, who spent his youth in this way in throughout the world. 

Africa. Cic. pro Coil. 30. It must be remem- n A ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 

bered that Latin was the proper language of On the word for sect, see below, note, on v. 14. 



Chap.xxh. SPEECH BEFORE FELIX. 661 

heresy against the law of Moses), — and thirdly with an attempt to 
profane the Temple at Jerusalem l (an offence not only against the 
Jewish, but also against the Roman Law, which protected the Jews in 
the exercise of their worship). He concluded by asserting (with serious 
deviations from the truth) that Lysias, the commandant of the garrison, 
had forcibly taken the prisoner away, when the Jews were about to 
judge him by their own ecclesiastical law, and had thus improperly 
brought the matter before Felix. 2 The drift of this representation was 
evidently to persuade Felix to give up St. Paul to the Jewish courts, in 
which case his assassination would have been easily accomplished. 3 And 
the Jews who were present gave a vehement assent to the statements of 
Tertullus, making no secret of their animosity against St. Paul, and 
asserting that these things were indeed so. 

The governor now made a gesture 4 to the prisoner to signify that he 
might make his defence. The Jews were silent ; and the Apostle, after 
briefly expressing his satisfaction that he had to plead his cause before 
one so well acquainted with Jewish customs, refuted Tertullus step by 
step. He said that on his recent visit to Jerusalem at the festival (and 
he added that it was only " twelve days " since he had left Csesarea for 
that purpose), 5 he had caused no disturbance in any part of Jerusalem, 
— that, as to heresy, he had never swerved from his belief in the Law 
and the Prophets, and that, in conformity with that belief, he held the 
doctrine of a resurrection, and sought to live conscientiously before the 
God of his fathers, 6 — and as to the Temple, so far from profaning it, he 
had been found in it deliberately observing the very strictest ceremonies. 
The Jews of " Asia," he added, who had been his first accusers, ought to 

The Authorized Version unfortunately renders 5 In reckoning these twelve days (v. 11) it 
the same Greek word, in one case by " sect," would be possible to begin with the arrival 
in the other " heresy," and thus conceals the in Jerusalem instead of the departure for 
link of connection. As regards "Nazarene," Csesarea, — or we might exclude the days after 
this is the only place where it occurs in this the return to Csesarea. "Wieseler's arrange- 
sense. In the mouth of Tertullus it was a ment of the time is as follows. 1st day : De- 
term of reproach, as " Christian " below (xxvi. parture from Caesarea. 2d : Arrival at Jeru- 
28) in that of Agrippa. salem. 3d : Meeting of the Elders. 4th 

1 Who hath also gone about to profane the (Pentecost) : Arrest in the Temple. 5th : Tri- 
Temple. al before the Sanhedrin. 6th (at night) : De- 

2 We have before observed that the Sanhe- parture to Csesarea. 7th: Arrival. 12th (five 
drin was still allowed to exercise criminal days after) : Ananias leaves Jerusalem. 13th: 
jurisdiction over ecclesiastical offenders. Ananias reaches Csesarea. Trial before Felix. 

3 Compare the two attempts, xxiii. 15 and 6 It has been well observed that the classi- 
xxv. 3. cal phrase "our hereditary God " (v. 14) was 

4 V. 10. It is some help towards our real- judiciously employed before Felix. " The 
izing the scene in our imagination, if we re- Apostle asserts that, according to the Roman 
member that Felix was seated on the tribunal law which allowed all men to worship the gods 
(Pq/ia) like Gallio (xviii. 12) and Festus (xxv. of their own nation, he is not open to any 
6). charge of irreligion." Humphry. 



662 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxn. 

have been present as witnesses now. Those who were present knew full 
well that no other charge was brought home to him before the Sanhe- 
drin, except what related to the belief that he held in common with the 
Pharisees. But, without further introduction, we quote St. Luke's sum- 
^ CTg inary of his own words : — 

xxiv. 

10 Knowing, as I do, that thou hast been judge over this nation He denies the 

for many years, I defend myself in the matters brought against a ^ aiDS tinm. 

11 me with greater confidence. For 1 it is in thy power to learn that only 

12 twelve days have passed since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And 
neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the streets, did they 
find me disputing with any man, or causing any disorderly concourse 2 of 

13 people ; nor can they prove against me the things whereof they now 
accuse me. 

14 But this I acknowledge to thee, that I follow the opinion, 3 His own state- 

° ' mentofhis 

which they call a sect, 4 and thus worship the God of my case - 
fathers. And I believe all things which are written in the Law and in 

15 the Prophets ; and I hold a hope towards God, which my accusers them- 
selves 5 entertain, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of 

16 the just and of the unjust. Wherefore 6 1 myself also 7 strive earnestly 
to keep a conscience always void of offence 8 towards God and man. 

17 Now after several 9 years I came 10 hither, to bring alms n to my nation, 

1 The connection of this with the preceding the same toleration which is extended by the 
is that Felix, having so long governed the prov- Roman law to the others. I claim the right 
ince, would know that Paul had been resident which you allow to all the nations under your 
there before, during several years; besides government, of worshipping their national 

■ which he could easily ascertain the date of his gods." 
recent arrival. 5 This shows that the Pharisees were the 

2 This is a Pauline word found nowhere principal accusers of St. Paul ; and that the 
else in N. T. except 2 Cor. xi. 28. The literal effect produced upon them by his speech before 
translation would be a mob. the Sanhedrin was only momentary. 

3 Way, i. e. a religious opinion or sect. 6 Compare 2 Cor. v. 9, where the same con- 
(See chap. xxii. 4.) elusion is derived from the same premises. 

4 Properly a sect or religious party ; not 7 The best MSS. have also. 

used in a bad sense. See Acts v. 17 and xv. 8 Literally, containing no cause of stwnhling. 

5, and especially xxvi. 5, where the same word This also is a Pauline "word, occurring only 

is used. St. Paul means to say (or rather did 1 Cor. x. 32, and Phil. i. 10, in N. T. 
say in the ai'gument of which St. Luke here 9 " Several" not so strong as " many." 

gives the outline) : " Our nation is divided into 10 " I came into this country." 

religious parties which are called sects ; thus n This is the only mention of this collee- 

there is the sect of the Pharisees and the sect tion in the Acts, and its occurrence here is a 

of the Sadducees, and so now we are called striking undesigned coincidence between the 

the sect of the Nazarenes. I do not deny that Acts and Epistles. 
I belong to the latter sect ; but I claim for it 



chap. xxn. CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT. 663 

xxiv 
and offerings to the Temple. 1 And they found me so doing in the 18 

Temple, after I had undergone purification ; not gathering together a 

multitude, nor causing a tumult ; but certain Jews from Asia discovered 

me, who ought to have been here before thee to accuse me, if they had 19 

any thing to object against me. 

Ss reSrtic? ^ r * et t nese my accusers themselves say whether they found 20 

SalihedrL e me guilty of any offence when I stood before the Sanhedrin ; 

except it be for these words only which I cried out as I stood in the 21 

midst of them : " Concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am called 

in question before you this day." 

There was all the appearance of truthfulness in St. Paul's words ; and 
they harmonized entirely with the statement contained in the despatch 
of Claudius Lysias. Moreover, Felix had resided so long in Csesarea, 2 
where the Christian religion had been known for many years, 3 and had 
penetrated even among the troops, 4 that " he had a more accurate 
knowledge of their religion" (v. 22) than to be easily deceived by the 
misrepresentations of the Jews. 5 Thus a strong impression was made 
on the mind of this wicked man. But his was one of those characters 
which are easily affected by feelings, but always drawn away from right 
action by the overpowering motive of self-interest. He could not make 
up his mind to acquit St. Paul. He deferred all inquiry into the case 
for the present. " When Lysias comes down," he said, " I will decide 
finally 6 between you." Meanwhile he placed the Apostle under the 
charge of the centurion who had brought him to Caesarea, 7 with directions 
that he should be treated with kindness and consideration. Close con- 
finement was indeed necessary, both to keep him in safety from the Jews, 

1 Offerings. "We need not infer that St. some of the best commentators. Or they may 
Paul brought offerings to the temple with him be taken to denote that he was too well in- 
from foreign parts ; this in itself would have formed concerning the Christian religion to re- 
been not unlikely, but it seems inconsistent quire any further information that might be 
with St. James's remarks (Acts xxi. 23,24). elicited by the trial: it was only needful to 
The present is only a condensation for " I wait for the coming of Lysias. 

came to Jerusalem to bring alms to my nation, 6 This is more correct than the A. V. 

and I entered the temple to make offerings to 7 Not " a centurion," as in A. V. A natu- 

the temple." ral inference from the use of the article is, that 

2 If these events took place in the yeat 58 it was the same centurion who had brought St. 
A. d., he had been governor six years. Paul from Antipatris (see above), and Mr. 

8 See Acts viii. 40. Birks traces here an undersigned coincidence. 

4 Acts x. Besides other means of infor- But no ^tress can be laid on this view. The- 

mation, we must remember that Drusilla, his officer might be simply the centur'on who was 

present wife, was a Jewess. present and on duty at the time 

6 Such is the turn given to the words by 



664 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxh. 

and because he was not yet acquitted ; but orders were given that he 
should have every relaxation which could be permitted in such a case, 1 
and that any of his friends should be allowed to visit him, and to minister 
to his comfort. 2 

We read nothing, however, of Lysias coming to Caesarea, or of any 
further judicial proceedings. Some few days afterwards 3 Felix came 
into the audience-chamber 4 with his wife Drusilla, and the prisoner was 
summoned before them. Drusilla, "being a Jewess" (v. 24), took a 
lively interest in what Felix told her of Paul, and was curious to hear 
something of this faith which had " Christ" for its object. 5 Thus Paul 
had an opportunity in his bonds of preaching the Gospel, and such an 
opportunity as he could hardly otherwise have obtained. His audience 
consisted of a Roman libertine and a profligate Jewish princess : and he 
so preached, as a faithful Apostle must needs have preached to such hear- 
ers. In speaking of Christ, he spoke of " righteousness and temperance, 
and judgment to come ; " and while he was so discoursing, " Felix 
trembled." Yet still we hear of no decisive result. " Go thy way for this 
time : when I have a convenient season, I will send for thee," — was the 
response of the conscience-stricken but impenitent sinner, — the response 
which the Divine Word has received ever since, when listened to in a 
like spirit. 

We are explicitly informed why this governor shut his ears to convic- 
tion, and even neglected his official duty, and kept his prisoner in cruel 
suspense. " He hoped that he might receive from Paul a bribe for his 
liberation." He was not the only governor of Judasa against whom a 
similar accusation is brought: 6 and Felix, well knowing how the Chris- 
tians aided one another in distress, and possibly having some information 
of the funds with which St. Paul had recently been intrusted, 7 and 
ignorant of those principles which make it impossible for a true Christian 
to tamper by bribes with the course of law, — might naturally suppose 
that he had here a good prospect of enriching himself. " Hence he 



£ See below. doubtless familiarly known at Caesarea. And 

2 V. 23. 3 V. 24. a Jewish princess must necessarily have been 

4 We must understand that Felix and curious to hear some account of what professed 

Drusilla came to some place convenient for an to be the fulfilment of Jewish prophecy. 

audience, probably the hall mentioned below Compare xxv. 22. 

|xxv. 23) where the Apostle spoke before Fes- 6 Albinus, who succeeded Festus, is said to 

tus with Drusilla's brother and sister, Agrippa have released many prisoners, but those only 

and Berenice. from whom he received a bribe. Joseph. Ant. 

6 Observe the force of being a Jewess. We xx. 8, 5. War, ii. 14, 1. 
should also notice the phrase by which the " This suggestion is made by Mr. Birks. 

Gospel is here described, the faith in Christ or For the contributions which St. Paul had re- 

ihe Messiah. The name " Christian " was cently brought to Jerusalem, see above. 



CHAP.xxn. CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT. 665 

frequently sent for Paul, and had many conversations 1 with him." But 
his hopes were unfulfilled. Paul, who was ever ready to claim the pro- 
tection of the law, would not seek to evade it by dishonorable means : 2 
and the Christians, who knew how to pray for an Apostle in bonds (Acts 
xii.), would not forget the duty of " rendering unto Caesar the things 
that are Cassar's." Thus Paul remained in the Praetorium ; and *the 
suspense continued " two years." 

Such a pause in a career of such activity, — such an arrest of the 
Apostle's labors at so critical a time, — two years taken from the best 
part of a life of such importance to the world, — would seem to us a 
mysterious dispensation of Providence, if we did not know that God has 
an inner work to accomplish in those who are the chosen instruments for 
effecting His greatest purposes. As Paul might need the repose of prep- 
aration in Arabia, before he entered on his career, 3 so his prison at 
Caesarea might be consecrated to the calm meditation, the less inter- 
rupted prayer, — which resulted in a deeper experience and knowledge 
of the power of the Gospel. Nor need we assume that his active exer- 
tions for others were entirely suspended. " The care of all the churches " 
might still be resting on him : many messages, and even letters, 4 of 
which we know nothing, may have been sent from Caesarea to brethren 
at a distance. And a plausible conjecture fixes this period and place for 
the writing of St. Luke's Gospel under the superintendence of the 
Apostle of the Gentiles. 

All positive information, however, is denied us concerning the employ- 
ments of St. Paul while imprisoned at Caesarea. We are the more 
disposed, therefore, to turn our thoughts to the consideration of the 
nature and outward circumstances of his confinement ; and this inquiry 
is indeed necessary for the due elucidation of the narrative. 

When an accusation was brought against a Roman citizen, the magis- 
trate, who had criminal jurisdiction in the case, appointed the time for 
hearing the cause, and detained the accused in custody during the inter- 
val. He was not bound to fix any definite time for the trial, but might 
defer it at his own arbitrary pleasure ; and he might also commit the 
prisoner at his discretion to any of the several kinds of custody recognized 

1 We may contrast the verb here (v. 26) of moral duty in the Heathen philosopher 
with that for continuous address (v. 25), as we with the clear and lofty perception of eternal 
have done before in the narrative of the night- realities in the inspired Apostle. 

service at Troas, xx. 9, 11. 3 See pp. 89, 90. 

2 It is allowable here to refer to the words * It is well known that some have thought 
in which Socrates refused the aid of his friends, that the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon 
who urged him to escape from prison : while were written here. This question will be con- 
in comparing the two cases we cannot but sidered hereafter. 

contrast the vague though overpowering sense 



666 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxo. 

by the Roman law. These were as follows': —First, confinement in the 
public jail (custodia publica'), which was the most severe kind; the 
common jails throughout the Empire being dungeons of the worst 
description, where the prisoners were kept in chains, or even bound in 
positions of torture. Of this we have seen an example in the confine- 
ment of Paul and Silas at Philippi. Secondly, free custody (custodia 
libera)^ which was the mildest kind. Here the accused party was com- 
mitted to the charge of a magistrate or senator, who became responsible 
for his appearance on the day of trial ; but this species of detention was 
only employed in the case of men of high rank. Thirdly, military 
custody (custodia militarist , which was introduced at the beginning of the 
Imperial regime. In this last species of custody, the accused person was 
given in charge to a soldier, who was responsible with his own life for the 
safe keeping of his prisoner. This was further secured by chaining the 
prisoner's right hand to the soldier's left. The soldiers of course relieved 
one another in this duty. Their prisoner was usually kept in their bar- 
racks, but sometimes allowed to reside in a private house under their 
charge. 

It was under this latter species of custody that St. Paul was now 
placed by Felix, who " gave him in charge to the centurion, that he 
should be kept in custody " (Acts xxiv. 23) ; but (as we have seen) he 
added the direction, that he should be treated with such indulgence l as 
this kind of detention permitted. Josephus tells us that, when the 
severity of Agrippa's imprisonment at Rome was mitigated, his chain was 
relaxed at meal times. 2 This illustrates the nature of the alleviations 
which such confinement admitted ; and it is obvious that the centurion 
might render it more or less galling, according to his inclination, or the 
commands he had received. The most important alleviation of St. Paul's 
imprisonment consisted in the order, which Felix added, that his friends 
should be allowed free access to him. 

1 Acts xxiv. 23. Meyer and De Wette trating that of St. Paul at Rome. There was, 

have understood this as though St. Paul was indeed, a lighter form of custodia militaris 

committed to the custodia libera ; but we have sometimes employed, under the name of ob- 

eeen that this kind of detention was only em- servatio, when the soldier kept guard over his 

ployed in the case of men of rank, and moreover prisoner, and accompanied him wherever he 

the mention of the centurion excludes it. But went, but was not chained to him. To this 

besides this, it is expressly stated (Acts xxiv. we might have supposed St. Paul subjected, 

27) that Felix left Paul chained. The same both at Csesarea and at Rome, were not such 

Greek word (meaning relaxation) is applied to an hypothesis excluded as to Cassarea by Acts 

the mitigation of Agrippa's imprisonment xxiv. 27, xxvi. 29, and as to Rome by Eph. vi. 

(Jos. Ant. xviii. 6, 10) on the accession of 20, Phil. i. 13. Compare Acts xxviii. 16, 31. 
Caligula, although Agrippa was still left under 2 Such seems the meaning of " relaxation as 

custodia militaris, and still bound with a chain. to eating" in the passage of Josephus, referred 

We shall have occasion to refer again to this to in the preceding note, 
relaxation of Agrippa's imprisonment as illus- 



CHAP.xxn. CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT 6G7 

Meantime, the political state of Judaea grew more embarrassing. The 
exasperation of the people under the maladministration of Felix became 
increasingly implacable ; and the crisis was rapidly approaching. It was 
during the two years of St. Paul's imprisonment that the disturbances, 
to which allusion has been made before, took place in the streets of 
Caesarea. The troops, who were chiefly recruited in the province, frater- 
nized with the Heathen population, while the Jews trusted chiefly to the 
influence of their wealth. In the end Felix was summoned to Rome, 
and the Jews followed him with their accusations. Thus it was that he 
was anxious, even at his depar'/iire, " to confer obligations upon them " 
(v. 27), and one effort to diminish his unpopularity was " to leave Paul 
in bonds." In so doing, he doubtless violated the law, and trifled with 
the rights of a Roman citizen ; but the favor of the provincial Jews was 
that which he needed ; and the Christians were weak in comparison with 
them ; nor were such delays in the administration of justice unprece- 
dented, either at Rome or in the provinces. Thus it was, that, as another 
governor of Judaea 1 opened the prisons that he might make himself popu- 
lar, Felix, from the same motive, riveted the chains of an innocent man. 
The same enmity of the world against the Gospel, which set Barabbas 
free, left Paul a prisoner. 

No change seems to have taken place in the outward circumstances of 
the Apostle when Festus came to take command of the province. He 
was still in confinement as before. But immediately on the accession of 
the new governor, the unsleeping hatred of the Jews made a fresh 
attempt upon his life ; and the course of their proceedings presently 
changed the whole aspect of his case, and led to unexpected results. 

When a Roman governor came to his province, — whether his character 
was coarse and cruel, like that of Felix, or reasonable and just, as that of 
Festus seems to have been, — his first step would be to make himself 
acquainted with the habits and prevalent feelings of the people he was 
come to rule, and to visit such places as might seem to be more peculiar- 
ly associated with national interests. The Jews were the most remarka- 
ble people in the whole extent of the Roman provinces ; and no city was 
to any other people what Jerusalem was to the Jews. We are not sur- 
prised therefore to learn that " three days " after his arrival at the political 
metropolis, Festus " went up to Jerusalem." Here he was immediately 
met by an urgent request against St. Paul, 2 preferred by the chief priests 

1 Albinus. See above, p. 664. Josephus 2 See v. 2 and v. 15. We should compare 

says that, though he received bribes for open- St. Luke's statement with the two accounts 
ing the prisons, he wished by this act to make given by Festus himself to Agrippa, below, 
himself popular, when he found he was to be 
superseded by Gessius Floras. 



668 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxh. 

and leading men among the Jews, 1 and seconded, as it seems, by a general 
concourse of the people, who came round him with no little vehemence 
and clamor. 2 They asked as a favor 3 (and they had good reason to 
hope that the new governor 4 on his accession would not refuse it) that 
he would allow St. Paul to be brought up to Jerusalem. The plea, 
doubtless, was, that he should be tried again before the Sanhedrin. But 
the real purpose was to assassinate him 5 on some part of the road over 
which he had been safely brought by the escort two years before. So bit- 
ter and so enduring was their hatred against the apostate Pharisee. The 
answer of Festus was dignified and just, and worthy of his office. He said 
that Paul was in custody 6 at Caesarea, and that he himself was shortly 
to return thither (v. 4) , adding that it was not the custom of the Romans 
to give up an uncondemned person as a mere favor 7 (v. 16). The 
accused must have the accuser face to face, 8 and full opportunity must 
be given for a defence (ib.). Those, therefore, who were competent to 
undertake the task of accusers, 9 should come down with him to Caesarea, 
and there prefer the accusation (v. 5). 

Festus remained " eight or ten days " in Jerusalem, and then returned 
to Caesarea ; and the accusers went down the same day. 10 No time was 
lost after their arrival. The very next day u Festus took his seat on the 
judicial tribunal, 12 with his assessors near him (v. 12), and ordered Paul 
to be brought before him. " The Jews who had come down from Jeru- 
salem" stood round, bringing various heavy accusations against him 
(which, however, they could not establish), 13 and clamorously asserting 
that he was worthy of death. 14 We must not suppose that the charges 
now brought were different in substance from those urged by Tertullus. 
The prosecutors were in fact the same now as then, namely, delegates 
from the Sanhedrin ; and the prisoner was still lying under the former 



1 Again we should compaie v. 2 and v. 15. 7 See above, v. 11. Compare the case of 
Thus the. accusers were again representatives Pilate and Barabbas. 

of the Sanhedrin. 8 V. 16. Compare the following passages : 

2 See the second account given by Festus Acts xxiii. 30, xxiv. 19, xxv. 5. 
himself to Agrippa, below, v. 24. " All the 9 V. 5. 

multitude of the Jews dealt with me, both in 10 The course of the narrative shows that 

Jerusalem and also here, crying that he ought they went immediately. This is also asserted 

not to live any longer." in the phrase " go down with me/' which does 

3 V. 3. See v. 16. not necessarily imply that they went down in 

4 Compare the conduct of Albinus and the same company with Festus. 

Agrippa I., alluded to before. n " The next day," v. 6. ; " without any 

6 V. 3. delay on the morrow," v. 17. 
6 The English version "should be kept" i 2 See again vv. 6,17. 1S V. 7. 

is rather too peremptory. Festus doubtless 14 See v. 24, where the demand for his 

expresses this decision, but in the most con- death is said to have taken place both at Jern- 

ciliating form. Balem and Cajsarea. 



chap.xxh. APPEAL TO THE EMPEEOE. 669 

accusation, which had never been withdrawn. 1 We see from what is 

said of Paul's defence, that the charges, were still classed under the same 

three heads as before ; viz. Heresy, Sacrilege, and Treason. 2 But Festus 

saw very plainly that the offence was really connected with the religious 

opinions of the Jews, instead of relating, as he at first expected, to some 

political movement (vv. 18, 19) ; and he was soon convinced that St. 

Paul had done nothing worthy of death (v. 25). Being, therefore, in 

perplexity (v. 20), and at the same time desirous of ingratiating himself 

with the provincials (v. 9), he proposed to St. Paul that he should go up 

to Jerusalem, and be tried there in his presence, or at least under his 

protection. 3 But the Apostle knew full well the danger that lurked in 

this proposal, and, conscious of the rights which he possessed as a Roman 

citizen, he refused to accede to it, and said boldly to Festus, — 

Acts 

XXV. 

I stand before Caesar's tribunal, and there ought my trial to be. To 10 
the Jews I have done no wrong, as thou knowest full well. If I am n 
guilty, and have done any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die : 
but if the things whereof these men accuse me are nought, no man can 
give me up to them. I APPEAL UNTO CAESAR. 

Festus was probably surprised by this termination of the proceedings ; 
but no choice was open to him. Paul had urged his prerogative as a 
Roman citizen, to be tried, not by the Jewish, but by the Roman law ; 4 
a claim which, indeed, was already admitted by the words of Festus, who 
only proposed to transfer him to the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin with 
his own consent. 5 He ended by availing himself of one of the most 
important privileges of Roman citizenship, the right of appeal. By the 
mere pronunciation of these potent words, " I appeal unto Caesar," 6 he 
instantly removed his cause from the jurisdiction of the magistrate 
before whom he stood, and transferred it to the supreme tribunal of the 
Emperor at Rome. 

To explain the full effect of this proceeding, we must observe that, in 
the provinces of Rome, the supreme criminal jurisdiction (both under 
the Republic and the Empire) was exercised by the Governors, whether 

1 At this period, an accused person might 4 V. 10. 5 "Wilt thou," &c. 
he kept in prison indefinitely, by the delay of 6 The expression here used (equivalent to 
the accuser, or the procrastination of the ma- the Latin appellare) was the regular technical 
gistrate. See our remarks on this subject, at phrase for lodging an appeal. The Roman 
the beginning of Ch. XXV. law did not require any written appeal to be 

2 Acts xxv. 8, (1) "the Law," (2) "the lodged in the hands of the Court; pronuncia- 
Temple," (3) " Caesar." tion of the single word Appello was sufficient 

3 V. 9. In v. 20 this is omitted. to suspend all further proceedings. 



670 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxel 

they were Proconsuls, Propraetors, or (as in the case of Judaea) Procu- 
rators. To this jurisdiction the provincials were subject without appeal, 
and it is needless to say that it was often exercised in the most arbitrary 
manner. But the Roman citizens in the provinces, though also liable to 
be brought before the judgment-seat of the Governor, were protected 
from the abuse of his authority ; for they had the right of stopping his 
proceedings against them by appealing to the Tribunes, whose interven- 
tion at once transferred the cognizance of the cause to the ordinary 
tribunals at Rome. 1 This power was only one branch of that prerogative 
of intercession (as it was called) by which the Tribunes could stop the 
execution of the sentences of all other magistrates. Under the Imperial 
regime, the Emperor stood in the place of the Tribunes ; Augustus and 
his successors being invested with the Tribunician power, as the most 
important of the many Republican offices which were concentrated in 
their persons. Hence the Emperors constitutionally exercised the right 
of intercession, by which they might stop the proceedings of inferior 
authorities. But they extended this prerogative much beyond the limits 
which had confined it during the Republican epoch. They not only 
arrested the execution of the sentences of other magistrates, but claimed 
and exercised the right of reversing or altering them, and of re-hearing 2 
the causes themselves. In short, the Imperial tribunal was erected into 
a supreme court of appeal from all inferior courts either in Rome or in 
the provinces. 

Such was the state of things when St. Paul appealed from Festus to 
Caesar. If the appeal was admissible, it at once suspended all further 
proceedings on the part of Festus. There were, however, a few cases 
in which the right of appeal was disallowed ; a bandit or a pirate, for 
example, taken in the fact, might be condemned and executed by the 
Proconsul, notwithstanding his appeal to the Emperor. Accordingly, we 
read that Festus took counsel with his Assessors, 3 concerning the admis- 
sibility of Paul's appeal. But no doubt could be entertained on this 

1 We must not confound this right of Ap- case as early as the time of Augustus. It may 
pellatio to the Tribunes with the right of be doubted whether the Emperor at first 
appeal (Provocatio) to the Comitia, which be- claimed the right of reversing the sentences 
longed to every Roman citizen. This latter pronounced by the judices of the Quaestiones 
right was restricted, even in the Republican Perpetuae, which were exempt from the Inter- 
era, by the institution of the Qucestiones Per- cessio of the Tribune. But this question is of 
petuce ; because, the judices appointed for less importance, because the system of Quses- 
those Quaestiones being regarded as representa- tiones Perpetuae was soon superseded under 
tives of the Comitia, there was no appeal from the Empire, as we shall afterwards have an 
their decisions. In the time of the Emperors, opportunity of remarking, 
the Comitia themselves being soon discon- 3 For a notice of such consiliarii in a pro- 
tinued, this right of Provocatio could be no vince, see Sueton. Tib. 33. Their office was 
longer exercised. called assessura. Sueton. Galb. 14. 

2 According to Dio, this was already the 



chap. xxn. 



HEEOD AGEIPPA. 671 



head ; and he immediately pronounced the decision of the Court. " Thou 
hast appealed 1 unto Caesar : to Caesar thou shalt be sent." 

Thus the hearing of the cause, as far as Festus was concerned, had 
terminated. There only remained for him the office of remitting to the 
supreme tribunal, before which it was to be carried, his official report 2 
upon its previous progress. He was bound to forward to Rome all the 
acts and documents bearing upon the trial, the depositions of the wit- 
nesses on both sides, and the record of his own judgment on the case. 
And it was his further duty to keep the person of the accused in safe 
custody, and to send him to Rome for trial at the earliest opportunity. 

Festus, however, was still in some perplexity. Though the appeal 
had been allowed, yet the information elicited on the trial was so vague, 
that he hardly knew what statement to insert in his despatch to the 
Emperor : and it seemed " a foolish thing to him to send a prisoner to 
Rome without at the same time specifying the charges against him ,? 
(v. 27). It, happened about this time that Herod Agrippa II., King of 
Chalcis, with his sister Berenice, came on a complimentary visit to the 
new governor, and staid " some days " at Caesarea. 3 This prince had 
been familiarly acquainted from his youth with all that related to the 
Jewish law, and moreover was at this time (as we have seen) 4 superin- 
tendent of the Temple, with the power of appointing the high priest. 
Festus took advantage of this opportunity of consulting one better in- 
formed than himself on the points in question. He recounted to Agrippa 
what has been summarily related above ; 5 confessing his ignorance of 
Jewish theology, and alluding especially to Paul's reiterated assertion 6 
concerning " one Jesus who had died and was alive again." This can- 
not have been the first time that Agrippa had heard of the resurrection 
of Jesus, or of the Apostle Paul. 7 His curiosity was aroused, and he 
expressed a wish to see the prisoner. Festus readily acceded to the 
request, and fixed the next day for the interview. 

At the time appointed, Agrippa and Berenice came with great pomp and 
display, and entered into the audience-chamber, with a suite of military 
officers and the chief men of Caesarea ; 8 and at the command of Festus, 
Paul was brought before them. The proceedings were opened by a cere- 

1 The sentence is not interrogative, as in the lamented Prof. Blunt, in his Scriptural 
A. V., but the words express a solemn de- Coincidences, pp. 358-360. 

cision of the Procurator and his Assessors. * See above, p. 653. 

2 This report was termed Apostoli, or literce 5 Vv. 14-21. 

dimissorice. 6 The form of the verb implies this reitera- 

3 Some illustrations of peculiar interest tion. 

from Josephus, as regards both the compli- * The tense (v. 22) might seem to imply 

mentary character of this visit and the position that he had long wished to see St. Paul. 

of Berenice in the matter, are pointed out by 8 For the audience-hall, see above. "Wo 



672 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxo. 

monious speech from Festus himself, 1 describing the circumstances under 
which the prisoner had been brought under his notice, and ending with a 
statement of his perplexity as to what he should write to " his Lord " ? 
the Emperor. This being concluded, Agrippa said condescendingly to St. 
Paul, that he was now permitted to speak for himself. And the Apostle, 
" stretching out the hand " which was chained to the soldier who guarded 
^ CTS him, spoke thus : — 

xxvi. 

2 I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I shall defend complimenta- 

ry address to 

myself to-day, before thee, against all the charges of my Jew- Agrippa. 

3 ish accusers ; especially because thou art expert in all Jewish customs 
and questions. Wherefore, I pray thee to hear me patiently. 

4 My 3 life and conduct from my youth, as it was at first He defends 
among my own nation at Jerusalem, is known to all the Jews, against th.e 

° J charge of 

5 They know me of old 4 (I say) from the beginning, and can heres y- 
testify (if they would) that, following the strictest sect of our religion, I 

6 lived a Pharisee. And now I stand here to be judged, for the hope of the 

7 promise 5 made by God unto our fathers. Which promise is the end 
whereto, in all their zealous worship, 6 night and day, our twelve tribes 
hope to come. Yet this hope, King Agrippa, is charged against me as 

8 a crime, and that by Jews. 7 What ! 8 is it judged among you a thing in- 
credible that God should raise the dead? 9 

9 Now I myself 10 determined, in my own mind, that I ought He describes 

J 7 J ° his former 

10 exceedingly to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene. And christians? ° f 

may remark that the presence of several Chil- 6 This properly means to perform the out- 

iarchs implies that the military force at Ceesa- ward rites of worship : see note on Rom. i. 19. 
rea was considerable. The five resident co- ' Here again the best MSS. read Jews with- 

horts mentioned by Josephus have been noticed out the. 
above, p. 657, n. 5. * Vv. 24-27. 8 The punctuation adopted is, a note of in- 

2 The title Lord applied here to the Em- terrogation after what. Compare the use of 
peror should be noticed. Augustus and Tibe- the same word by St. Paul in Rom. iii. 3, iii. 
rius declined a title which implied the relation 9, vi. 15, Phil. i. 18. 

of master and slave, but their successors sane- 9 This is an argumentum ad homines to the 

tioned the use of it, and Julian tried in vain Jews, whose own Scriptures furnished them 

to break through the custom. with cases where the dead had been raised, as 

3 The Greek particles here are rightly left for example by Elisha. The Authorized Ver- 
untranslated in A. V. They form a conjunc- sion is perfectly correct, notwithstanding the 
tion, denoting that the speaker is beginning a objections which have been made against it. 
new subject, used where no conjunction would The Greek idiom of " if" with an indicative 
be expressed in English. cannot be better represented in English than 

4 The tense is present. by " that " with "should." 

5 The promise meant is that of the Mes- 10 The pronoun, from its position, must be 
siah. Compare what St. Paul says in the emphatic. 

speech at Antioch in Pisidia. Acts xiii. 32. 
Compare also Rom. xv. 8. 



CHAP.xxn. SPEECH BEFOEE AGRIPPA. 673 

xx vi. 
this I did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints l I myself shut up in 

prison, having received from the chief priests authority so to do ; 2 and 
when they were condemned 3 to death, I gave my vote against them. And 11 
in every synagogue I continually punished them, and endeavored 4 to com- 
pel them to blaspheme ; and being exceedingly mad against them, I went 
even to foreign cities to persecute them. 
ms conver- With this purpose I was on my road to Damascus, bearing 12 

eion and divine 

commission. m y authority and commission from the chief 5 priests, when I 13 
saw in the way, King, at mid-day, 6 a light from heaven, above the 
brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those who journeyed 
with me. And when we all were fallen to the earth, I heard a voice 14 
speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why perse- 
cutest thou me ? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. And I said, 15 
Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord 7 said, I am Jesus whom thou perse- 
cutest. But rise and stand upon thy feet ; for to this end I have appeared 16 
unto thee, to ordain 8 thee a minister and a witness both of those things which 
thou hast seen, and of those things wherein I shall appear unto thee. And 17 
thee have I chosen 9 from the house of Israel™ and from among the Gentiles ; 
unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn 11 from 18 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto Grod ; that they may 
receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among the sanctified, by faith in 
me. 

1 This speech should be carefully compared 6 The circumstance of the light overpower- 
with that in chap, xxii., with the view of ob- ing even the blaze of the mid-day sun is men- 
serving St. Paul's judicious adaptation of his tioned before (Acts xxii. 6). 

statements to his audience. Thus, here he 7 All the best MSS. read "the Lord said." 

calls the Christians " Saints," which the Jews This also agrees better with what follows, 

in the Temple would not have tolerated. See where St. Paul relates all which the Lord had 

some useful remarks on this subject by Mr. revealed to him, both at the moment of his 

Birks. Hor. Ap. vii. viii. conversion, and, subsequently, by the voice of 

2 " The authority," — " this authority." Ananias, and by the vision at Jerusalem. See 

3 Literally, when they were being destroyed. Acts xxii. 12-21. 

On the "giving his vote," seep. 72. 8 ^ e b ave i iere t h e very wor( j s f Ananias 

4 Imperfect. (Acts xxii. 14, 15). The same very unusual 

5 By Chief Priests here, and above, verse word for " ordain " is used in both places. 
10, is meant (as in Luke xxii. 52, Acts v. 24) 9 " Choosing," not " delivering" (A. V.). 
the presidents of the 24 classes into which the i° " The people." See on. the speech at 
priests were divided. These were ex officio Antioch, p. 158, note 2. 

members of the Sanhedrin. In the speech on n Neuter, not active as in A. V. Compare, 

the stairs accordingly St. Paul states that he for the use of this word by St. Paul (to signify 

had received his commission to Damascus from the conversion of the Gentiles), 1 Thess. i. 9 

the high-priest and Sanhedrin (Acts xxii. 5). and Acts xiv. 15. Also below, verse 20. 
43 



674 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxh. 

xxvi. 

19 Whereupon, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the His execution 

r ' to to rr ? whereof had 

20 heavenly vision. But first l to those at Damascus and Jerusa- £[£?§!£ on 
lem, and throughout all the land of Judgea, 2 and also to the Jews. ° 
Gentiles, I proclaimed the tidings, that they should repent and turn to 
God, and do works worthy of their repentance. 

21 For these causes the Jews, when they caught me in the Temple, 
endeavored to kill me. 

22 Therefore, 3 through the succor which I have received from Yet his teach- 
God, I stand firm unto this day, and bear my testimony both with the* e 

Jewish Scrip- 

to small and great ; but I declare nothing else than what the tures - 

23 Prophets and Moses foretold, That 4 the Messiah should suffer, and that 
He should be the first 5 to rise from the dead, and should be the messen- 
ger 6 of light to the house of Israel, and also to the Gentiles. 

Here Festus broke out into a loud exclamation, 7 expressive of ridicule 
and surprise. To the cold man of the world, as to the inquisitive Athe- 
nians, the doctrine of the resurrection was foolishness: and he said, 
" Paul, thou art mad : thy incessant study 8 is turning thee to madness." 
The Apostle had alluded in his speech to writings which had a mysteri- 
ous sound, to the prophets and to Moses 9 (vv. 22, 23) ; and it is reason 
able to believe that in his imprisonment, such " books and parchments," 
as he afterwards wrote for in his second letter to Timotheus, 10 were brought 
to him by his friends. Thus Festus adopted the conclusion that he had 
before him a mad enthusiast, whose head had been turned by poring over 

1 This does not at all prove, as has some- our " that "(" if as they assert"). Compare 
timoe been supposed, that Saul did not preach note on Acts xxvi. 8 above. 

in Arabia when he went there soon after his 5 Compare Col. i. 18. Also 1 Cor. xv. 20. 

conversion ; see pp. 89, 90. 6 Something more than merely " show " 

2 How are we to reconcile this with St. (A. V.). 

Paul's statement (Gal. i. 22) that he continued 7 Observe the mention of the " loud voice/' 

personally unknown to the churches of Judaea coupled with the fact that Paul " was speak- 

for many years after his conversion 1 We ing for himself." Both expressions show that 

must either suppose that, in the present pas- he was suddenly interrupted in the midst of 

sage, he means to speak not in the order of his discourse. 

time, but of all which he had done up to the 8 The original has the definite article here, 

present date ; or else we may perhaps suppose 9 See again v. 27, where St. Paul appeals 

that St. Luke did not think it neccessary to again to the prophets, the writings to which he 

attend to a minute detail of this kind, relating had alluded before. 

to a period of St. Paul's life with which he 10 2 Tim. iv. 13. These, we may well be- 

was himself not personally acquainted, in giv- lieve, would especially be the Old Testament 

ing the general outline of this speeeh. Scriptures, — perhaps Jewish commentaries 

3 The conjunction here cannot mean "how- on them, and possibly also the works oi 
ever." Heathen poets and philosophers. 

4 The " if " in the original is equivalent to 



chap.xxh. SPEECH BEFORE AGRIPPA. 675 

strange learning. The Apostle's reply was courteous and self-possessed, 
but intensely earnest. 

xxvi 
I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth 25 

and soberness. For the king has knowledge of these matters ; and more- 26 

over I speak to him with boldness ; because I am persuaded that none 

of these things is unknown to him, — for this has not been done in a 

corner. 

Then, turning to the Jewish voluptuary who sat beside the Governor, 
he made this solemn appeal to him : — 

King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I know that thou be- 27 
lievest. 

The King's reply was : " Thou wilt soon * persuade me to be a Chris- 
tian." The words were doubtless spoken ironically and in contempt: 
but Paul took them as though they had been spoken in earnest, and made 
that noble answer, which expresses, as no other words ever expressed them, 
that union of enthusiastic zeal with genuine courtesy, which is the true 
characteristic of " a Christian." 

I would to God, that whether soon or late, not only thou, but also all 29 
who hear me to-day, were such as I am ; excepting these chains. 

This concluded the interview. King Agrippa had no desire to hear 
more ; and he rose from his seat, 2 with the Governor and Berenice and 
those who sat with them. As they retired, they discussed the case with 
one another, 3 and agreed that Paul was guilty of nothing worthy of death 
or even imprisonment. Agrippa said positively to Festus, " This man 4 
might have been set at liberty, 5 if he had not appealed to the Emperor." 
But the appeal had been made. There was no retreat either for Festus or 
for Paul. On the new Governor's part there was no wish to continue the 

1 The phrase here cannot mean "almost," present tense, and that the title " Christian" 

as it is in the Authorized Version. It might was one of contempt. See 1 Pet. iv. 16. 
mean either "in few words" (Eph. iii. 3), or 2 V. 30. 

"in a small measure," or " in a small time." 3 V. 31. 

The latter meaning agrees best with the fol- 4 Again the expression is contemptuous, 

lowing, "in little or in much." We might See the remarks on Acts xvi. 35 (p. 268). 

render the passage thus : " Thou thinkest to Caludius Lysias uses a similar expression in 

make me a Christian with little persuasion." his letter to Felix, xxiii. 27. 
We should observe that the verb is in the 5 Compare xxviii. 18. 



676 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxn. 



procrastination of Felix ; and nothing now remained but to wait for a 
convenient opportunity of sending his prisoner to Rome. 




Coin of Nero and Herod Agrippa H". 1 



1 From the British Museum. Mr. Aker- 
man describes it thus. " This prince, notwith- 
standing the troubles which now began to af- 
flict his ill-fated country, spent large sums in 
improving and beautifying Jerusalem, Bery- 
tus, and Cassarea Philippi. Of the latter 



there is a coin extant, bearing the head of 
Nero : reverse Em BA2IAE ArPHHIA NE- 
PflNIE, within a laurel garland, confirming the 
account of Josephus (Ant. xx. 9, 8), who says 
Herod enlarged and called the city Neronias, 
in honor of the Emperor." Num. HI. p. 57. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



Ships and Navigation of the Ancients. —Roman Commerce in the Mediterranean. — Corn- 
Trade between Alexandria and Puteoli. — Travellers by Sea. — St. Paul's Voyage from 
Caesarea, by Sidon, to Myra. — From Myra, by Cnidus and Cape Salmone, to Fair Havens. — 
Phoenix. — The Storm. — Seamanship during the Gale. — St. Paul's Vision. — Anchoring in 
the Night. — Shipwreck. — Proof that it took Place in Malta. — Winter in the Island. 
— Objections considered. — Voyage, by Syracuse and Rhegium, to Puteoli. 

BEFORE entering on the narrative of that voyage * which brought the 
Apostle Paul, through manifold and imminent dangers, from 
Caesarea to Rome, it will be convenient to make a few introductory 
remarks concerning the ships and navigation of the ancients. By fixing 
clearly in the mind some of the principal facts relating to the form and 
structure of Greek and Roman vessels, the manner in which these vessels 
were worked, the prevalent lines of traffic in the Mediterranean, and the 
opportunities afforded to travellers of reaching their destination by sea, 
— we shall be better able to follow this voyage without distractions or 
explanations, and with a clearer perception of each event as it occurred. 

With regard to the vessels and seamanship of the Greeks and Romans, 
many popular mistakes have prevailed, to which it is hardly necessary to 
allude, after the full illustration which the subject has now received. 2 

1 The nautical difficulties of this narrative subject (Longmans, 1848) has already obtained 
have been successfully explained by two inde- a European reputation. Besides other valua- 
pendent inquirers ; and, so far as we are ble aid, Mr. Smith has examined the sheets 
aware, by no one else. A practical knowledge of this chapter, as they have passed through 
of seamanship was required for the elucida- the press. We have also to express our ac- 
tion of the whole subject ; and none of the knowledgments for much kind assistance re- 
ordinary commentators seem to have looked ceived from the late Admiral Moorsom and 
on it with the eye of a sailor. The first who other naval officers. 

examined St. Paul's voyage in a practical 2 The reference here is to the Dissertation 

spirit was the late Admiral Sir Charles Pen- on " The Ships of the Ancients " in Mr. 

rose, whosa life has been lately published Smith's work on the Voyage and Shipwreck of 

(Murray, 1851). His MSS. have been kindly St. Paul, pp. 140-202. The treatise may be 

placed in the hands of the writer of this chap- regarded as the standard work on the subject, 

ter, and they are frequently referred to in the not only in England, but in Europe. It has 

notes. A similar investigation was made sub- been translated into German by H. Thiersch, 

sequently, but independently, and more mi- and it is adduced in Hermann's well-known 

nutely and elaborately, by James Smith, Esq., work on Greek Antiquities as the decisive au- 

of Jordanhill, whose published work on the thority on the difficult points connected with 

677 



678 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiii. 

We must not entertain the notion that all the commerce of the ancients 
was conducted merely by means of small craft, which proceeded timidly 
in the day-time, and only in the summer season, along the coast from 
harbor to harbor, — and which were manned by mariners almost ignorant 
of the use of sails, and always trembling at the prospect of a storm. We 
cannot, indeed, assert that the arts either of ship-building or navigation 
were matured in the Mediterranean so early as the first century of the 
Christian era. The Greeks and Romans were ignorant of the use of 
the compass : 1 the instruments with which they took observations must 
have been rude compared with our modern quadrants and sextants ; 2 and 
we have no reason to believe that their vessels were provided with nautical 
charts ; 3 and thus, when " neither sun nor stars appeared," and the sky 
gave indications of danger, they hesitated to try the open sea. 4 But the 
ancient sailor was well skilled in the changeable weather of the Levant, 
and his very ignorance of the aids of modern science made him the more 
observant of external phenomena, and more familiar with his own 
coasts. 5 He was not less prompt and practical than a modern seaman in 
the handling of his ship, when overtaken by stormy weather on a danger- 
ous coast. 

The ship of the Greek and Roman mariner was comparatively rude, 
both in its build and its rig. The hull was not laid down with the fine 
lines with which we are so familiar in the competing vessels of England 
and America, 6 and the arrangement of the sails exhibited little of that 

the study of ancient ship-building. It is " "We are apt to consider the ancients as timid 

hardly necessary to refer to any of the older and unskilful sailors, afraid to venture out of 

works on the subject. A full catalogue is sight of land, or to make long voyages in the 

given in Mr. Smith's Appendix. winter. I can see no evidence that this was 

1 See Humboldt's Kosmos, vol. ii., for the the case. The cause of their not making 
main facts relating to the history of the com- voyages after the end of summer arose, in a 
pass. great measure, from the comparative obscurity 

2 We have no information of any nautical of the sky during the winter, and not from 
instruments at the time when we read of the gales which prevail at that season. With 
Ptolemy's mural quadrant at Alexandria : nor no means of directing their course, except by 
is it likely that any more effectual means of observing the heavenly bodies, they were neces- 
taking exact observations at sea, than the sim- sarily prevented from putting to sea when they 
pie quadrant held in the hand, Avere in use be- could not depend on their being visible." — 
fore the invention of the reflecting quadrants Smith, p. 180. 

and sextants by Hooke and Hadley. The 5 See again what is said below in reference 

want of exact chronometers must alsc be borne to Acts xxvii. 12. 

in mind. 6 "As both ends were alike, if we suppose 

3 The first nautical charts were perhaps a full-built merchant-ship of the present day, 
those of Marinus of Tyre (>. d. 150), whom cut in two, and the stern half replaced by one 
Forbiger regards as the fonnder of mathema- exactly the same as that of the bow, we shall 
tical geography. See the life of Ptolemy in have a pretty accurate notion of whs»i these 
Dr. Smith's Dictionary. ships were." — Smith, p. 141. 

4 See Acts xxvii. 9-12, also xxviii. 11. 



cHAP.xxm. SHIPS OF THE ANCIENTS. 679 

complicated distribution yet effective combination of mechanical forces 
which we admire in the East-Indiaman or modern frigate. With the 
war-ships 1 of the ancients we need not here occupy ourselves or the 
reader : but two peculiarities in the structure of Greek and Roman mer- 
chantmen must be carefully noticed; for both of them are much con 
cerned in the seamanship described in the narrative before us. 

The ships of the Greeks and Romans, like those of the early North 
men, 2 were not steered by means of a single rudder, but by two paddle - 
rudders, one on each quarter. Hence " rudders " are mentioned in the 
plural 3 by St. Luke (Acts xxvii. 40) as by Heathen writers ; and the fact 
is made still more palpable by the representations of art, as in the coins 
of Imperial Rome or the tapestry of Bayeux : nor does the hinged-rud- 
der appear on any of the remains of antiquity till a late period in the 
Middle Ages. 4 

And as this mode of steering is common to the two sources, from which 
we must trace our present art of ship-building, so also is the same mode 
of rigging characteristic of the ships both of the North Sea and the 
Mediterranean. 5 We find in these ancient ships one large mast, with 
strong ropes rove through a block at the mast-head, and one large sail, 
fastened to an enormous yard. 6 We shall see the importance of attend- 
ing to this arrangement when we enter upon the incidents of St. Paul's 
voyage (xxvii. 17, 19). One consequence was, that instead of the strain 
being distributed over the hull, as in a modern ship, it was concentrated 
upon a smaller portion of it : and thus in ancient times there must have 
been a greater tendency to leakage than at present ; 7 and we have the 
testimony of ancient writers to the fact, that a vast proportion of the ves- 
sels lost were by foundering. Thus Virgil, 8 whose descriptions of every 

1 For a full description and explanation of to the gold nobles of our king Edward III., 
ancient triremes, &c, see Mr. Smith's Dis- and infers that " the change in the mode of 
serration, steering must have taken place about the end 

2 See Vorsaee on the Danes and Northmen of the thirteenth, or early in the fourteenth 
in England. He does not describe the struc- century." 

ture of their ships ; but this peculiarity is evi- 5 See Vorsaee, as above, and the representa- 

dent in the drawing given at p. Ill, from the tions of classical ships in Mr. Smith's work. 
Bayeux tapestry. 6 By this it is not meant that topsails were 

3 " The fastenings of the rudders." The not used, or that there were never more masts 
fact of " rudders " being in the plural is lost than one. Topsails {suppara) are frequently al- 
sight of in the English version ; and the impres- luded to : and we shall have occasion hereafter 
sion is conveyed of a single rudder, worked to refer particularly to a second mast, besides 
by tiller-ropes, which, as we shall see, is quite the mainmast. See Mr. Smith's Dissertation, 
erroneous. Compare the use of "guberna" p. 151, and the engraving there given from 
in Lucretius; and see Smith, p. 143, and Dr. M. Jal's Archeologie Navale. 

Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities, under " Gu- 7 g ee Smith, p. 63. 

bernaculum." 8 Laxis laterum compagibus omnes 

4 Smith, p. 146. He traces the representa- Accipiuntinimicumimbrem, rimisque fatiscunt 
tion of ancient rudders from Trajan's column 



680 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxin. 

thing which relates to the sea are peculiarly exact, speaks of the ships in 
the fleet of iEneas as lost in various ways, some on rocks, and some on 
quicksands, but " all with fastenings loosened ; " and Josephus relates 
that the ship from which he so narrowly escaped foundered l in " Adria," 
and that he and his companions saved themselves by swimming 2 through 
the night,— -an escape which found its parallel in the experience of the 
Apostle, who in one of those shipwrecks, of which no particular narra- 
tion has been given to us, was " a night and a day in the deep " (2 Gor. 
xi. 25). The same danger was apprehended in the ship of Jonah, from 
which " they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to 
lighten it" (i. 5) ; as well as in the ship of St. Paul, from which, after 
having " lightened " it the first day, they " cast out the tackling " on the 
second day, and finally " threw out the cargo of wheat into the sea " 
(xxvii. 18, 19, 38). 

This leads us to notice what may be called a third peculiarity of the 
appointments of ancient ships, as compared with those of modern times. 
In consequence of the extreme danger to which they were exposed from 
leaking, it was customary to take to sea, as part of their ordinary gear, 
" under -girders" (yTto&pccToi) , which were simply ropes for passing round 
the hull of the ship, and thus preventing the planks from starting. 3 One 
of the most remarkable proofs of the truth of this statement is to be found 
in the inscribed marbles dug up within the last twenty years at the 
Piraeus, which give us an inventory of the Attic fleet in its flourishing 
period ; 4 as one of the most remarkable accounts of the application of 

1 Life, c. 3. Mr. Smith remarks here (p. 62) of the sea." In most of the European lan- 
rfiat, since Josephus and some of his compan- guages the nautical term is, like the Greek, ex- 
ions saved themselves by swimming, " the pressive of the nature of the operation. Fr. 
ship did not go down during the gale, but in ceintrer; Ital. cingere ; Germ, umgiirten ; Dutch 
consequence of the damage she received dur- omgorden ; Norw. omgyrte; Tovtug.cintrar. In 
ing its continuance." For the meaning of the Spanish the word is tortorar : a circumstance 
word " Adria," see below. which possesses some etymological interest, 

2 Probably with the aid of floating spars, since the word used by Isidore of Seville for 
&c. See note on 2 Cor. xi. 25. a rope used in this way is tormentum. See the 

3 This is what is called "/rapping " by sea- next note. 

men in the English navy, who are always 4 The excavations were made in the year 

taught how to frap a ship. The only differ- 1834; and the inscriptions were published, in 

ence is, that the practice is now resorted to 1840, at Berlin, by A. Bockh. A complete ac- 

much less frequently, and that modern ships count is given of every thing with which the 

are not supplied with " undergirders " specially Athenian ships were supplied, with the name 

prepared. The operation and its use are thus of each vessel, &c. ; and we find that they all 

described in Falconer's Marine Dictionary: carried "undergirders," which are classed 

" To frap a ship Is to pass four or five turns of among the hanging gear, as opposed to what 

a large cable-laid rope round the hull or frame was constructed of timber. In commenting on 

of a ship, to support her in a great storm, or one passage having reference to the ships 

otherwise, when it is apprehended that she is which were on service in the Adriatic, and 

not strong enough to resist the violent efforts which carried several "undergirders," Bockh 



CH.vp.xxra. SHIPS OF THE ANCIENTS. 681 

these artificial " helps " (xxvii. 17) in a storm is to be found in the nar- 
rative before us. 

If these differences between ancient ships and our own are borne in 
mind, the problems of early seamanship in the Mediterranean are nearly 
reduced to those with which the modern navigator has to deal in the same 
seas. The practical questions which remain to be asked are these, What 
were the dimensions of ancient ships ? how near the wind could they 
sail ? and, with a fair wind, at what rate ? 

As regards the first of these questions, there seems no reason why we 
should suppose the old trading-vessels of the Mediterranean to be much 
smaller than our own. We may rest this conclusion both on the character 
of the cargoes with which they were freighted, 1 and on the number of 
persons we know them to have sometimes conveyed. Though the great 
ship of Ptolemy Philadelphus 2 may justly be regarded as built for osten- 
tation rather than for use, the Alexandrian vessel which forms the subject 
of one of Lucian's dialogues, 3 and is described as driven by stress of 
weather into the Pirseus, furnishes us with satisfactory data for the calcu- 
lation of the tonnage of ancient ships. Two hundred and seventy-six 
souls 4 were on board the ship in which St. Paul was wrecked (xxvii. 37), 
and the " Castor and Pollux " conveyed them, in addition to her own 
crew, from Malta to Puteoli (xxviii. 11) ; while Josephus informs us 5 that 
there were six hundred on board the ship from which he, with about 
eighty others, escaped. Such considerations lead us to suppose that the 
burden of many ancient merchantmen may have been from five hundred 
to a thousand tons. 

A second question, of greater consequence in reference to the present 
subject, relates to the angle which the course of an ancient ship could be 
made to assume with the direction of the wind, or, to use the language 6 
of English sailors (who divide the compass into thirty-two points), within 



shows that these were ropes passed round the allow at the rate of a ton and a half to each 

body of the ship, but he strangely supposes man, and as the ship we are considering was 

that they were passed from stem to ster-i. not expressly fitted for passengers, we may 

1 See below on the traffic between the conclude that her burden was fully, or at least 
provinces and Home. nearly double, the number of tons to the souls 

2 Described in Athenaaus. on board, or upwards of 500 tons." — Penrose, 

3 From the length and breadth of this ship MS. 

as given by Lucian, Mr. Smith infers that her 5 Life, c. 3. 

burden was between 1,000 and 1,100 tons, pp. 6 As it is essential, for the purpose of eluci- 

147-150. dating the narrative, that this language should 

4 " The ship must havu ueen of considera- be clearly understood, a compass has been in- 
ble burden, as we find there were no less than serted at p. 619, and some words of explana- 
276 persons embarked on board her. To af- tion are given, both here and below. This will 
ford fair accommodation for troops in a trans- be readily excused by those who arc familiar 
port expressly fitted r ox the purpose, we should with nautical phraseology. 



682 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxm 

how many points of the wind she would sail. That ancient vessels could 
not work to windward is one of the popular mistakes 1 which need not be 
refuted. They doubtless took advantage of the Etesian winds, 2 just as 
the traders in the Eastern Archipelago sail with the monsoons : but those 
who were accustomed to a seafaring life could not avoid discovering that a 
ship's course can be made to assume a less angle than a right angle with 
the direction of the wind, or, in other words, that she can be made to 
sail within less than eight points of the wind : 3 and Pliny distinctly says, 
that it is possible for a ship to sail on contrary tacks. 4 The limits of 
this possibility depend upon the character of the vessel and the violence 
of the gale. We shall find, below, that the vessel in which St. Paul was 
wrecked " could not look at the wind," — for so the Greek word (xxvii. 
15) may be literally translated in the language of English sailors, — 
though with a less violent gale an English ship, well managed, could 
easily have kept her course. A modern merchantman, in moderate 
weather, can sail within six points of the wind. In an ancient vessel the 
yard could not be braced so sharp, and the hull was more clumsy ; and 
it would not be safe to say that she could sail nearer the wind than within 
seven points. b 

To turn now to the third question, the rate of sailing, — the very 
nature of the rig, which was less adapted than our own for working to 
windward, was peculiarly favorable to a quick run before the wind. In 
the China seas, during the monsoons, junks have been seen from the deck 
of a British vessel behind in the horizon in the morning, and before in 
the horizon in the evening. 6 Thus we read of passages accomplished of 
old in the Mediterranean, which would do credit to a well-appointed 
modern ship. Pliny, who was himself a seaman, and in command of a 
fleet at the time of his death, might furnish us with several instances. 
T7e might quote the story of the fresh fig, which Cato produced in the 
senate at Rome, when he urged his countrymen to undertake the third 
Punic war, by impressing on them the imminent nearness of their enemy. 
" This fruit," he says, " was gathered fresh at Carthage three days ago." 7 
Other voyages, which he adduces, are such as these, — seven days from 
Cadiz to Ostia, — seven days from the straits of Messina to Alexandria, — 

1 Yet we sometimes find the mistake when 3 See Smith, p. 178. 

we should hardly expect it. Thus, Hemsen 4 " Iisdem ventis in contrarium navigatur 

says, in reference to Acts xxvii. 7, that it is prolatis pedibus." — H. N. ii. 48. 

"doubtful whether the ancients were ac- 5 Smith, p. 178. 

quainted with the way of sailing against the 6 See above, p. 610, n. 8. 

wind." 7 Plin. H. N. xv. 20. We may observe 

2 The classical passages relating to these that the interval of time need not be regarded 
winds — the monsoons of the Levant — are as so much as three entire days. 

collected in Forbiger's work on Ancient Geog- 
raphy. 



CHAP.xxra. NAVIGATION OF THE ANCIENTS. 683 

nine days from Puteoli to Alexandria. These instances are quite in 
harmony with what we read in other authors. Thus Rhodes and Cape 
Salmone, at the eastern extremity of Crete, are reckoned by Diodorus 
and Strabo as four days from Alexandria : Plutarch tells us of a voyage 
within the day from Brundusium to Corcyra : Procopius describes Belisa- 
rius as sailing on one day with his fleet from Malta, and landing on the 
next day some leagues to the south of Carthage. 1 A thousand stades 
(or between 100 and 150 miles) is reckoned by the geographers a com- 
mon distance to accomplish in the twenty-four hours. 2 And the conclu- 
sion to which we are brought is, that with a fair wind an ancient 
merchantman would easily sail at the rate of seven knots an hour, — a 
conclusion in complete harmony both with what we have observed in a 
former voyage of St. Paul (Ch. XX.), and with what will demand our 
attention at the close of that voyage which brought him at length from 
Malta by Rhegium to Puteoli (Acts xxviii. 13). 

The remarks which have been made will convey to the reader a suffi- 
cient notion of the ships and navigation of the ancients. If to the above- 
mentioned peculiarities of build and rig we add the eye painted at the 
prow, the conventional ornaments at stem and stern, which are familiar 
to us in remaining works of art, 3 and the characteristic figures of 
Heathen divinities, 4 we shall gain a sufficient idea of an ancient mer- 
chantman. And a glance at the chart of the Mediterranean will enable 
us to realize in our imagination the nature of the voyages that were most 
frequent in the ancient world. With the same view of elucidating the 
details of our subject beforehand, we may now devote a short space to the 
prevalent lines of traffic, and to the opportunities of travellers by sea, in 
the first century of the Christian era. 

Though the Romans had no natural love for the sea, and though a 
commercial life was never regarded by them as an honorable occupation, 
and thus both experience of practical seamanship and the business of 
the carrying-trade remained in a great measure with the Greeks, yet a 
vast development had been given to commerce by the consolidation of the 
Roman Empire. Piracy had been effectually put down before the close 
of the Republic. 5 The annexation of Egypt drew towards Italy the rich 
trade of the Indian seas. After the effectual reduction of Gaul and Spain, 



1 This is one of the passages which will be stern or prow, in the form of the neck of a 
referred to hereafter, in considering thebounda- water-fowl, see Smith, p. 142, and the Dictiona- 
ries of the sea called Adria (Acts xxvii. 27). ry of Antiquities, under " Aplustre." 

2 Herodotus reckons a day and a night's 4 " Whose sign teas Castor and Pollux" 
sail in the summer time, and with a favorable Acts xxviii. 11. This might be abundantly 
wind, at 1,300 stadia, or 162 Roman miles. illustrated from classical authors. 

3 For the X7jvioKOc, a tall ornament at the 5 Compare pp. 19, 20. 



684 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. ch.vp.xxiu. 

Roman soldiers and Roman slave-dealers ! invaded the shores of Britain. 
The trade of all the countries which surrounded the Mediterranean began 
to flow towards Rome. The great city herself was passive, for she had 
nothing to export. But the cravings of her luxury, and the necessities 
of her vast population, drew to one centre the converging lines of a busy 
traffic from a wide extent of provinces. To leave out of view what 
hardly concerns us here, the commerce by land from the North, 2 some of 
the principal directions of trade by sea may be briefly enumerated as fol- 
lows. The harbors of Ostia and Puteoli were constantly full of ships 
from the West, which had brought wool and other articles from Cadiz : 3 
a circumstance which possesses some interest for us here, as illustrating 
the mode in which St. Paul might hope to accomplish his voyage to Spain 
(Rom. xv. 24). On the South was Sicily, often called the Store-house 
of Italy, — and Africa, which sent furniture-woods to Rome, and heavy 
cargoes of marble and granite. On the East, Asia Minor was the inter- 
mediate space through which the caravan-trade 4 passed, conveying silks 
and spices from beyond the Euphrates to the markets and wharves of 
Ephesus. We might extend this enumeration by alluding to the fisheries 
of the Black Sea, and the wine-trade of the Archipelago. But enough 
has been said to give some notion of the commercial activity of which 
Italy was the centre : and our particular attention here is required only 
to one branch of trade, one line of constant traffic across the waters of 
the Mediterranean to Rome. 

Alexandria has been mentioned already as a city, which, next after 
Athens, exerted the strongest intellectual influence over the age in which 
St. Paul's appointed work was clone ; and we have had occasion to notice 
some indirect connection between this city and the Apostle's own labors. 5 
But it was eminent commercially not less than intellectually. The pro- 
phetic views of Alexander were at that time receiving an ampler fulfil- 
ment than at any former period. The trade with the Indian seas, which 
had been encouraged under the Ptolemies, received a vast impulse in the 
.reign of Augustus : and under the reigns of his successors, the valley of 
the Nile was the channel of an active transit trade in spices, dyes, jewels, 

1 See the passage in Pitt's speeches, re- of the mouth of the Tiber. See the article 
ferred to in Milman's Gibbon, i. p. 70. " Ostia" in Dr. Smith's Diet of Geography. 

2 For example, the amber trade of the 4 There seem to have been two great lines 
Baltic, and the importing of provisions and of inland trade through Asia Minor, one near 
rough cloths from Cisalpine Gaul. the southern shore of the Black Sea, through 

3 We may refer here, in illustration, to the the districts opened by the campaigns of Pom- 
coin representing Ostia below, p. 743. It was pey, and the other through the centre of the 
about this time that the new harbor of Portus country from Mazaca, on the Euphrates, to 
(a city not unconnected with ecclesiastical his- Ephesus. 

tory) was completed by Nero on the north side 5 See pp. 8, 9, 33, 407. 



CHAP.xxin. FACILITIES OFFEEED TO TEAVELLEES. 685 

and perfumes, which were brought by Arabian mariners from the far 
East, and poured into the markets of Italy. 1 But Egypt was not only the 
medium of transit trade. She had her own manufactures of linen, 
paper, and glass, which she exported in large quantities. And one 
natural product of her soil has been a staple commodity from the time of 
Pharaoh to our own. We have only to think of the fertilizing inunda- 
tions of the Nile, on the one hand, and, on the other, of the multitudes 
composing the free and slave population of Italy, in order to comprehend 
the activity and importance of the Alexandrian corn-trade. At a later 
period the Emperor Commodus established a company of merchants to 
convey the supplies from Egypt to Rome ; and the commendations which 
he gave himself for this forethought may still be read in the inscription 
round the ships represented on his coins. 2 The harbor to which the 
Egyptian corn-vessels were usually bound was Puteoli. At the close of 
this chapter we shall refer to some passages which give an animated pic- 
ture of the arrival of these ships. Meanwhile, it is well to have called 
attention to this line of traffic between Alexandria and Puteoli ; for in so 
doing we have described the means which Divine Providence employed 
for bringing the Apostle to Rome. 

The transition is easy from the commerce of the Mediterranean to the 
progress of travellers from point to point in that sea. If to this enume- 
ration of the main lines of traffic by sea we add all the ramifications of 
the coasting-trade which depended on them, we have before us a full 
view of the opportunities which travellers possessed of accomplishing 
their voyages. Just in this way we have lately seen St Paul completing 
the journey, on which his mind was set, from Philippi, by Miletus and 
Patara, to Caesarea (Ch. XX.). We read of no periodical packets for 
the conveyance of passengers sailing between the great towns of the 
Mediterranean. Emperors themselves were usually compelled to take 
advantage of the same opportunities to which Jewish pilgrims and Chris- 
tian Apostles were limited. When Vespasian went to Rome, leaving 
Titus to prosecute the siege of Jerusalem, " he went on board a mer- 
chant-ship, and sailed from Alexandria to Rhodes," and thence pursued 
his way through Greece to the Adriatic, and finally went to Rome through 
Italy by land. 3 And when the Jewish war was ended, and when, sus- 
picions having arisen concerning the allegiance of Titus to Vespasian, the 
son was anxious " to rejoin his father," he also left Alexandria 4 in a 
" merchant-ship," and " hastened to Italy," touching at the very places 

1 See the history of this trade in Dean Vin- 8 Joseph. War, vii. 2, 1. 
cent's Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients. * Suet. Tit. c. 5. 

2 One of them is given (from Mr. Smith's 
work) on the titlepage. 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxm. 

at which St. Paul touched, first at Rhegium (xxviii. 13), and then at 
Puteoli (lb.). 

If such was the mode in which even royal personages travelled from 
the provinces to the metropolis, we must of course conclude that those 
who travelled on the business of the state must often have been content 
to avail themselves of similar opportunities. The sending of state 
prisoners to Rome from various parts of the Empire was an event of 
frequent occurrence. Thus we are told by Josephus, 1 that Felix, " for 
some slight offence, bound and sent to Rome several priests of his ac- 
quaintance, honorable and good men, to answer for themselves to Cassar." 
Such groups must often have left Csesarea and the other Eastern ports, in 
merchant-vessels bound for the West ; and such was the departure of St. 
Paul, when the time at length came for that eventful journey, which had 
been so long and earnestly cherished in his own wishes ; 2 so emphatically 
foretold by divine revelation ; 3 and which was destined to involve such 
great consequences to the whole future of Christianity. 

The vessel in which he sailed, with certain other state prisoners, was 
" a ship of Adramyttium " apparently engaged in the coasting-trade, 4 
and at that time (probably the end of summer or the beginning of au- 
tumn) 5 bound on her homeward voyage. Whatever might be the harbors 
at which she intended to touch, her course lay along the coast of the 
province of Asia. 6 Adramyttium was itself a seaport in Mysia, which 
(as we have seen) was a subdivision of that province : and we have 
already described it as situated in the deep gulf which recedes beyond 
the base of Mount Ida, over against the island of Lesbos, and as connected 
by good roads with Pergamus and Troas on the coast, and the various 
marts in the interior of the peninsula. 7 Since St. Paul never reached the 

1 Joseph. Life, c. 3. the New Testament, we need only refer again 

2 Rom. xv. 23. to p. 205, &c. It is of the utmost consequence 

3 Acts xix. 21 ; xxiii. 11. See xxvii. 24. to bear this in mind. If the continent of Asia 

4 The words "meaning to sail by the coasts were intended, the passage would be almost 
of Asia" (v. 2) should rather be applied to unmeaning. Yet Falconer says (Diss, on St. 
the ship ("about to sail," &c). They seem to Paul's Voyage, on the wind Euroclydon, and the 
imply that she was about to touch at several Apostle's shipwreck on the Island Melita, by a 
places on her way to Adramyttium. Proba- Layman. Oxf. 1817), " They who conducted 
bly she was a small coaster, similar to those the ship meant to sail on their return by the 
of the modern Greeks in the same seas : and coasts of Asia ; accordingly, the next day after 
doubtless the Alexandrian corn-ship mentioned they set sail, they touched at Sidon," p. 4. 
afterwards was much larger. Nor are we to suppose Asia Minor intended, 

5 This we infer, partly because it is reasona- which seems to be the supposition even of 
ble to suppose that they expected to reach some of the most careful commentators. 
Italy before the winter, partly because of the 7 P. 240 ; and see p. 596. We need hardly 
delays which are expressly mentioned before allude to the error of Grotius, who supposed 
the consultation at Fair Havens. See p. 696. Adrumetum, on the African coast, to be meant. 

6 For the meaning of the word " Asia " in Mr. Lewin assumes that the intention of Julius 



CHAP.xxra. CJESAREA TO SIDOK 687 

place, no description of it is required. 1 It is only needful to observe that 
when the vessel reached the coast of " Asia," the travellers would be 
brought some considerable distance on their way to Rome ; and there 
would be a good prospect of finding some other westward-bound vessel, 
in which they might complete their voyage, — more especially since the 
Alexandrian corn-ships (as we shall see) often touched at the harbors in 
that neighborhood. 

St. Paul's two companions — besides the soldiers, with Julius their 
commanding officer, the sailors, the other prisoners, and such occasional 
passengers as may have taken advantage of this opportunity of leaving 
Cassarea — were two Christians already familiar to us, Luke the Evan- 
gelist, whose name, like that of Timotheus, is almost inseparable from 
the Apostle, and whom we may conclude to have been with him since his 
arrival in Jerusalem, 2 — and " Aristarchus the Macedonian, of Thessalo- 
nica," whose native country and native city have been separately men- 
tioned before (Acts xix. 29, xx. 4), and who seems, from the manner in 
which he is spoken of in the Epistles written from Rome (Philem. 24, Col. 
iv. 10), to have been, like St. Paul himself, a prisoner in the cause of the 
Gospel. 

On the day after sailing from Csesarea the vessel put into Sidon (v. 3). 
This may be readily accounted for, by supposing that she touched there for 
the purposes of trade, or to land some passengers. Or another hypothesis 
is equally allowable. Westerly and north-westerly winds prevail in the 
Levant at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn ; 3 and we 

was to proceed (like those who afterwards from the journal written by Lord de Sau- 

took Ignatius to his martyrdom) by the Via marez, on his return from Aboukir, in the 

Egnatia through Macedonia; but the narrative months of August and September, 1798. He 

gives no indication of such a plan : and indeed stood to the north towards Cyprus, and was 

the hypothesis is contradicted by the word in compelled to run to the south of Crete. "The 

xxvii. 1. wind continues to the westward. I am sorry 

1 A short notice of it is given by Sir. C. Fel- to find it almost as prevailing as the trade- 
lows (A. M. p. 39). Mr. Weston, in his MS. winds (July 4). . . . We have just gained 
journal, describes it as a filthy town, of about sight of Cyprus, nearly the track we followed 
1,500 houses, 150 of which are inhabited by six weeks ago; so invariably do the westerly 
Greeks, and he saw no remains of antiquity. winds prevail at this season (Aug. 19). . . .We 
It was a flourishing seaport in the time of the are still off the island of Rhodes. Our pres- 
kings of Pergamus ; and Pliny mentions it as ent route is to the northward of Candia 
the seat of a conventus juridicus. In Pococke's (Aug. 28). . . . After contending three days 
Travels (II. ii. 16), it is stated that there is against the adverse winds which are almost in- 
much boat-building still at Adramyti. variably encountered here, and getting' suffi- 

2 See above. ciently to the northward to have weathered 

3 See the quotation already given from the small islands that lie more immediately 
Norie's Sailing Directions in this volume, p. 605, between the Archipelago and Candia, the wind 
n. 4. A similar statement will be found in set in so strong from the westward, that I was 
Purdy, p. 59. Mr. Smith (pp. 22, 23, 27,41) compelled to desist from that passage, and to 
gives very copious illustrations of this point, bear up between Scarpanto and Saxo." 



688 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxm. 

find that it did actually blow from these quarters soon afterwards, in the 
course of St. Paul's voyage. Such a wind would be sufficiently fair for a 
passage to Sidon : and the seamen might proceed to that port in the hope 
of the weather becoming more favorable, and be detained there by the 
wind continuing in the same quarter. 1 The passage from Csesarea to 
Sidon is sixty-seven miles, a distance easily accomplished, under favora- 
ble circumstances, in less than twenty-four hours. In the course of the 
night they would pass by Ptolemais and Tyre, where St. Paul had visited 
the Christians two years before. 2 Sidon is the last city on the Phoenician 
shore in which the Apostle's presence can be traced. It is a city associ- 
ated, from the earliest times, with patriarchal and Jewish history. The 
limit of " the border of the Canaanites " in the description of the peo- 
pling of the earth after the Flood (Gen. x. 19), — " the haven of the sea, 
the haven of ships," in the dim vision of the dying Patriarch (lb. xlix. 
13), — the "great Sidon" of the wars of Joshua (Josh. xi. 8), — the 
city that never was conquered by the Israelites (Judg. i. 31), — the home 
of the merchants that "passed over the sea" (Isa. xxiii.), — its history 
was linked with all the annals of the Hebrew race. Nor is it less famil- 
iarly known in the records of Heathen antiquity. Its name is celebrated 
both in the Iliad .and the Odyssey, and Herodotus says that its sailors 
were the most expert of all the Phoenicians. Its strong and massive 
fortifications were pulled down, when this coast fell under the sway of 
the Persians ; but its harbor remained uninjured till a far later period. 
The Prince of the Druses, with whose strange and brilliant career its more 
recent history is most closely connected, threw masses of stone and earth 
into the port, in order to protect himself from the Turks : 3 — and houses 
are now standing on the spot where the ships of King Louis anchored in 
the last Crusade, 4 and which was crowded with merchandise in that age, 
when the geographer of the Roman Empire spoke of Sidon as the best 
harbor of Phoenicia. 5 

Nor is the history of Sidon without a close connection with those years 
in which Christianity was founded. Not only did its inhabitants, with 
those of Tyre, follow the footsteps of Jesus, to hear His words, and to 
be healed of their diseases (Luke vi. 17), but the Son of David Himself 
visited those coasts, and there rewarded the importunate faith of a Gen- 
tile suppliant (Matt, xv., Mark vii.) ; and soon the prophecy which lay, 

1 " They probably stopped at Sidon for the 8 A compendious account of Fakriddin will 
purposes of trade." — Smith, p. 23. " It may be found in the Modern Traveller. 

be concluded that they put in because of con- * For the history of Sidon during the Mid- 

trary winds." — Penrose MS. die Ages, see Dr. Robinson's third volume. 

2 See what has been said above on these 5 Strabo, xvi. 
two cities, Ch. XX. p. 613, &c. 



CHAP.xxm. SIDON TO MYKA. 689 

as it were, involved in this miracle, was fulfilled by the preaching of 
Evangelists and Apostles. Those who had been converted during the 
dispersion which followed the martyrdom of Stephen were presently 
visited by Barnabas and Saul (Acts xi.). Again, Paul with Barnabas 
passed through these cities on their return from the first victorious jour- 
ney among the Gentiles (lb. xv. 3). Nor were these the only journeys 
which the Apostle had taken through Phoenicia ; * so that he well knew, 
on his arrival from Caesarea, that Christian brethren were to be found in 
Sidon. He, doubtless, told Julius that he had " friends " there, whom he 
wished to visit, and, either from special commands which had been given 
by Festus in favor of St. Paul, or through an influence which the Apostle 
had already gained over the centurion's mind, the desired permission was 
granted. If we bear in our remembrance that St. Paul's health was 
naturally delicate, and that he must have suffered much during his long 
detention at Caesarea, a new interest is given to the touching incident, with 
which the narrative of this voyage opens, that the Roman officer treated 
this one prisoner " courteously, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends 
to refresh himself." We have already considered the military position of 
this centurion, and seen that there are good grounds for identifying him 
with an officer mentioned by a Heathen historian. 2 It gives an additional 
pleasure to such investigations, when we can record our grateful recollec- 
tion of kindness shown by him to that Apostle, from whom we have 
received our chief knowledge of the Gospel. 

On going to sea from Sidon, the wind was unfavorable. Hence, what- 
ever the weather had been before, it certainly blew from the westward 
now. The direct course from Sidon to the " coasts of Asia " would have 
been to the southward of Cyprus, across the sea over which the Apostle 
had sailed so prosperously two years before. 3 Thus when St. Luke says 
that u they sailed under the lee* of Cyprus, because the winds ivere con- 
trary" he means that they sailed to the north-east and north of the island. 
If there were any doubt concerning his meaning, it would be made clear 
by what is said afterwards, that they " sailed through' the sea ivhichis over 
against Cilicia and Pamphylia" The reasons why this course was taken 
will be easily understood by those who have navigated those seas in modern 

1 See p. 370. led by his view of the meaning of the word 

2 See the preceding chapter. "Asia." They sailed, in fact, so that the 

3 See Ch. XS* wind blew from the island towards the ship. 

4 This is the strict meaning of the term. The idea of sailing near the coast is no doubt 
So it is used below, v. 7, and the sense is the included : but the two things are distinct, 
same, v. 16. It is a confusion of geographical 5 Through or across. The meaning is simi- 
ideas to suppose that a south shore is neces- lar in v. 27. "We should observe the order in 
sarily meant. Falconer, who imagines the which the following words occur. Cilicia is 
south coast of Cyprus to be intended, was mis- mentioned first. 

44 



690 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxin. 

times. By standing to the north, the vessel would fall in with the cur- 
rent which sets in a north-westerly direction past the eastern extremity 
of Cyprus, and then westerly along the southern coast of Asia Minor, till 
it is lost at the opening of the Archipelago. 1 And besides this, as the 
land was neared, the wind would draw off the shore, and the water would 
be smoother ; and both these advantages would aid the progress of the 
vessel. 2 Hence she would easily work to windward, 3 under the moun- 
tains of Cilicia, and through the bay of Pamphylia, — to Lycia, which 
was the first district in the province of Asia. 4 Thus we follow the Apos- 
tle once more across the sea over which he had first sailed with Barnabas 
from Antioch to Salamis, — and within sight of the summits of Taurus, 
which rise above his native city, — and close by Perga and Attaleia, — 
till he came to a Lycian harbor not far from Patara, the last point at 
which he had touched on his return from the third missionary journey. 

The Lycian harbor, in which the Adramyttian ship came to anchor on 
this occasion, after her voyage from Sidon, was Myra, a city which has 
been fully illustrated by some of those travellers, whose researches have, 
within these few years, for the first time provided materials for a detailed 
geographical commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. 5 Its situation 
was at the opening of a long and wonderful gorge, which conducts the 
traveller from the interior of the mountain-region of Lycia to the sea. 6 

1 " From Syria to the Archipelago there is of the interior to the sea; " and again (p. 241), 

a constant current to the westward, slightly that " Capt. Beaufort, on rounding Cape Khe- 

felt at sea, but very perceptible near the shore, lidonia, found the land-breezes, which had 

along this part of which [Lycia] it runs with generally been from the west, or south-west, 

considerable but irregular velocity : between coming down the gulf of Adalia from the 

Adratchan Cape and the small adjacent island northward." 

we found it one day almost three miles an 3 The vessel would [probably] have to beat 

hour. . . . The great body of water, as it up to Myra. This is indicated in the map. 

moves to the westward, is intercepted by the The wind is assumed to be N. W. : and the 

western coast of the Gulf of Adalia ; thus alternate courses marked are about N. N. E. 

pent up and accumulated, it rushes with aug- on the larboard tack, and W. S. W. on the 

men ted violence towards Cape Khelidonia, starboard tack. 

where, diffusing itself in the open sea, it again 4 Lycia was once virtually a part of the 

becomes equalized." Beaufort's Karamania, province of Asia (p. 207); but shortly before 

p. 41. See pp. 127,606. [Of two persons the time of St. Paul's voyage to Borne it 

engaged in the merchant-service, one says seems to have been united under one jurisdic- 

that he has often " tricked other fruit-vessels " tion with Pamphylia (p. 209). The period 

in sailing westward, by standing to the north when it was a separate province, with Myra 

to get this current, while they took the mid- for its metropolis, was much later, 

channel course ; the other, that the current is 5 The two best accounts of Myra will be 

sometimes so strong between Cyprus and the found in Fellows's Asia Minor, pp. 194, &c, 

main, that he has known " a steamer jammed" and Spratt and Forbes's Lycia, vol. i. ch. iii. 

there, in going to the East.] 6 This gorge is described in striking lan- 

"- It is said in the Sailing Directory (p. 243), guage, both by Sir C. Fellows and by Spratt 

'but " at night the great northern valley con- and Forbes. 
1w:ts the land-wind from the cold mountains 



chap. xxm. MYKA TO CNIDUS. 691 

A wide space of plain intervened between the city and the port. Strabo 
says that the distance was twenty stadia, or more than two miles. 1 If we 
draw a natural inference from the magnitude of the theatre, 2 which 
remains at the base of the cliffs, and' the traces of ruins to some distance 
across the plain, we should conclude that Myra once held a considerable 
population : while the Lycian tombs, still conspicuous in the rocks, seem 
to connect it with a remote period of Asiatic history. 3 We trace it, on 
the other hand, in a later though hardly less obscure period of history : 
for in the Middle Ages it was called the port of the Adriatic, and was 
visited by Anglo-Saxon travellers. 4 This was the period when St. Nicho- 
las, the saint of the modern Greek sailors, — born at Patara, and buried 
at Myra, — had usurped the honor which those two cities might more 
naturally have given to the Apostle who anchored in their harbors. 5 In 
the seclusion of the deep gorge of Dembra is a magnificent Byzantine 
church, 6 — probably the cathedral of the diocese, when Myra was the 
ecclesiastical and political metropolis of Lycia. 7 Another building, hard- 
ly less conspicuous, is a granary erected by Trajan near the mouth of the 
little river Andraki. 8 This is the ancient Andriace, which Pliny mentions 
as the port of Myra, and which is described to us by Appian, in his nar- 
rative of the Civil Wars of Rome, as closed and protected by a chain. 9 

Andriace, the port of Myra, was one ,of the many excellent harbors 
which abound in the south-western part of Asia Minor. From this cir- 
cumstance, and from the fact that the coast is high, and visible to a great 
distance, — in addition to the local advantages which we have mentioned 
above, the westerly current, and the offshore wind, — it was common for 
ships bound from Egypt to the westward to be found in this neighborhood 



1 See note 4. St. Petersburg by a Eussian frigate during the 

2 Mr. Cockereil remarks that we may infer Greek revolution, and a gaudy picture sent in- 
something in reference to the population of an stead. Sp. &F. Compare Fellows, 
ancient city from the size of its theatre. A 6 See the description of this grand and 
plan of this theatre is given in Leake's Asia solitary building, and the vignette, in Spratt 
Minor, and also in Texier's Asie Mineure. and Forbes. They remark that " as Myra was 

3 It is well known that there is much differ- the capital of the bishopric of Lyeia for many 
ence of opinion concerning the history of centuries afterwards, and as there are no re- 
Lycian civilization, and the date of the existing mains at Myra itself indicating the existence 
remains. of a cathedral, we probably behold in this ruin 

4 Early Travels in Palestine, quoted by Mr. the head-church of the diocese, planted here 
Lewin, vol. ii. p. 716. It is erroneously said from motives of seclusion and security." — Vol. 
there that Myra was at that time the metropolis i. p. 107. 

of Lycia, on the authority of the Synecdemus, 7 Hierocl. Synecd. See Wesseling's note, p. 

which belongs to a period much later. The 684. 

river Andriaki is also incorrectly identified 8 The inscription on the granary is given 

with the Limyrus. by Beaufort. 

6 The relics of St. Nicholas were taken to 9 See above p. 608, n. 7. 



692 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiij. 

when the winds were contrary. 1 It was therefore a natural occurrence, 
and one which could have caused no surprise, when the centurion met 
in the harbor at Myra with an Alexandrian corn-ship on her voyage to 
Italy (v. 6). Even if business had not brought her to this coast, she was 
not really out of her track in a harbor in the same meridian as that of 
her own port. 2 It is probable that the same westerly winds which had 
hindered St. Paul's progress from Csesarea to Myra had caused the Alex- 
andrian ship to stand to the north. 

Thus the expectation was fulfilled which had induced the centurion to 
place his prisoners on board the vessel of Adramyttium. 3 That vessel 
proceeded on her homeward route up the coast of the iEgean, if the 
weather permitted ; and we now follow the Apostle through a more event- 
ful part of his voyage, in a ship which was probably much larger than 
those that were simply engaged in the coasting-trade. From the total 
number of souls on board (v. 87), and the known fact that the Egyptian 
merchantmen were among the largest in the Mediterranean, 4 we conclude 
that she was a vessel of considerable size. Every thing that relates to 
her construction is interesting to us, through the minute account which is 
given of her misfortunes from the moment of her leaving Myra. The 
weather was unfavorable from the first. They were " many days " before 
reaching Cnidus (v. T) : and since the distance from Myra to this place 
is only a hundred and thirty "miles, it is certain that they must have 
sailed " slowly" (ib.). The delay was of course occasioned by one of 
two causes, — by calms or by contrary winds. There can be no doubt 
that the latter was the real cause, not only because the sacred narrative 
states that they reached Cnidus 5 " with difficulty" but because we are 
informed that, when Cnidus was reached, they could not make good their 
course 6 any farther, "the wind not suffering them" (ibid.). At this 

1 See the references to Socrates, Sozomen, 3 See above, p. 685. 

and Philo, in Wetstein. It is possible, as 4 A quotation to this effect is given by 

Kuinoel suggests, that the ship might have Wetstein. 

brought goods from Alexandria to Lycia, and 5 The Greek word here is only imperfectly 

then taken in a fresh cargo for Italy ; but not rendered by " scarce " in the English version, 

very probable, since she was full of wheat It is the same word which is translated " hard- 

when the gale caught her. [A captain in the \j" in v. 8, and it occurs again in v. 16. 

merchant-service told the writer, that, in com- 6 Their direct course was about W. by S. : 

ing from Alexandria in August, he has stood to and, when they opened the point, they were 

the north towards Asia Minor for the sake of under very unfavorable circumstances even for 

the current, and that this is a very common beating. The words " the wind not suffering 

course.] us," Mr. Smith understands to mean that the 

2 Mr. Lewin supposes that the plan of wind would not allow the vessel to hold on 
Julius was changed, in consequence of this her course towards Italy, after Cnidus was 
ship being found in harbor here. " At Myra passed. So Sir C. Penrose, in whose MS. we 
the centurion most unluckily changed his find the following : ~" The course from Myra 
plan," &c, vol. ii. p. 716. towards Italy was to pass close to the Island 



chap. xxm. CNIDUS. 693 

point they lost the advantages of a favoring current, a weather-shore and 
smooth water, and were met by all the force of the sea from the westward ; 
and it was judged the most prudent course, instead of contending with a 
head sea and contrary winds, to run down to the southward, and after 
rounding Cape Salmone, the easternmost point of Crete, to pursue the 
voyage under the lee of that island. 1 

Knowing, as we do, the consequences which followed this step, we are 
inclined to blame it as imprudent, unless, indeed, it was absolutely 
necessary. For while the south coast of Crete was deficient in good har- 
bors, that of Cnidus was excellent, — well sheltered from the north-west- 
erly winds, fully supplied with all kinds of stores, and in every way 
commodious, if needful, for wintering. 2 

And here, according to our custom, we pause again in the narrative, 
that we may devote a few lines to the history and description of the place. 
In early times it was the metropolis of the Asiatic Dorians, who wor- 
shipped Apollo, their national Deity, on the rugged headland called the 
Triopian 3 promontory (the modern Cape Crio), which juts out beyond 
the city to the West. From these heights the people of Cnidus saw that 
engagement between the fleets of Pisander and Conon, which resulted in 
the maritime supremacy of Athens. 4 To the north-west is seen the 
island of Cos (p. 604) ; to the south-east, across a wider reach of sea, 
is the larger island of Rhodes (p. 606), with which, in their weaker 
and more voluptuous days, 5 Cnidus was united in alliance with Rome, at 
the beginning of the struggle between Italy and the East. 6 The posi- 
tion of the city of Cnidus is to the east of the Triopian headland, whore 
a narrow isthmus unites the promontory w r ith the continent, \nd separates 

of Cythera (Cerigo), or the south point of the shore could not come to and warp it." If, 

Morea ; the Island of Rhodes lying in the di- however, it were true that they could not get 

rect track. It appears that the ship passed to into Cnidus, it would equally follow that .he 

the northward of that island, having sailed wind was blowing hard from the N. W. 
slowly many days from the light and baffling 1 See above. 

winds, usual in those seas and at that season. 2 If the words " the wind not suffering u.> " 

Having at last got over against Cnidus (C. really mean that the wind would not allow 

Crio), the wind not suffering them to get on in the them to enter the harbor of Cnidus, these re 

direct course, it having become steady from the marks become unnecessary, 
west or north-west, they sailed southwards, 3 For a view of this remarkable promon 

till, coming near to the east end of Crete, they tory, which is the more worthy of notice, sinco 

passed," &c. St. Paul passed it twice (Acts xxi. 1, xxvii. 7), 

The words at first sight seem to mean that see the engraving in the Admiralty Chart, No 

the wind would not allow them to put into the 1604. 4 See above, p. 604. 

harbor of Cnidus : and so they are understood 5 We can hardly avoid making some allu 

by Meyer, De Wette, Humphry, and Hackett. sion here to the celebrated Venus of Praxiteles 

But in a case of this kind nautical considera- This object of universal admiration was at Cni- 

tions must be taken into account. A friend dus when St. Paul passed by. 
remarks in a letter that " a ship on a weather- 6 It was afterwards made " a free city." 



694 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAr.xxm 

the two harbors which Strabo has described. 1 " Few places bear more 
incontestable proofs of former magnificence ; and fewer still of the ruffian 
industry of their destroyers. The whole area of the city is one promis- 
cuous mass of ruins ; among which may be traced streets and gateways, 
porticoes and theatres." 2 But the remains which are the most worthy 
to arrest our attention are those of the harbors ; not only because Cnidus 
was a city peculiarly associated with maritime enterprise, 3 but because 
these remains have been less obliterated by violence or decay. " The 
smallest harbor has a narrow entrance between high piers, and was evi- 
dently the closed basin for triremes, which Strabo mentions." But it 
was the southern and larger port which lay in St. Paul's course from 
Myra, and in which the Alexandrian ship must necessarily have come 
to anchor, if she had touched at Cnidus. " This port is formed by two 
transverse moles ; these noble works were carried into the sea to a depth 
of nearly a hundred feet ; one of them is almost perfect ; the other, 
which is more exposed to the south-west swell, can only be seen under 
water." 4 And we may conclude our description by quoting from 
another traveller, who speaks of " the remains of an ancient quay on the 
S.W., supported by Clycopean walls, and in some places cut out of the 
steep limestone rocks, which rise abruptly from the water's edge." 5 

This excellent harbor, then, from choice or from necessity, was left 
behind by the seamen of the Alexandrian vessel. Instead of putting 
back there for shelter, they yielded to the expectation of being able to 
pursue their voyage under the lee of Crete, and ran down to Cape Sal- 
mone : after rounding which, the same " difficulty " would indeed recur 
(v. 8), but still with the advantage of a weather-shore. The statements 
at this particular point of St. Luke's narrative enable us to ascertain, with 
singular minuteness, the direction of the wind : and it is deeply interest- 
ing to observe how this direction, once ascertained, harmonizes all the 
inferences which we should naturally draw from other parts of the con- 
text. But the argument has been so well stated by the first writer who 

1 The ruins are chiefly on the east side of Pharos of Alexandria. The same place gave 
the Isthmus (see Hamilton, as referred to he- birth to Ctesias and Agatharchides, and others 
low). Pausanias says that the city was di- who have contributed much to geographical 
vided into two parts by an Euripus, over knowledge. 

which a bridge was thrown ; one half being 4 Here and above we quote from Beaufort, 

towards the Triopian promontory, the other See his Sketch of the Harbor. The same 

towards the east. maybe seen in the Admiralty Chart, No. 1533. 

2 Beaufort's Karamania, p. 81. The fullest Another chart gives a larger plan of the ruins, 
account of the ruins will be found in the third &c. Other references might easily be given, 
volume of the Transactions of the Dilettanti Perhaps there is no city in Asia Minor which 
Society, and in Hamilton's Asia Minor, vol. i. has been more clearly displayed, both by de- 
l'p. 39-45. scription and engravings. 

3 It was Sostratus of Cnidus who built the 5 Hamilton, p. 39. 



chap. xxm. FAIR HAVENS. 695 

has called attention to this question, that we will present it in his words 
rather than our own. 1 " The course of a ship on her voyage from Myra 
to Italy, after she has reached Cnidus, is by the north side of Crete, 
through the Archipelago, W. by S. Hence a ship which can make good a 
course of less than seven points from the wind would not have been pre- 
vented from proceeding on her course, unless the wind had been to the 
west of N.N.W. But we are told that she ' ran under Crete, over against 
Salmone,' which implies that she was able to fetch that cape, which bears 
about S.W. by S. from Cnidus ; but, unless the wind had been to the 
north of W.N.W., she could not have done so. The middle point 
between N.N.W. and W.N. TV. is north-west, which cannot be more than 
two points, and is probably not more than one, from the true direction. 
The wind, therefore, would in common language have been termed north- 
west." 2 And then the author proceeds to quote, what we have quoted 
elsewhere (p. 605, n. 4), a statement from the English Sailing Directions 
regarding the prevalence of north-westerly winds in these seas during 
the summer months ; and to point out that the statement is in complete 
harmony with what Pliny says of the Etesian monsoons. 

Under these circumstances of weather, a consideration of what has 
been said above, with the chart of Crete before us, will show that the 
voyage could have been continued some distance from Cape Salmone 
under the lee of the island, as it had been from Myra to Cnidus, 3 — but 
that at a certain point (now called Cape Matala), where the coast trends 
suddenly to the north, and where the full force of the wind and sea from 
the westward must have been met, this possibility would have ceased 
once more, as it had ceased at the south-western corner of the Peninsula. 
At a short distance to the east of Cape Matala is a roadstead, 4 which was 
then called " Fair Havens," and still retains the same name, 5 and which 
the voyagers successfully reached and came to anchor. There seems to 
have been no town at Fair Havens : but there was a town near it called 



1 For what may be necessary to explain name of Atfiioveg Kdlovc, and also the Calls- 
the nautical terms, see the compass on p. 619. mcne spoken of in the voyage of Rauwolf (in 

2 Smith, p. 35. Ray's Collection), and the Calls Miniones of 

3 See above. It is of importance to observe Fynes Morison. In ancient sailing directions, 
here that the pronoun " it " in v. 8 refers, not Dutch and French, it is described as " een 
to Salmone, but to Crete. With the wind from schoone bay, — une belle baie." See all these 
the N. W. they would easily round the point : references in Smith, pp. 30, 38, 44. Tbe place 
but after this they would " beat up with diffi- was visited by Mr. Pashley, but is not described 
cult}) along the coast " to the neighborhood of by him. Meyer considers the name euphemis- 
Cape Matala. tic. As regards win teiing, the place was ccr- 

4 In our larger editions, a view is given tainly "not commodious;" but as regards 
from Schranz's drawing, in Mr. Smith's work. shelter from some winds (including N. W.), it 

5 It is no doubt the same place which is was a good anchorage, 
mentioned by Pococke (ii. 250) under the 



696 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xxm 

Lassea, 1 a circumstance which St. Luke mentions (if we may presume to 
say so), not with any view of fixing the locality of the roadstead, but 
simply because the fact was impressed on his memory. 2 If the vessel 
was detained long at this anchorage, the sailors must have had frequent 
intercourse with Lassea, and the soldiers too might obtain leave to visit 
it ; and possibly also the prisoners, each with a soldier chained to his 
arm. We are not informed of the length of the delay at Fair Havens : 
but before they left the place, a " considerable time " had elapsed since 
they had sailed from Cassarea 3 (v. 9) ; and they had arrived at that 
season of the year when it was considered imprudent to try the open sea. 
This is expressed by St. Luke by saying that " the fast was already past ; " 
a proverbial phrase among the Jews, employed as we should employ the 
phrase " about Michaelmas," and indicating precisely that period of the 
year. 4 The fast of expiation was on the tenth of Tisri, and corresponded 
to the close of September or the beginning of October ; 5 and is exactly 
the time when seafaring is pronounced to be dangerous by Greek and 
Roman writers. 6 It became, then, a very serious matter of consultation 
whether they should remain at Fair Havens for the winter, or seek some 
better harbor. St. Paul's advice was very strongly given that they should 
remain where they were. He warned them that if they ventured to 
pursue their voyage, they would meet with violent weather, 7 with great 
injury to the cargo and the ship, and much risk to the lives of those on 
board. It is sufficient if we trace in this warning rather the natural pru- 

1 Mr. Smith says that Lasasa is not men- ous remains of a considerable town were dis- 

tioned by any ancient writer. It is, however, covered. The peasants who came down from 

probably the Lasia of the Peutingerian Tables, the hills said that the name of the place was 

stated there to be sixteen miles to the east of Lasasa. Cape Leonda lies five miles east of 

Gorryna. Pair Havens. Mr. Brown's letter has been 

[We are now able with great satisfaction to placed at our disposal by Mr. Smith, who will 

state that the city of Lasaea has been discov- give fuller details in the second edition of his 

ered. The Rev. G. Brown, with some com- work on St. Paul's Shipwreck. (This edition 

panions, has recently visited this coast in the is now published. 1861.)] 
yacht St. Ursula; and a letter written by him 2 The allusion is, in truth, an instance of 

from Fair Havens on January 18th, 1856, the autoptic style of St. Luke, on which we 

supplies the following facts. When the party have remarked in the narrative of what took 

landed at Fair Havens the question was asked, place at Philippi. 

"Where is Lasaaa? " to which it was answered 3 When they left Caesarea they had every 

at once, that it was now a deserted place about reasonable prospect of reaching Italy before 

two hours to the eastward, close to Cape Le- the stormy season ; but since then " much time 

onda. On receiving this information they ran had been spent." 

along the coast before a S. W. wind ; and 4 Just so Theophrastus , reckons from a 

just after passing the Cape, the eye of one of Heafhen festival, when he says " that the sea 

the party was caught by " two white pillars is navigable after the Dionysia" 
standing on a brae-side near the shore." On 5 Levit. xvi. 29, xxiii. 27. 

approaching and landing, the beach was found 6 Authorities are given in the larger editions, 

to be lined with masses of masonry, and vari- 7 See v. 10, and v. 21. 



chap. xxm. 



PHGENIX. 



697 



dence and judgment of St. Paul than the result of any supernatural 
revelation: though it is possible that a prophetic power was acting 1 in 
combination with the insight derived from long experience of " perils in 
the sea" (2 Cor. xi. 26). He addressed such arguments to his fellow- 
voyagers as would be likely to influence all : the master 2 would naturally 
avoid what might endanger the ship: the owner 3 (who was also on 
board) would be anxious for the cargo : to the centurion and to all, the 
risk of perilling their lives was a prospect that could not lightly be re- 
garded. That St. Paul was allowed to give advice at all implies that 
he was already held in a consideration very unusual for a prisoner in the 
custody of soldiers ; and the time came when his words held a command- 
ing sway over the whole crew : yet we cannot be surprised that on this 
occasion the centurion was more influenced 4 by the words of the owner 
and the master than those of the Apostle. There could be no doubt that 
their present anchorage was " incommodious to winter in " (v. 12), and 
the decision of " the majority " was to leave it so soon as the weather 
should permit. 

On the south coast of the island, somewhat farther to the west, was a 
harbor called Phoenix, 5 with which it seems that some of the sailors wove 
familiar. 6 They spoke of it in their conversation during the delay at 



1 Observe the vagueness of the words " a 
certain island. " 

2 The same word is translated " shipmas- 
ter " in Eev. xviii. 17. 

3 He might be the skipper, or little more 
than supercargo. 

4 The imperfect tense is used here. [It 
appears from Mr. Brown's letter that St. 
Paul's counsel was not unwise even in the 
nautical sense. For further details we must 
again refer to Mr. Smith's second edition. 
We may just add that Mr. Brown was told at 
Lutro that the "Holy Apostle Paul" had 
visited Calolimounias and baptized many people 
there ; and that near the latter place he saw the 
ruins of a monastery bearing the Apostle's 
name.] 

5 So the name is written by St. Luke and 
by Strabo. See below. The name was proba- 
bly derived from the palm-trees, which are 
"said by Theophrastus and Pliny to be indige- 
nous in Crete. 

6 At the time when Mr. Smith's work was 
published, our information regarding the coast 
of Crete was very imperfect ; and he found it 
to be the general impression of several officers 
acquainted with the navigation of those seas 



[and the writer of this note may add thai he 
has received the same impression from persons 
engaged in the merchant-service, and familiar 
with that part of the Levant], that there are 
no ship-harbors on the south side of the island. 
Mr. Smith's conviction, however, was that at 
Lutro there was a harbor satisfying all the 
conditions, and the writer of this note was 
enabled, in April, 1852, to confirm this convic- 
tion in a very satisfactory manner. The 
Admiralty drawings of the south coast of 
Crete had just then arrived, and the soundings 
of Lutro were decisive. These were exhibited 
in our earlier editions from a tracing made at 
the Admiralty. The position of the harbor is 
shown by the anchor in the chart opposite 
p. 698. 

Previously, however, Mr. Smith had re- 
ceived a letter from Mr. Urquhart, M.P., allud- 
ing to what occurred to him, when on board a 
Greek ship of war and chasing a pirate. "Lu- 
tro is an admirable harbor. You open it like 
a box; unexpectedly, the rocks stand apart, 
and the town appears within. . . . TVe thought 
we had cut him off, and that we were driving 
him right upon the rocks. Suddenly he dis- 
appeared ; — and, rounding m after him, like a 



698 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXI11. 



Fair Havens, and they described it as " looking l toward the south-west 
wind and the north-west wind." If they meant to recommend a harbor, 
into which these winds blew dead on shore, it would appear to have been 
unsailor-like advice : and we are tempted to examine more closely whether 
the expression really means what at first sight it appears to mean, and then 
to inquire further whether we can identify this description with any exist- 
ing harbor. This might indeed be considered a question of mere curiosity, 
— since the vessel never reached Phoenix, — and since the description of 
the place is evidently not that of St. Luke, but of the sailor sj whose con- 
versation he heard. 2 But every thing has a deep interest for us which 
tends to elucidate this voyage. And, first, we think there cannot be a 
doubt, both from the notices in ancient writers and the continuance of 
ancient names upon the spot, that Phoenix is to be identified with the 
modern Lutro. 3 This is a harbor which is sheltered from the winds above 



change of scenery, the little basin, its shipping 
and the town, presented themselves. . . . 
Excepting Lutro, all the roadsteads looking to 
the southward are perfectly exposed to the 
south or east/' For a view of Lutro, see 
Pashley's Travels in Crete. 

[The earlier part of this note remains as it 
was in the first edition. It is confirmed in 
every particular by Mr. Brown's letter. In 
the first place, when they were in search of 
Lutro, they ran past it, partly because of an 
error in the chart, and partly because " the 
port in question makes no appearance from the 
sea." Next, on reaching the place, and inquir- 
ing from an old Greek what was its ancient 
name, " he replied, without hesitation, Phamiki, 
but that the old city exists no longer." A 
Latin inscription relating to the Emperor 
Nerva (who was of Cretan extraction) is 
mentioned as being found on the point which 
defends the harbor on the south. The harbor 
itself is described thus: "We found the shores 
steep and perfectly clean. There are fifteen 
fathoms in the middle of the harbor, diminish- 
ing gradually to two close to the village. As 
the beach is extremely narrow, and the hills 
immediately behind steep and rocky, the har- 
bor cannot have altered its form materially 
since the days of the Apostle." The health- 
officer said, that " though the harbor is open: 
to the East, yet the easterly gales never blow 
home, being lifted by the high land behind; 
and that even in storms the sea rolls in gently 
{piano, piano) . . . it is the only secure harbor, 
in all winds, on the south coast of Crete ; and, 



during the wars between the Venetians and 
the Turks, as many as twenty and twenty-five 
war-galleys have found shelter in its waters. 

Further interest is given to this narrative by 
the circumstance that this yachting party was 
caught by the Euroclydon (see below, p. 700), 
so that some of them who landed were unable 
to rejoin the vessel, and detained a night on 
shore. The sailors said that it was " no won- 
der that St. Paul was blown off the coast in 
such weather" (see pp. 700, 701), and they 
added that " no boat could have boarded them 
in such a sea " (see p. 701). 

It is a curious fact that this same party, on 
returning from Alexandria, were again caught 
in a gale on this coast, on February 19th, 1856, 
and obliged to run with three-reefed mainsail 
and fore-staysail into the harbor of Lutro, 
where, the writer says, " we spent as quiet a 
night as if we were in a mill-pond. It is a 
small place," he continues, " and it was queer, 
in looking up the after-companion, to see olive- 
trees and high rocks overhanging the taffrail."] 

1 This is the literal meaning of the origi- 
nal, which is inadequately translated in the 
English version. 

2 Observe the parenthetic way in which the 
description of Phcenix is introduced, v. 12. 

3 The details are given in the larger edi- 
tions. Moreover Strabo says that Phcenix is 
in the narrowest part of Crete, which is pre- 
cisely true of Lutro ; and the longitudes of 
Ptolemy harmonize with the same result. See 
Smith, p. 51. 

The chart on the opposite page is taken 



chap.xxiii. THE STORM. 699 

mentioned: and, without entering fully into the discussions which have 
arisen upon this subject, we give it as our opinion that the difficulty is to 
be explained, simply by remembering that sailors speak of every thing 
from their own point of view, and that such a harbor does " look " — ■ 
from the water towards the land which encloses it — in the direction of 
" south-west and north-west." 1 

With a sudden change of weather, the north-westerly wind ceasing, and 
a light air springing up from the south, the sanguine sailors " thought 
that their purpose was already accomplished" (v. 18). They weighed 
anchor : and the vessel bore round Cape Matala. The distance to this 
point from Fair Havens is four or five miles : the bearing is W. by S. 
With a gentle southerly wind she would be able to weather the cape : and 
then the wind was fair to Phoenix, which was thirty-five miles distant 
from the cape, and bore from thence about W.N.W. The sailors already 
saw the high land above Lutro, and were proceeding in high spirits, — 
perhaps with fair-weather sails set, 2 — certainly with the boat towing 
astern, 3 — forgetful of past difficulties, and blind to impending dangers. 

The change in the fortunes of these mariners came without a moment's 
warning. 4 Soon after weathering Cape Matala, and while they were 
pursuing their course in full confidence, close by the coast of Crete 5 (v. 
13), a violent wind came down 6 from the mountains, and struck the ship 

from Mr. Smith's work, with some modifica- 3 This is certain, from v. 16. 

tions. The part near Lutro is corrected from 4 Their experience, however, might have 

the tracing mentioned above. The spot taught them that, there was some cause for 

marked " Spring and Church of St. Paul " is fear. Capt. J. Stewart, R. N. (as quoted by 

from the English Admiralty survey. The Mr. Smith, p. 60), observes, in his remarks 

cape marked " C. St. Paul" is so named on the on the Archipelago : " It is always safe to an- 

authority of Lapie's map and last French gov- chor under the lee of an island with a north- 

ernment chart of the eastern part of the Med- erly wind, as it dies away gradually ; but it 



iterranean. The physical features are after would be extremely dangerous ivith 

Lapie and Pashley. For a notice of St. winds, as they almost invariably shift to a violent 

Paul's fountain, see Pashley, ii. 259. northerly wind." [During the revision of these 

1 It seems strange that this view should not pages for the press (March 4, 1856), the fol- 
have occurred to the commentators. For dis- lowing communication from Capt. Spratt was 
cussion regarding the Greek preposition used received in a letter from Mr. Smith : " We left 
here, we must refer to the larger editions. Fair Havens with a light southerly wind and 

Such a harbor would have been very " com- clear sky — every thing indicative of a fine day, 

modious to winter in ; " and it agrees perfectly until we rounded the cape to haul up for the 

with Lutro, as delineated in the recent survey. head of the bay. Then we saw Mount Ida 

To have recommended a harbor because the covered with a dense cloud, and met a strong 

south-west and north-west winds blew into it northerly breeze (one of the summer gales, in 

would have been folly. But, whether the com- fact, so frequent in the Levant, but which in 

mentators felt this or not, they have generally general are accomplished by terrific gusts 

assumed that the harbor was open to these and squalls from those high mountains), the 

winds. wind blowing direct from Mount Ida."] 

2 See what is said below in reference to 6 The verb is in the imperfect. 

lowering the gear, v. 17. 6 The Greek here denotes that the wind 



700 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XX11I. 



(seizing her, according to the Greek expression, and whirling her round), 
so that it was impossible for the helmsman to make her keep her course. 1 
The character of the wind is described in terms expressive of the utmost 
violence. It came with all the appearance of a hurricane : 2 and the 
name " Euroclydon," which was given to it by the sailors, indicates the 
commotion in the sea which presently resulted. 3 The consequence 
was, that, in the first instance, they were compelled to scud before the 
gale. 4 

If we wish to understand the events which followed, it is of the utmost 
consequence that we should ascertain, in the first place, the direction of 
this gale. Though there is a great weight of opinion in favor of the 
reading JEuroaquilo, in place of Euroclydon? — a view which would deter- 
mine, on critical grounds, that the wind was E.N.E., — we need not con- 
sider ourselves compelled to yield absolutely to this authority : and the 
mere context of the narrative enables us to determine the question with 
great exactitude. The wind came down from the island and drove the 
vessel off the island : whence it is evident that it could not have been 
southerly. 6 If we consider further that the wind struck the vessel when 
she was not far 1 from Cape Matala (v. 14), — that it drove her toivards 
Clauda 8 (v. 16), which is an island about twenty miles to the S.W. of 
that point, — and that the sailors " feared " lest it should drive them into 



came " down from it," i. e. Crete, not " against 
it," i. e. the ship. [Sir C. Penrose, without 
reference to the Greek, speaks of the wind as 
" descending from the lofty hills in heavy squalls 
and eddies, and driving the now almost help- 
less ship far from the shore, with which her 
pilots vainly attempted to close."] 

1 Literally, " to look at the wind." See 
above, p. 704. We see the additional empha- 
sis in the expression, if we remember that an 
eye was painted on each side of the bow, as 
we have mentioned above. Even now the 
" eyes " of a ship is a phrase used by English 
sailors for the how. 

2 " A typhonic wind." [See above, p. 699, 
n. 4.J 

3 Whatever we may determine as to the 
etymology of the word Euroclydon, it seems 
clear that the term implies a violent agitation 
of the water. 

4 " We let her drive." 

5 Mr. Smith argues in favor of another 
reading which denotes a N. E. wind. But we 
have a strong impression that Euroclydon is 
the correct reading. The addition of the 
words " which was called " seems to us to 



show that it was a name popularly given by 
the sailors to the wind ; and nothing is more 
natural than that St. Luke should use the 
word which he heard the seamen employ on 
the occasion. Besides it is the more difficult 
reading. 

6 Falconer supposes that the wind came 
from the southward, and clumsily attempts to 
explain why (on this supposition) the vessel 
was not driven on the Cretan coast. 

7 The use of the imperfect shows that they 
were sailing near the shore when the gale 
seized the vessel. Thus we do not agree with 
Mr. Smith in referring "not long after" to 
the time when they were passing round Cape 
Matala, but to the time of leaving Fair Ha- 
vens. The general result, however, is the 
same. [It appears from Capt. Spratt's infor- 
mation that a ship can stand quite close to 
Cape Matala.] 

8 There is no difficulty in identifying 
Clauda. It is the Claudos of Ptolemy and 
the Synecdemus, and the Gaudus of Pompo- 
nius Mela. Hence the modern Greek Gau- 
donesi, and the Italian corruption into Gozo. 



chap. xxm. 



THE STORM. 



701 



the Syrtis 1 on the African coast (v. 17), — all which facts are mentioned 
in rapid succession, — an inspection of the chart will suffice to show us 
that the point' from which the storm came must have been N.E., or rather 
to the East of N.E., — and thus we may safely speak of it as coming from 
the E.N.E. 2 

We proceed now to inquire what was done with the vessel under these 
perilous circumstances. She was compelled at first (as we have seen) to 
scud before the gale. Bat three things are mentioned in close connection 
with her coming near to Clauda, and running under the lee of it. 3 Here 
they would have the advantage of a temporary lull and of comparatively 
smooth water for a few miles : 4 and the most urgent necessity was attend- 
ed to first. The boat was hoisted on board: but after towing so long, it 
must have been nearly filled with water : and under any circumstances 
the hoisting of a boat on board in a gale of wind is a work accomplished 
"with difficulty" So it was in this instance, as St. Luke informs us. To 
effect it at all, it would be necessary for the vessel to be rounded to, with 
her head brought towards the wind ; 5 a circumstance which, for other 
reasons (as we shall see presently), it is important to bear in mind. The 
next precaution that was adopted betrays an apprehension lest the vessel 



1 We may observe here, once for all, that 
the Authorized Version, " the quicksands," 
does not convey the accurate meaning. The 
word denotes the notoriously dangerous bay 
between Tunis and the eastern part of Tripoli. 

2 These arguments are exhibited with the 
utmost clearness by Mr. Smith. Adopting 
the reading ~Ei<pa,nvluv, he has three independ- 
ent arguments in proof that the wind was E. N. 
E. |- N. ; (1) the etymological meaning of the 
word ; (2) the fact that the vessel was driven 
to Clauda, from a point a little west of C. 
Matala ; (3) the fear of the sailors lest they 
might be driven into the Syrtis. 

The view of Admiral Penrose is slightly 
different. He supposes that the wind began 
from some of the northern points, and drew 
gradually to the eastward, as the ship gained 
an offing; and continued nearly at East, 
varying occasionally a point or two to the 
North or South. He adds that a Levanter, 
when it blows with peculiar violence some 
points to the North of East, is called a Grega- 
lia [compare "which is called Euroclydon "], 
and that he had seen many such. 

3 See vv. 16, 17. 

4 " The ship, still with her boat towing at 
her stern, was, however, enabled to run under 
the lee of Clauda, a small island about twenty 



miles from the south coast of Crete, and with 
some rocks adjacent, affording the advantage 
of smooth water for about twelve or fifteen 
miles, while the ship continued under their 
lee. Advantage was taken of this compara- 
tive smooth water, with some difficulty to hoist 
the boat into the ship, and also to take the 
further precaution of undergirding her by 
passing cables or other large ropes under the 
keel and over the gunwales, and then drawing 
them tight by means of pulleys and levers." — 
Penrose, MS. It is interesting to observe the 
coincidence of this passage with what is said 
by Mr. Smith. 

Sir C. Penrose proceeds to mention another 
reason for the vessel being unclergirded. " This 
wise precaution was taken, not only because 
the ship, less strongly built than those in mod- 
ern days, might strain her planks and tim- 
bers, and become leaky, but from the fears, 
that if the gale continued from the north-east, 
as it probably began, they might be driven 
into the deep bight on the coast of Africa, 
where were situated the greater and lasser 
Syrtis, so much dreaded by the ancients, and 
by these means of security be enabled to keep 
together longer, should they be involved iu 
the quicksands." 

5 Smith, p. 64. 



702 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxin. 



should spring a leak, and so be in danger of foundering at sea. 1 They 
used the tackling, which we have described above, and which provided 
" helps " in such an emergency. They " under girded " the ship with 
ropes passed round her frame and tightly secured on deck. 2 And after 
this, or rather simultaneously (for, as there were many hands on board, 
these operations might all be proceeding together), they "lowered the 
gear." This is the most literal translation of the Greek expression. 3 In 
itself it is indeterminate : but it doubtless implies careful preparation for 
weathering out the storm. What precise change was made we are not 
able to determine, in our ignorance of the exact state of the ship's gear 
at the moment. It might mean that the mainsail was reefed and set ; 4 



1 Frapping would be of little use in stop- 
ping a leak. It was rather a precaution to 
prevent the*working of the planks and tim- 
bers : and thus, since the extensive application 
of iron in modern ship-building, this contriv- 
ance has rarely been resorted to. Besides the 
modern instances adduced by Mr. Smith, the 
writer has heard of the following: (1) A Ca- 
nadian timber vessel in the year 1846 came 
frapped to Aberdeen. (2) In 1809 or 1810, 
a frigate (the Venus'?) came home from India 
with hawsers round her. (3) The same hap- 
pened to a merchant vessel which came from 
India, apparently in the same convoy. (4) 
Lord Exmouth (then Captain Pellew) brought 
home the Arethusa in this state from New- 
foundland. (5) At the battle of Navarin, the 
Albion man-of-war received so much damage 
during the action, that it became necessary 
to have recourse to frapping, and the vessel had 
chain cables passed round her under the keel, 
which were tightened by others passed hori- 
zontally along the sides interlacing them; and 
she was brought home in this state to Ports- 
mouth. See the next note. 

[Since the publication of the first edition, 
two other instances have come to the writer's 
knowledge. One is that of the bark Highbury, 
which is stated in the Royal Cornwall Gazette 
of May 26, 1854, to have just arrived in this 
state, i. e. " with a chain cable round the ship's 
bottom," off the Lizard Point, after a voyage 
of five months, from Port Adelaide, with a 
cargo of copper ore, wool, and gold. The other 
case is described by the captain of the ship, as 
follows: "I sailed from St. Stephen, New 
Brunswick, on the 12th of December, 1S37, in 
the schooner St. Croix, 53 tons, bound for 
Kingston, Jamaica, with cargo of boards in the 



hold and shingles on deck, with a few spars. 
On the 20th of same month encountered a severe 
gale from S.W., and lay to for seven days [see 
below, p. 703]. On the 26th shipped a heavy 
sea, which took away about one-third of deck- 
load ; found the balance shifting from side to 
side, top of vessel spreading, that the seams in 
water-ways were open from 1 and a half to 2 
inches, much water running down the seams. 
Found it necessary, for the preservation of 
crew and vessel, and balance of deck-load, to 
secure top of ship ; took a coil of four-inch 
Manilla rope, commenced forward, passing it 
round and round the vessel, after which cut up 
some spars, made heavers, and hove the Avarp 
as tight as possible. Fearing the warp would 
chafe off and part, took one of the chains, 
passed it round and before with tackles and 
heavers, and secured the top of the vessel, so 
that the leak in the water-ways was partially 
stopped. In this state I reached Port Royal, 
when I took off the warp and chain, and ar- 
rived at Kingston on the 12th January, 1838. 
Had I not taken the means I did, I am of 
opinion the vesssel could not have been got 
into port."] 

2 Among classical instances we may select 
Thucycl. i. 29, where Dr. Arnold says, in his 
note, that " the Russian ships taken in the 
Tagus in 1808 were kept together in this man- 
ner, in consequence of their age and unsound 
condition." 

3 The same verb is used below (v. 30) in 
reference to lowering the boat into the water. 

4 This suggestion is partly due to a criti- 
cism in the English Review (June, 1 850. Notice 
of Mr. Smith's work), based on Isaiah xxxiii. 
23 (LXX.). In reference to which passage, we 
may remark that the verb is equally applicable 



CHAP.xxm. SEAMANSHIP DURING THE GALE. 703 

or that the great yard 1 was lowered upon deck and a small storm-sail 
hoisted. It is certain that what English seamen call the top-hamper 2 would 
be sent down on deck. As to those fair-weather sails themselves, which 
may have been too hastily used on leaving Fair Havens, if not taken in 
at the beginning of the gale, they must have been already blown to 
pieces. 

But the mention of one particular apprehension, as the motive of this 
last precaution, informs us of something further. It was because they 
feared lest they " should be driven into the Syrtis" that they " lowered the 
gear." Now, to avoid this danger, the head of the vessel must necessarily 
have been turned away from the African coast, in the direction (more or 
less) from which the wind came. To have scudded before the gale under 
bare poles, or under storm-sails, would infallibly have stranded them in 
the Syrtis, — not to mention the danger of pooping, or being swamped 
by the sea breaking over her stern. To have anchored was evidently im- 
possible. Only one other course remained : and this was what is techni- 
cally called by sailors lying to. To effect this arrangement, the head of 
the vessel is brought as near to the wind as possible : a small amount of 
canvas is set, and so adjusted as to prevent the vessel from falling 
off into the trough of the sea. 3 This plan (as is well known to all who 
have made long voyages) is constantly resorted to when the object is not 
so much to make progress as to weather out a gale. 

to the spreading of a sail which is lowered had a thought about drifting on a lee shore, 

from a yard, and to the lowering of a yard Presuming the main-sail and yard to be down, 

with whatever belongs to it. The reviewer and the vessel snug under a storm-sail, the 

lays stress on the circumstance that St. Paul's heavy GKevrj, or ropes, being no longer of use 

ship had probably no sail set when she reached aloft, would naturally be unrove or lowered, to 

Clauda ; and, as he justly remarks, the Alex- prevent drift, as a final resource, when the 

andrian origin of the Septuagint version should sailors saw that the gale was likely to be strong 

be recollected. and lasting." 

1 Such is Mr. Smith's view. 3 i. e. the hull of the vessel is in a direction 

2 i. e. the gear connected with the fair- oblique to the length of the wave. The fol- 
weather sails. See Smith, p. 69. We are lowing extract from Falconer's Marine Diction- 
here allowed to quote from a letter addressed ary, under the article Trying (an equivalent 
to Mr. Smith by Capt. Spratt, R.N. After term), may be useful to those who are not 
saying that the translation of the word into familiar with sea-phrases : — " The intent of 
" gear " is borne out by its application among spreading a sail at this time is to keep the ship 
the modern Greek sailors to the ropes, &c, he more steady ; and, by pressing her side down 
proceeds : " Ships so rigged as those of the in the water, to prevent her from rolling vio- 
ancients, with only one large square sail, would lently ; and also to turn her bow towards the 
require very heavy masthead gear; i. e. very direction of the wind, so that the shock of the 
large ropes rove there, to support the yard and waves may fall more obliquely on her flank 
sail ; so that, even when the latter was lowered, than when she lies along the trough of the sea. 
considerable top-weight would remain, to pro- ... In this position she advances very lit- 
duce much uneasiness of motion as well as tie according to the line of her length, but is 
resistance to the wind. Two such combined driven considerably to leeward." 

evils would not be overlooked by sailors, who 



704 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiii. 

We are here brought to the critical point of the whole nautical diffi- 
culty in the narrative of St. Paul's voyage and shipwreck, and it is 
desirable to notice very carefully both the ship's position in reference to 
the wind and its consequent motion through the water. Assuming that 
the vessel was laid to, the questions to be answered in reference to its 
position are these : How near the wind did she lie ? and which side did 
she present to the wind ? The first question is answered in some degree 
by a reference to what was said in the early part of this chapter. 1 If an 
ancient merchantman could go ahead in moderate weather, when within 
seven points of the wind, we may assume that she would make about the 
same angle with it when lying to in a gale. 2 The second question would 
be practically determined by the circumstances of the case and the judg- 
ment of the sailors. It will be seen very clearly by what follows, that, if 
the ship had been laid to with her left or port side to the wind, she must 
have drifted far out of her course, and also in the direction of another 
part of the African coast. In order to make sure of sea-room, and at 
the same time to drift to the westward, she must have been laid to with 
her right side to the wind, or on the starboard tack, — the position which 
she was probably made to assume at the moment of taking the boat on 
board. 3 

We have hitherto considered only the ship's position in reference to 
the wind. We must now consider its motion. When a vessel is laid to, 
she does not remain stationary, but drifts ; and our inquiries of course 
have reference to the rate and direction of the drift. The rate of drift 
may vary, within certain limits, according to the build of the vessel and 
the intensity of the gale ; but all seamen would agree, that, under the 
circumstances before us, a mile and a half in the hour, or thirty-six miles 
in twenty-four hours, may be taken as a fair average. 4 The direction in 
which she drifts is not that in which she appears to sail, or tt wards which 

1 See p. 682. . . . The storm came on he* starboard side, 

2 It is not to be understood, however, that and in this manner, with her head to the West- 
the same absolute position in reference to the ward, she drifted, first to the SoutH- West under 
wind is continually maintained. When a ship Clauda, and as the wind drew more to the 
is laid to in a gale, a kind of vibration takes Eastward her head pointed more towards the 
place. To use the technical expression, she North, the proper tack to keep farther from 
comes up and falls off — oscillating perhaps be- the quicksands, whether adopted from necessity 
tween five points and nine points. or from choice." — Penrose MS. 

3 See Smith, pp. 64, 68, and compare the 4 See the two naval authorities quoted by 
following : " I ought to assign the reason why Mr. Smith, p. 84. The same estimate is given 
I consider the ship to have drifted with her in the MS. of Admiral Penrose. " Allowing 
starboard side toward the wind, or on the star- the degree of strength of the gale to vary a 
board tack, as a sailor expresses it. When the little occasionally, I consider that a ship would 
south wind blew softly, the ship was slowly drift at the rate of about a mile and a half per 
sailing along the coast of Crete, with her star- hour." 

board side towards the land, or to the North. 



ciiai>. xxm. SEAMANSHIP DUKING THE GALE. 705 

her bows are turned : but she falls off to leeward : and to the angle 
formed by the line of the ship's keel and the line in which the wind blows 
we must add another, to include what the sailors call lee-way : l and this 
may be estimated on an average at six points (67°). Thus we come to 
the conclusion that the direction of drift would make an angle of thirteen 
points (147°) with the direction of the wind. If the wind was E.N.E., 
the course of the vessel would be W. by N. 2 

We have been minute in describing the circumstances of the ship at 
this moment ; for it is the point upon which all our subsequent conclu- 
sions must turn. 3 Assuming now that the vessel was, as we have said, 
laid to on the larboard tack, with the boat on board and the hull under- 
girded, drifting from Clauda in a direction W. by N. at the rate of thirty- 
six miles in twenty-four hours, we pursue the narrative of the voyage, 
without anticipating the results to which we shall be brought. The more 
marked incidents of the second and third days of the gale are related to 
us (vv. 18, 19). The violence of the storm continued without any inter- 
mission. 4 On " the day after " they left Clauda, " they proceeded to 
lighten 5 the ship" by throwing overboard whatever could be most easily 
spared. From this we should infer that the precaution of undergirding 
had been only partially successful, and that the vessel had already sprung 
a leak. This is made still more probable by what occurred on the " third 



1 A reference to the compass on p. 619, with the mean direction of the drift of such a ship, 
the following extracts from Falconer's Marine lying to, as before described, would be between 
Dictionary, will make the meaning clear. "Lee- W.N.W. and W. by H. ; and such is nearly 
Way is the lateral movement of a ship to lee- the bearing of the North coast of Malta from 
ward of her course, or the angle which the line the So^ith side of Clauda." — Penrose MS. 
of her way makes with the keel, when she is Compare Smith. 

close-hauled. This movement is produced by 3 It is at this point especially that we feel 

the mutual effort of the wind and sea upon her the importance of having St. Paul's voyage 

side, forcing her to leeward of the line on which examined in the light of practical seamanship. 

she appears to sail." " Close-haule'd (au The two investigators, who have so examined 

plus pres, Fr.). The general arrangement of a it, have now enabled us to understand it clearly, 

ship's sails, when she endeavors to make a though all previous commentators were at 

progress in the nearest direction possible fault, and while the ordinary charts are still 

towards that point of the compass from which full of error and confusion. The sinuosities 

the wind bloweth. ... In this manner of in this part of the voyage, as exhibited in the 

sailing, the keel commonly makes an angle common maps of St. Paul's Travels, are only 

of six points with the line of the wind. The an indication of the perplexity of the com- 

angle of lee-way, however, enlarges in propor- pilers. The course from Clauda to Malta did 

tion to the increase of the wind and sea." not deviate far from a straight line. 

2 Again, our two authorities are in substan- 4 " We being exceedingly tossed with the 
tial agreement. " Supposing the Levanter (as tempest." 

is most probable, it being most usual) after the 5 We should observe that the tense is im- 

heavy Gregalia, which first drove the ship off perfect here, as contrasted with the aorist in 

the coast of Crete, and under the lee of Clauda, the next verse. It denotes " they began to 

took upon the average the direction of East, — lighten; " or perhaps, " they kept lightening." 
45 



706 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiu. 

day." Both sailors and passengers united 1 in throwing out all the 
" spare gear " into the sea. 2 Then followed " several days " of continued 
hardship and anxiety. 3 No one who has never been in a leaking ship in 
a continued gale 4 can know what is suffered under such circumstances. 
The strain both of mind and body — the incessant demand for the labor 
of all the crew- — the terror of the passengers — the hopeless working at 
the pumps — the laboring of the ship's frame and cordage — the driving 
of the storm — the benumbing effect of the cold and wet — make up a 
scene of no ordinary confusion, anxiety, and fatigue. But in the present 
case these evils were much aggravated by the continued overclouding of 
the sky (a circumstance not unusual during a Levanter), which pre- 
vented the navigators from taking the necessary observations of the 
heavenly bodies. In a modern ship, however dark the weather might be, 
there would always be a light in the binnacle, and the ship's course would 
always be known ; but in an ancient vessel, " when neither sun nor stars 
were seen for many days," the case would be far more hopeless. It was 
impossible to know how near they might be to the most dangerous coast. 
And yet the worst danger was that which arose from the leaky state of 
the vessel. This was so bad, that at length they gave up all hope of 
being saved, thinking that nothing could prevent her foundering. 5 To 
this despair was added a further suffering from want of food, 6 in con- 

1 " We cast out with our own hartds." this enabled her to sail on. . . ... In the even- 
Observe the change from the third person to ing it was found necessary to dispose of the 
the first. St. Luke's hands, and probably St. forecastle and aftermost quarter-deck guns, to- 
Paul's, aided in this work. gether with some of the shot and other articles 

2 We cannot determine precisely what is of very great weight ; and the frame of the ship 
meant here by the " tackle " or " gear " of the having opened during the night, the admiral was 
ship. Mr. Smith thinks the mainyard is next morning prevailed upon, by the renewed 
meant, " an immense spar, probably as long as and pressing remonstrances of his officers, to 
the ship, and which would require the united allow ten guns more to be thrown overboard, 
efforts of passengers and crew to launch over- The ship still continuing to open very much, 
board," — adding that "the relief which a the admiral ordered tarred canvas and hides to 
ship would experience by this, would be of the be nailed fore and aft, from under the sills of 
same kind as in a modern ship when the guns the ports on the main deck and on the lower 
are thrown overboard." But would sailors in deck. Her increasing damage requiring still 
danger of foundering willingly lose sight of more to be done, the admiral directed all the 
such a spar as this, which would be capable of guns on the upper deck, the shot, both on that 
supporting thirty or forty men in the water 1 and the lower deck, with various heavy stores, to 

3 The narrative of the loss of the " Ramil- be thrown overboard." 

lies " supplies a very good illustration of the 4 " No small tempest lay on us." 

state of things on board St. Paul's vessel dur- 5 " All hope that we should be saved was 

ing these two days. " At this time she had then taken away." 

six feet of water in the hold, and the pumps 6 Mr. Smith illustrates this by several ex- 
would not free her, the water having worked amples. "We may quote an instance from a 
out all the oakum. The admiral therefore very ordinary modern voyage between Alexan- 
gave orders for all the buckets to be remanned, dria and Malta, which presents some points of 
and every officer to help towards freeing the ship : close resemblance in a very mitigated form : — 



CHAP. xxin. 



ST. PAUL'S VISION. 



707 



sequence of the injury done to the provisions, and the impossibility of 
preparing any regular meal. Hence we see the force of the phrase ! 
which alludes to what a casual reader might suppose an unimportant 
part of the suffering, the fact that there was " much abstinence." It 
was in this time of utter weariness and despair that to the Apostle there 
rose up " light in the darkness : " and that light was made the means of 
encouraging and saving the rest. While the Heathen sailors were vainly 
struggling to subdue the leak, Paul was praying ; and God granted to 
him the lives of all who sailed with him. A vision was vouchsafed to 
him in the night, as formerly, when he was on the eve of conveying the 
Gospel from Asia to Europe, and more recently in the midst of those 
harassing events, which resulted in his voyage from Jerusalem to Rome. 
When the cheerless day came, he gathered the sailors round him 2 on the 
deck of the laboring vessel, and, raising his voice above the storm, 
said,— AcTS 

xxvii. 

Sirs, ye should have hearkened to my counsel, and not have set sail 21 
from Crete : thus would you have been spared 3 this harm 4 and loss. 



" The commander came down, saying the 
night was pitch dark and rainy, with symptoms 
of a regular gale of wind. This prediction 
was very speedily verified. A violent shower 
of hail was the precursor, followed by loud 
peals of thunder, with vivid flashes of forked 
lightning, which played up and down the iron 
rigging with fearful rapidity. . . . She pres- 
ently was struck by a sea which came over the 
paddle-boxes, soon followed by another, which, 
coming over the forecastle, effected an entrance 
through the skylights, and left four feet of 
water in the officers' cabin. The vessel seemed 
disabled by this stunning blow ; the bowsprit and 
fore part of the ship were for some moments 
under water, and the officer stationed at that 
part of the ship described her as appearing 
during that time to be evidently sinking, and 
declared that for many seconds he saw only 
sea. The natural buoyancy of the ship at last 
allowed her to right berself, and during the 
short lull (of three minutes) her head was 
turned, to avoid the danger of running too near 
the coast of Lybia, which to the more experienced 
was the principal cause of alarm ; for had the 
wheels given way, which was not improbable 
from the strain they had undergone, nothing 
could have saved us, though we had been 
spared all other causes for apprehension. . . . 
With daylight the fearful part of the hurricane 
gave way, and we were now in the direction 



of Candia, no longer indeed contending against 
the wind, but the sea still surging and impetu- 
ous, and no lull taking place during twelve 
hours, to afford the opportunity of regaining 
our tack, from which we had deviated about 
150 miles. The sea had so completely deluged 
the lower part of the ship, that it icas with diffi- 
culty that sufficient fire could be made to afford us 
even coffee for breakfast. Dinner was not to be 
though* of." — Mrs. Darner's Diary in the Holy 
Land, vol. ii. 

1 " After long abstinence." See below, the 
narrative of the meal at daybreak, vv. 33, 44. 
The commentators have done little to elucidate 
this, which is in fact no difficulty to those 
who are acquainted with sea-voyages. The 
strangest comment is in a book, which devo- 
tionally is very useful, — Lectures on St. Paul, 
by the late Rev. H. Blunt, of Chelsea, — who 
supposes that a religious fast was observed by 
the crew during the storm. 

2 " Paul stood forth in the midst of them." 

3 The verb means " to be spared," not " to 
gain." (A. V.) We should observe that St. 
Paul's object in alluding to the correctness of 
his former advice is not to taunt those who 
had rejected it, but to induce them to give 
credit to his present assertions. 

* The harm was to their persons, the less to 
their property. 



708 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap-xxhi. 

xxvii. 

22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer : for there shall be no loss 

23 of any man's life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by 
me this night an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 1 saying, 

24 "Fear not, Paul ; thou must stand before Qmsar : and, lo ! God hath given 

25 thee all who sail with thee" Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer : for I 
believe God, that what hath been declared unto me shall come to pass. 

26 Nevertheless, we must be cast upon a certain island. 

We are not told how this address was received. But sailors, however 
reckless they may be in the absence of danger, are peculiarly open to 
religious impressions : and we cannot doubt that they gathered anxiously 
round the Apostle, and heard his words as an admonition and encourage- 
ment from the other world ; that they were nerved for the toil and 
difficulty which was immediately before them, and prepared thencefor- 
ward to listen to the Jewish prisoner as to a teacher sent with a divine 
commission. 

The gale still continued without abatement. Day and night succeeded, 
and the danger seemed only to increase : till fourteen days had elapsed, 
during which they had been " drifting through the sea of Adria " 2 
(v. 27). A gale of such duration, though not very frequent, is by no 
means unprecedented in that part of the Mediterranean, especially 
towards winter. 3 At the close of the fourteenth day, about the middle 

1 Compare Rom. i. 9, and note. call it, a Levanter) in full force. I think we 

2 By this is meant, as we shall see presently, were four days without being able to sit down 
that division of the Mediterranean which lies at table to a meal ; during which time we saw 
between Sicily and Malta on the west, and ' neither sun nor stars.' Happily she was a 
Greece with Crete on the east. See above, p. powerful vessel, and we forced her through it, 
680, n. 1 ; and p. 682, n. 7. being charged with despatches, though with 

3 The writer has heard of easterly and much injury to the vessel. Had we been a 
north-easterly gales lasting for a still longer mere log on the water, like St. Paul's ship, we 
period, both in the neighborhood of Gibraltar, should have drifted many days." 

and to the eastward of Malta. A captain in [We extract the following from the Chris- 
the merchant-service mentions a fruit-vessel tian Observer for May, 1853, pp. 324, 325 : 
near Smyrna hindered for a fortnight from "Late in the autumn of 1848 we were return- 
loading by a gale from the N.E. She was ing from Alexandria to Malta, and met the 
two days in beating up a little bay a mile deep, wild Euroclydon. The sea was crested with 
He adds, that such gales are prevalent there foam over all the wide waste of waters, and a 
towards winter. Another case is that of a dull impervious canopy of misty cloud was 
vessel bound for Odessa, which was kept three drawn over the sky. A vessel which preceded 
weeks at Milo with an easterly gale. This, us had been fifty-six days from Alexandria to 
also, was late in the year (October). A naval Malta; and just in the same way St. Paul's 
officer writes thus : — " About the same time vessel was reduced to lie to in the gale, and 
of the year, in 1839, I left Malta for the drifted for fourteen days across the sea which 
Levant in the ' Hydra,' a powerful steam fri- separates Crete from Malta. . . . Under the 
gate, and encountered Euroclydon (o*, as we modern name of a Levanter, the same Fu- 



CHAP.xxm. MODE OF AXCKOBIXG. 709 

of the night, the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 1 There is 
little doubt as to what were the indications of land. The roar of breakers 
is a peculiar sound, which can be detected by a practised ear, 2 though 
not distinguishable from the other sounds of a storm by those who have 
not " their senses exercised " by experience of the sea. When it was 
reported that this sound was heard by some of the crew, orders were 
immediately given to heave the lead, and they found that the depth of 
the water was " twenty fathoms." After a short interval, they sounded 
again, and found " fifteen fathoms." Though the vicinity of land could 
not but inspire some hope, as holding out the prospect of running the 
ship ashore 3 and so being saved, yet the alarm of the sailors was great 
when they perceived how rapidly they were shoaling the water. It seems 
also that they now heard breakers ahead. 4 However this might be, there 
was the utmost danger lest the vessel should strike and go to pieces. No 
time was to be lost. Orders were immediately given to clear the anchors. 
But, if they had anchored by the bow, there was good ground for appre- 
hending that the vessel would have swung round and gone upon the 
rocks. They therefore let go " four anchors by the stem" For a time, 
the vessel's way was arrested : but there was too much reason to fear 
that she might part from her anchors and go ashore, if indeed she did 
not founder in the night : and " they waited anxiously for the day." 

The reasons are obvious why she anchored by the stern rather than 
in the usual mode. Besides what has been said above, her way would 
be more easily arrested, and she would be in a better position for being 
run ashore 5 next day. But since this mode of anchoring has raised some 



roclydon, which dashed down from the gulleys for a sinking ship, and run her ashore ; but to 

of the Cretan Ida in the autumn of 60 a v d., do so before it was day would have been to 

swept the sea in the autumn of 1848, . . . have rushed on certain destruction : they must 

just in the same way veering round from bring the ship, if it be possible, to anchor, 

north to easterly. . . . Just in the same and hold on till daybreak," &c. — Smith, 

way, likewise, did our Euroclydon exhaust p. 88. 
itself in a violent fall of rain."] 4 Mr. Smith (p. 91) seems to infer this 

1 This might be translated literally : " The from the words " fearing lest we should have 
sailors thought they were about to fetch, some fallen upon rocks." But the words would 
land." Mr. Smith (p. 78) truly remarks, that rather imply that the fear was a general one. 
this is an instance of " the graphic language 5 We must carefully observe that, in 
of seamen, to whom the ship is the principal anchoring, — besides the proximate cause, viz t 
object." the fear of falling on rocks to leeward, -- 

2 It is hardly likely that they saw the "they had also an ulterior object in view, 
breakers. To suppose that they became aware which was to run the ship ashore as soon as 
of the land by the smell of fragrant gardens daylight enabled them to select a spot where 
(an error found in a recent work) is absurd; it could be done with a prospect of safety: 
for the wind blew from the ship towards the for this purpose the very best position in which 
land. the ship could be was to be anchored by the 

3 " They can now adopt the last resource 6tern." — Smith, p. 92. 



710 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxih. 

questions, it may be desirable, in passing, to make a remark on the sub- 
ject. That a vessel can anchor by the stern is sufficiently pr5ved (if 
proof were needed) by the history of some of our own naval engagements. 
So it was at the battle of the Nile. And when ships are about to attack 
batteries, it is customary for them to go into action prepared to anchor 
in this way. This was the case at Algiers. There is still greater interest 
in quoting the instance of Copenhagen, not only from the accounts we 
have of the precision with which each ship let go her anchors astern as 
she arrived nearly opposite her appointed station, 1 but because it is said 
that Nelson stated after the battle, that he had that morning been read- 
ing the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 2 But, 
though it will be granted that this manoeuvre is possible with due prepara- 
tion, it may be doubted whether it could be accomplished in a gale of 
wind on a lee shore, without any previous notice. The question in fact 
is, whether ancient ships in the Mediterranean were always 'prepared to 
anchor in this way. Some answer to this doubt is supplied by the present 
practice of the Levantine caiques, which preserve in great measure the 
traditionary build and rig of ancient merchantmen. These modern 
Greek vessels may still be seen anchoring by the stern in the Golden 
Horn at Constantinople, or on the coast of Patmos. 3 But the best illus- 
tration is afforded by one of the paintings of Herculaneum, which repre- 
sents " a ship so strictly contemporaneous with that of St. Paul, that 
there is nothing impossible in the supposition, that the artist had taken 
his subject from that very ship, on loosing from the pier at Puteoli." 4 
There is this additional advantage to be obtained from an inspection of 
this rude drawing, that we see very clearly how the rudders would be 
in danger of interfering with this mode of anchoring, — a subject to 
which our attention will presently be required. 5 Our supposed objector, 
if he had a keen sense of practical difficulties, might still insist that to 
have anchored in this way (or indeed in the ordinary way) would have 
been of little avail in St. Paul's ship : since it could not be supposed 
that the anchors would have held in such a gale of wind. To this we 
can only reply, that this course was adopted to meet a dangerous emer- 
gency. The sailors could not have been certain of the result. They 

1 See Southey's Life of Nelson : " All the 3 The first of these instances is supplied by 
line-of-battle ships were to anchor by the stern, a naval officer ; the second by a captain who 
abreast of the different vessels composing the has spent a long life in the merchant-service, 
enemy's line ; and for this purpose they had 4 A drawing of this is given by Mr. Smith 
already prepared themselves with cables out of (p. 94), and from him in our larger editions, 
their stern ports." 5 See v. 40. 

2 This anecdote is from a private source, 
and does not appear in any of the printed 
narratives of the battle. 



oHAP.xxm. THE PLACE OE SHIPWEECK. 711 

might indeed have had confidence in their cables : but they could not be 
sure of their holding ground. 

This is one of the circumstances which must be taken into account, 
when we sum up the evidence in proof that the place of shipwreck was 
Malta. At present we make no such assumption. We will not anticipate 
the conclusion till we have proceeded somewhat farther with the narra- 
tive. We may, however, ask the reader to pause for a moment, and 
reconsider what was said of the circumstances of the vessel when we 
described what was done under the lee of Clauda. We then saw that 
the direction in which she was drifting was W. by N. Now an inspec- 
tion of the chart will show us that this is exactly the bearing of the 
northern part of Malta from the south of Clauda. We saw, moreover, 
that she was drifting at the rate of about a mile and a half in every 
hour, or thirty-six miles in the twenty-four hours. Since that time, 
thirteen days had elapsed: for the first of the " fourteen days " would 
be taken up on the way from Fair Havens to Clauda. 1 The ship there- 
fore had passed over a distance of about 468 miles. The distance be- 
tween Clauda and Malta is rather less than 480 miles. The coincidence 2 
is so remarkable, that it seems hardly possible to believe that the land, to 
which the sailors on the fourteenth night " deemed that they drew nigh," 
— the " certain island " on which it was prophesied that they should be 
cast, — could be any other place than Malta. The probability is over- 
whelming. But we must not yet assume the fact as certain : for we 
shall find, as we proceed, that the conditions are very numerous which 
the true place of shipwreck will be required to satisfy. 

We return, then, to the ship, which we left laboring at her four anchors. 
The coast was invisible, but the breakers were heard in every pause of the 
storm. The rain was falling in torrents ; 3 and all hands were weakened 



1 All that happened after leaving Fair which, at the end of fourteen complete days, 
Havens before the ship was undergirded and would amount to 504 miles ; but it does not 
laid to must evidently have occupied a great appear that the calculation is to be made for 
part of a day. fourteen entire days : it was on the fourteenth 

2 In the general calculation, Mr. Smith night the anchors were cast off the shores of 
and Sir C. Penrose agree with one another; Melita. The distance from the S. of Clauda 
and the argument derives great force from the to the N. of Malta, measured on the best chart 
slight difference between them. Mr. Smith I have, is about 490 miles ; and is it possible 
(pp. 83-89) makes the distance 476.6 miles, for coincident calculations, of such a nature, 
and the time occupied thirteen da% s, one to be more exact ? In fact, on one chart, after 
hour, and twenty-one minutes. With this I had calculated the supposed drift, as a sea- 
compare the following : " Now, with respect man, to be 504 miles, I measured the distance 
to the distance, allowing the degree of to be 503/' 

strength of the gale to vary a little occa- 3 See xxviii. 2, "because of the present 

sionallv. I consider that a ship would drift at rain/' 
the rate of about one mile and a half per hoar 



712 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxui. 

by want of food. But the greatest danger was lest the vessel should 
founder before daybreak. The leak was rapidly gaining, and it was 
expected that each moment might be the last. Under these circum- 
stances we find the sailors making a selfish attempt to save themselves, 
and leave the ship and the pasengers to their fate. Under the pretence of 
carrying ont some anchors from the bow, they lowered the boat over the 
ship's side (v. 30). The excuse was very plausible, for there is no doubt 
that the vessel would have been more steady if this had been done ; and, 
in order to effect it, it would be necessary to take out anchors in the boat. 
But their real intention was to save their own lives and leave the passen- 
gers. 1 St. Paul penetrated their design, and either from some divine 
intimation of the instruments which were to be providentially employed 
for the safety of all on board, — or from an intuitive judgment, which 
showed him that those who would be thus left behind, the passengers and 
soldiers, would not be able to work the ship in any emergency that might 
arise, — he saw that, if the sailors accomplished their purpose, all hope of 
being saved would be gone. 2 With his usual tact, he addressed not a 
word to the sailors, but spoke to the soldiers and his friend the centurion ; 3 
and they, with military promptitude, held no discussion on the subject, 
but decided the question by immediate action. With that short sword, 
with which the Roman legions cleft their way through every obstacle to 
universal victory, they " cut the ropes ; " and the boat fell off, 4 and, if not 
instantly swamped, drifted off to leeward into the darkness, and was 
dashed to pieces on the rocks. 

Thus the prudent counsel of the Apostle, seconded by the prompt 
action of the soldiers, had been the means of saving all on board. Each 
successive incident tended to raise him, more and more, into a position of 
overpowering influence. 5 Not the captain or the ship's crew, but the pas- 
senger and the prisoner, is looked to now as the source of wisdom and 
safety. We find him using this influence for the renewal of their bodily 
strength, while at the same time he turned their thoughts to the provi- 

1 " About to (seeking to) flee out of the usually see only the instrumentality em- 
ship." ployed. 

2 " Unless these remain in the ship, ye can- 3 " To the centurion and to the soldiers." 
not be saved." We observe that in the "ye" 4 "Let her fall off." In the words above 
the soldiers are judiciously appealed to on the ("when they had lowered the boat into the 
source of their own safety. Much has been sea") it is clear that the boat, which was 
very unnecessarily written on the mode in hoisted on deck at the beginning of the gale, 
which this verse is to be harmonized with the had been half lowered from the davits, 
unconditional assurance of safety in ver. 22- 5 The commanding attitude of St. Paul in 
24. The same difficulty is connected with this and other scenes of the narrative is forci- 
every action of our lives. The only difference bly pointed out by the reviewer of Mr. Smith's 
is, that, in the narrative before us, the Divine work in the North British Review for Mr v, 
purpose is more clearly indicated, whereas we 1849. 



CHAP.xxra. THE SHIPWEECK. 713 

dential care of God. By this time the dawn of day was approaching. 1 
A faint light showed more of the terrors of the storm, and the objects on 
board the ship* began to be more distinctly visible. Still, towards the 
land, all was darkness, and their eyes followed the spray in vain as it drifted 
off to leeward. A slight effort of imagination suffices to bring before us an 
impressive spectacle, as we think of the dim light just showing the hag- 
gard faces of the 276 persons, 2 clustered on the deck, and holding on by 
the bulwarks of the sinking vessel. In this hour of anxiety the Apostle 
stands forward to give them courage. He reminds them that they had 
" eaten nothing" for fourteen days ; and exhorts them now to partake of 
a hearty meal, pointing out to them that this was indeed essential to their 
safety, 3 and encouraging them by the assurance that " not a hair 4 of their 
head " should perish. So speaking, he set the example of the cheerful 
use of God's gifts, and grateful acknowledgment of the Giver, by taking 
bread, " giving thanks to God before all," and beginning to eat. Thus 
encouraged by his calm and religious example, they felt their spirits 
revive, 5 and " they also partook of food," and made themselves ready for 
the labor which awaited them. 6 , 

Instead of abandoning themselves to despair, they proceeded actively 
to adopt the last means for relieving the still sinking vessel. The cargo 
of wheat was now of no use. It was probably spoilt by the salt water. 
And however this might be, it was not worth a thought ; since it was well 
known that the vessel woulcLbelost. Their hope now was to run her on 
shore, and so escape to land. Besides this, it is probable that, the ship 
having been so long in one position, the wheat had shifted over to the 
port side, and prevented the vessel from keeping that upright position, 
which would be most advantageous when they came to steer her towards 
the shore. 7 The hatchways were therefore opened, and they proceeded to 

1 " While the day was coming on," v. 39, meal, in order to refresh them after having so 

2 It is at this point of the narrative that long taken their precarious repasts, probably 
the total number of souls on board is men- without fire or any kind of cooking. He 
tioned. begins by example, but first by giving God 

3 " This is for your safety." thanks for their preservation hitherto, and 

4 Our Lord uses the same proverbial expres- hopes of speedy relief. Having thus refreshed 
sion, Luke xxi. 18. themselves, they cast out as much of the 

5 " Then were they all of good cheer." remaining part of the cargo (wheat) as they 

6 " All hands now, crew and passengers, could, to enable them by a lighter draught of 
bond or free, are assembled on the deck, anx- water either to run into any small harbor, or 
iously wishing for day, when Paul, taking at least closer in with dry land, should they be 
advantage of a smaller degree of motion obliged to run the ship on the rocks or beach." 
[would this necessarily be the case?] in the — Penrose, MS. 

ship than when drifting with her side to the 7 The following extract from Sir C. Pen- 
waves, recommends to them to make use of rose's papers supplies an addition to Mr. 
this time, before the dawn would require fresh Smith's remarks : " With respect to throwing 
exertions, in making a regular and comfortable the wheat into the sea after anchoring, it may 



14 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxin. 



throw the grain into the sea. This work would occupy some time ; and 
when it was accomplished, the day had dawned, and the land was visible. 1 
The sailors looked hard at the shore, but they could not recognize it. 2 
Though ignorant, however, of the name of the coast off which they were 
anchored, they saw one feature in it which gave them a hope that they 
might accomplish their purpose of running the ship aground. They per- 
ceived a small bay or indentation, with a sandy or pebbly beach : 3 and 
their object was, " if possible," so to steer the vessel that she might take 
the ground at that point. To effect this, every necessary step was care- 
fully taken. While cutting the anchors adrift, they unloosed the lash- 
ings with which the rudders had been secured, 4 and hoisted the foresail. 5 
These three things would be done simultaneously, 6 as indeed is implied 
by St. Luke ; and there were a sufficient number of hands on board for 
the purpose. The free use of the rudders would be absolutely necessary; 
nor would this be sufficient without the employment of some sail. 7 It 
does not appear quite certain whether they exactly hit the point at which 
they aimed. 8 We are told that they fell into " a place between two seas" 
(a feature of the coast, which will require our consideration presently), 
and there stranded the ship. The bow stuck fast in the shore, and re- 



be remarked that it was not likely that, while 
drifting, the hatchways could have been opened 
for that purpose ; and, when anchored by the 
stern, I doubt not that it was found, that, from 
the ship having been so long pressed down on 
one side, the cargo had shifted, i. e. the wheat 
had pressed over towards the larboard side, so 
that the ship, instead of being upright, heeled 
to the larboard, and made it useful to throw 
out as much of the wheat as time allowed, not 
only to make her specifically lighter, but to 
bring her upright, and enable her to be more 
accurately steered and navigated towards the 
land at daybreak." 

1 ' ' When it was day." 

2 The tense is imperfect (v. 39). "They 
tried to recognize it, but could not." The 
aorist is used below in xxviii. 1, from which it 
appears that the island was recognized imme- 
diately on landing. 

3 It is important to observe that the word 
for "shore " here has this meaning, as opposed 
to a rocky coast. We may refer in illustration 
to Matt. xiii. 2 ; Acts xxi. 5. 

4 When they anchored, no doubt the paddle 
rudders had been hoisted up and lashed, lest 
they should foul the anchors. 

5 For the proof that apre^iuv is the foresail, 



we must refer to the aole and thorough inves- 
tigation in Mr. Smith's Dissertation on An- 
cient Ships, pp. 153-162. The word does not 
occur in any other Greek writer, but it is found 
in the old nautical phraseology of the Vene- 
tians and Genoese, and it is used by Dante 
and Ariosto. The French still employ the 
word, but with them it has become the mizzen- 
sail, while the mizzen has become the foresail. 
[See the woodcut on the titlepage.] 

6 The word which implies this in the origi- 
nal is omitted in A. V. 

7 The mainsail [foresail] being hoisted 
showed good judgment, though the distance 
was so small, as it would not only enable them 
to steer more correctly than without it, but 
would press the ship farther on upon the land, 
and thus enable them the more easily to get to 
the shore." — Penrose, MS. [Seethe follow- 
ing passage in a naval officer's letter, dated 

« H.M.S. , off the Katcha, Nov. 15," in the 

Times of Dec. 5, 1855. "The Lord Raglan 
(merchant-ship) is on shore, but taken there 
in a most sailor-like manner. Directly her 
captain found he could not save her, he cut 
away his mainmast and mizzen, and, setting a 
topsail on her foremast , ran her ashore stem on."\ 

8 See below. 



CHAP.xxm. PROOF THAT THE PLACE WAS MALTA. 715 

mained unmoved; but the stern began immediately to go to pieces 1 
under the action of the sea. 

And now another characteristic incident is related. The soldiers, who 
were answerable with their lives for the detention of their prisoners, were 
afraid lest some of them should swim out and escape : and therefore, in 
the spirit of true Roman cruelty, they proposed to kill them at once. 
Now again the influence of St. Paul over the centurion's mind 2 was made 
the means of saving both his own life and that of his fellow-prisoners. 
For the rest he might care but little ; but he was determined to secure 
Paul's safety. 3 He therefore prevented the soldiers from accomplishing 
their heartless intention, and directed 4 those who could swim to "cast 
themselves into the sea " first, while the rest made use of -spars and 
broken pieces of the wreck. Thus it came to pass that all escaped safely 5 
through the breakers to the shore. 

When the land was safely reached, it was ascertained that the island 
on which they were wrecked was Melita. The mere word does not abso- 
lutely establish the identity of the place ; for two islands were anciently 
called alike by this name. This, therefore, is the proper place for sum- 
ming up the evidence which has been gradually accumulating in proof 
that it was the modern Malta. We have already seen (p. 711) the al- 
most irresistible inference which follows from the consideration of the 
direction and rate of drift since the vessel was laid to under the lee of 
Clauda. But we shall find that every succeeding indication not only tends 
to bring us to the shore of this island, but to the very bay (the Cala 
di San Paolo) which has always been the traditionary scene of the 
wreck. 

In the first place we are told that they became aware of land by the 
'presence of breakers, and yet ivithout striking. Now an inspection of the 
chart will show us that a ship drifting W. by N. might approach Koura 
Point, the eastern boundary of St. Paul's Bay, without having fallen in 
previously with any other part of the coast ; for, towards the neighbor- 
hood of Valetta, the shore trends rapidly to the southward. 6 Again, the 
character of this point, as described in the Sailing Directions, is such that 
there must infallibly have been violent breakers upon it that night. 7 Yet 
a vessel drifting W. by N. might pass it, within a quarter of a mile, 

1 Imperfect. 5 The same strong verb is used in xxvii, 

2 See v. 43. 44, xxviii. 1, 4, as in xxvii. 43. 

3 " To save Paul to the end," literally. 6 See the Chart opposite this page. 

4 The military officer gives the order. The 7 Smith, pp. 79, 89. " With north-easterly 
ship's company are not mentioned. Are we to gales, the sea breaks upon this point with such 
infer that they fell into „he background, in violence, that Capt. Smyth, in his view of the 
consequence of their cowardly attempt to save headland, has made the breakers its distinctive 
themselves ? character." 



716 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxm. 

without striking on the rocks. But what are the soundings at this point ? 
They are now twenty fathoms. If we proceed a little farther, we find 
fifteen fathoms. It may be said that this, in itself, is nothing remarkable. 
But if we add, that the fifteen-fathom depth is in the direction of the vesseVs 
drift (W. by N.) from the twenty-fathom depth, the coincidence is star- 
tling. 1 But at this point we observe, on looking at the chart, that now 
there would be breakers ahead, — and yet at such a distance ahead, that 
there would be time for the vessel to anchor before actually striking on the 
rocks. 2 All these conditions must necessarily be fulfilled ; and we see 
that they are fulfilled without any attempt at ingenious explanation. But 
we may proceed farther. The character of the coast on the farther side 
of the bay is such, that, though the greater part of it is fronted with 
mural precipices, there are one or two indentations, 3 which exhibit the 
appearance of " a creek with a \sandy or pebbly], shore." And again we 
observe that the island of Salmonetta is so placed, that the sailors, looking 
from the deck when the vessel was at anchor, could not possibly be aware 
that it was not a continuous part of the mainland ; whereas, while they 
were running her aground, they could not help observing the opening of 
the channel, which would thus appear (like the Bosphorus) 4 " a place 
between two seas" and would be more likely to attract their attention if 
some current resulting from this juxtaposition of the island and the coast 
interfered with the accuracy of their steering. 5 And finally, to revert to 
the fact of the anchors holding through the night (a result which could 
not confidently be predicted), we find it stated, in our English Sailing 
Directions, 6 that the ground in St. Paul's Bay is so good, that, " while the 
cables hold, there is no danger, as the anchors will never start." 

Malta was not then the densely-crowded island which it has become 
during the last half-century. 7 Though it was well known to the Romans 

1 Smith, p. 91. two opposite currents, are meant, yet it is very 

2 Smith, p. 91. possible that there might be a current between 

3 One place at the opening of the Mestara Salmonetta and the coast, and that this affect- 
Valley (see Chart) has still this character. ed the steering of the vessel. 

At another place there has been a beach, 6 Purdy, p. 180. In reference to what hap- 
though it is now obliterated. See the remarks pened to the ship when she came aground 
of Mr. Smith, who has carefully examined the (ver. 4), Mr. Smith lays stress upon the char- 
bay, and whose authority in any question acter of the deposits on the Maltese coast, 
relating to the geology of coasts is of great The sbip " would strike a bottom of mud, 
weight, graduating into tenacious clay, into which the 

4 This illustration is from Strabo, who fore-part would fix itself, and be held fast, 
uses the very word of the Bosphorus. It whilst the stern Avas ■ exposed to the force of 
would, of course, be equally applicable to a the waves." — p. 104. 

neck of land between two seas, like the Isth- 7 The density of the Maltese population, 

mus of Corinth. at the present day, is extraordinary ; but this 

5 Though we are not to suppose that by state of things is quite recent. In Boisgelin 
" two seas " two moving bodies of water, or {Ancient and Modern Malta, 1805) we find is 



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CHAP.xxm. ST. PAUL WORKS MIRACLES. 717 

as a dependency of the province of Sicily, 1 and though the harbor now 
called Yaletta must have been familiar to the Greek mariners who traded 
between the East and the West, 2 — much of the island was doubtless un- 
cultivated and overrun with wood. Its population was of Phoenician 
origin, — speaking a language which, as regards social intercourse, had 
the same relation to Latin and Greek which modern Maltese has to Eng- 
lish and Italian. 3 The inhabitants, however, though in this sense 4 
" barbarians," were favorably contrasted with many Christian wreckers 
in their reception of those who had been cast on their coast. They 
showed them no " ordinary kindness ; " for they lighted a fire and wel- 
comed them all to the warmth, drenched and shivering as they were in 
the rain and the cold. The whole scene is brought very vividly before us 
in the sacred narrative. One incident has become a picture in St. Paul's 
life, with which every Christian child is familiar. The Apostle had gathered 
with his own hand a heap of sticks, and placed them on the fire, when a 
viper came " out of the heat " and fastened on his hand. The poor super- 
stitious people, when they saw this, said to one another, " This man must 
be a murderer : he has escaped from the sea : but still vengeance suffers 
him not to live." But Paul threw off the animal into the fire and suf- 
fered no harm. Then they watched him, expecting that his body would 
become swollen, or that he would suddenly fall down dead. At length, 
after they had watched for a long time in vain, and saw nothing happen 
to him, their feelings changed as violently as those of the Lystrians had 
done in an opposite direction; 5 and they said that he was a god. We 
are not told of the results to which this occurrence led, but we cannot 
doubt that while Paul repudiated, as formerly at Lystra, 6 all the homage 
which idolatry would pay to him, he would make use of the influence 
acquired by this miracle, for making the Saviour known to his uncivilized 
benefactors. 

St. Paul was enabled to work many miracles during his stay in Malta. 
The first which is recorded is the healing of the father of Publlus, the 

stated that in 1530 the island did not contain and of its handsome buildings, such as those 

quite 15,000 inhabitants, and that they were which are now characteristic of tne place, 

reduced to 10,000 at the raising of the siege "We might also refer to Ovid and Cicero, 
in the grand-mastership of La Valetta. Not- 3 See the Essay on Mr. Smith's work in 

withstanding the subsequent wars, and the the North British Review (p. 208) for some 

plagues of 1592 and 1676, the numbers in remarks on the Maltese language, especially 

1798 were 90,000. (Vol. i. pp. 107, 108.) on the Arabic name of what is still called the 

Similar statements are in Miege, Histoire de Apostle's fountain {Ayn-tal-Ruzzvl) . 
Make. 4 It is sufficient to refer to Rom. i. 14, 

1 The mention of it in Cicero's Verrine 1 Cor. xiv. 11, Col. iii. 11, fcr the meaning 
orations is well known. of the word in the N. T. 

2 Diodorus Siculus speaks of the manufac- 5 P. 173. 
tures of Malta, of the wealth of its inhabitants, 6 P. 171. 



718 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxra. 

governor of the island, 1 who had some possessions 2 near the place where 
the vessel was lost, and who had given a hospitable reception to the 
shipwrecked strangers, and supplied their wants for three days. The 
disease under which the father of Publius was suffering was dysentery 
in an aggravated form. 3 St. Paul went in to him and prayed, and laid 
his hands on him ; and he recovered. This being noised through the 
island, other sufferers came to the Apostle, and were healed. Thus he 
was empowered to repay the kindness of these islanders by temporal 
services intended to lead their minds to blessings of a still higher kind. 
And they were not wanting in gratitude to those whose unexpected visit 
had brought so much good among them. They loaded them with every 
honor in their power, and, when they put to sea again, supplied them 
with every thing that was needful for their wants (ver. 10). 

Before we pursue the concluding part of the voyage, which was so 
prosperous that hardly any incident in the course of it is recorded, it 
may be useful to complete the argument by which Malta is proved to be 
the scene of St. Paul's shipwreck, by briefly noticing some objections 
which have been brought against this view. It is true that the positive 
evidence already adduced is the strongest refutation of mere objections ; 
but it is desirable not to leave unnoticed any of the arguments which 
appear to have weight on the other side. Some of them have been 
carelessly brought together by a great writer, to whom, on many sub- 
jects, we might be glad to yield our assent. 4 Thus it is argued, that, 
because the vessel is said to have been drifting in the Adriatic, the place 
of shipwreck must have been, not Malta to the south of Sicily, but 
Meleda in the Gulf of Venice. It is no wonder that the Benedictine of 



1 We observe that the name is Roman. In conclusive facts : — The narrative speaks of 
the phrase used here there is every appearance the 'barbarous people/ and 'barbarians/ of 
of an official title, more especially as the father the island. Now, our Malta was at that time 
of the person called " first of the island " was fully peopled and highly civilized, as we may 
alive. And inscriptions containing this exact surely infer from Cicero and other writers. A 
title are said to have been found in the island. viper comes out from the sticks upon the fire 

2 Acts xxviii. 7. These possessions must being lighted: the men are not surprised at 
therefore have been very near the present the appearance of the snake, but imagine first 
country residence of the English Governor, a murderer, and then a god from the harmless 
near Citta Vecchia. attack. Now, in our Malta, there are, I may 

3 xxviii. 8. say, no snakes at all ; which, to be sure, the 

4 " The belief that Malta is the island on Maltese attribute to St. Paul's having cursed 
which St. Paul was wrecked is so rooted in the them away. Melita in the Adriatic was a 
common Maltese, and is cherished with such perfectly barbarous island as to its native 
a superstitious nationality, that the government population, and was, and is now, infested with 
would run the chance of exciting a tumult if serpents. Besides, the context shows that the 
it, or its representatives, unwarily ridiculed it. scene is in the Adriatic." — Coleridge's Tabk 
The supposition itself is quite absurd. Not to Talk, p. 185. 

argue the matter at length, consider these few 



chap. xxm. OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 719 

Ragusa l should have been jealous of the honor of his order, which had 
a convent on that small island. But it is more surprising that the view 
should have been maintained by other writers since. 2 For not only do 
the classical poets 3 use the name " Adria " for all that natural division 
of the Mediterranean which lies between Sicily and Greece, but the same 
phraseology is found in historians and geographers. Thus Ptolemy dis- 
tinguishes clearly between the Adriatic Sea and the Adriatic Gulf. 
Pausanias says that the Straits of Messina unite the Tyrrhene Sea with 
the Adriatic Sea ; and Procopius 4 considers Malta as lying on the 
boundary of the latter. Nor are the other objections more successful. 
It is argued that Alexandrian sailors could not possibly have been igno- 
rant of an island so well known as Malta was then. But surely they 
might have been very familiar with the harbor of Yaletta, without being 
able to recognize that part of the coast on which they came during the 
storm. A modern sailor who had made many passages between New 
York and Liverpool might yet be perplexed if he found himself in hazy 
weather on some part of the coast of Wales. 5 Besides, we are told that 
the seamen did recognize the island as soon as they were ashore. 6 It is 
contended also that the people of Malta would not have been called 
barbarians. But, if the sailors were Greeks (as they probably were), 
they would have employed this term, as a matter of course, of those who 
spoke a different language from their own. 7 Again it is argued that 
there are no vipers — that there is hardly any wood — in Malta. But 
who does not recognize here the natural changes which result from the 
increase of inhabitants 8 and cultivation ? Within a very few years there 
was wood close to St. Paul's Bay ; 9 and it is well known how the Fauna 

1 Padre Georgi, however, was not the first the two shipwrecks ; but it is difficult to har- 
who suggested that the Apostle was wrecked monize the narratives. 

on Melida in the Adriatic. We find this mis- 5 Even with charts he might have a diffi- 

taken theory in a Byzantine writer of the tenth culty in recognizing a part of the coast which 

century. [Very recently the same view has he had never seen before. And we must recol- 

been advocated, but quite inconclusively, in lect that the ancient mariner had no charts. 
Mr. Neale's Ecclesiological notes on Dalmatia, 6 xxviii. 1. 

1861.] 7 See above, p. 717, n. 4. 

2 Mr. Smith has effectually disposed of all 8 See above, note on the population of 
Bryant's arguments, if such they can be called. Malta. Sir C. Penrose adds a cncumstance 
See especially his Dissertation on the island which it is important to take into account in 
Melita. Among those who have adopted considering this question, viz. that, in the time 
Brvant's view, we have referred by name only of the Knights, the bulk of the population 
to Falconer. was at the east end of the island, and that the 

3 Ovid, for instance, and Horace. neighborhood of St. Paul's Bay was separated 

4 Thucydides speaks of the Adriatic Sea in off by a line of fortification built for fear of 
the same way. We should also bear in mind descents from Barbary cruisers. 

the shipwreck of Josephus, which took place 9 This statement rests on the authority of 

in " Adria." Some (e. g., Mr. Sharpe, the an English resident on the island, 
author of the History of Egypt) have identified 



720 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxm. 



of any country varies with the vegetation. 1 An argument has even been 
built on the supposed fact that the disease of Publius is unknown in the 
island. To this it is sufficient to reply by a simple denial. 2 Nor can we 
close this rapid survey of objections without noticing the insuperable 
difficulties which lie against the hypothesis of the Venetian Meleda, from 
the impossibility of reaching it, except by a miracle, under the above- 
related circumstances of weather, 3 — from the disagreement of its sound- 
ings with what is required by the narrative of the shipwreck, 4 — and 
from the inconsistency of its position with what is related of the sub- 
sequent voyage. 5 

To this part of the voyage we must now proceed. After three months 
they sailed again for Italy in a ship called the Castor and Pollux. 6 Syra- 
cuse was in their track, and the ship put into that famous harbor, and staid 
there three days. Thus St. Paul was in a great historic city of the 
West, after spending much time in those of greatest note in the East. 
We are able to associate the Apostle of the Gentiles and the thoughts of 
Christianity with the scenes of that disastrous expedition which closed the 
progress of the Athenians towards our part of Europe, — and with those 
Punic Wars, which ended in bringing Africa under the yoke of Rome. 



1 Some instances are given by Mr. Smith. 

2 It happens that the writer once spent an 
anxious night in Malta with a fellow-travel- 
ler, who was suffering precisely in the same 
way. 

3 " If Euroclydon blew in such a direction 
as to make the pilots afraid of being driven on 
the quicksands (and there were no such dan- 
gers but to the south-west of them), how could 
it be supposed that they could be driven north 
towards the Adriatic 1 In truth, it is very 
difficult for a well-appointed ship of modern 
days to get from Crete into and up the Adri- 
atic at the season named in the narrative, the 
north winds being then prevalent and strong. 
We find the ship certainly driven from the 
south coast of Crete, from the Fair Havens 
towards Clauda (now Gozzi), on the south- 
west; and during the fourteen-days' continu- 
ance of the gale, we are never told that Euroc- 
lydon ceased to blow; and with either a 
Gregalia or Levanter blowing hard, St. Paul's 
ship could not possibly have proceeded up the 
Adriatic." — Penrose, MS. He says again: 
" How is it possible that a ship at that time, 
and so circumstanced, could have got up the 
difficult navigation of the Adriatic 1 To have 
drifted up the Adriatic to the island of Melita 



or Melida, in the requisite curve, and to have 
passed so many islands and other dangers in 
the route, would, humanly speaking, have been 
impossible. The distance from Clauda to this 
Melita is not less than 780 geographical miles, 
and the wind must have long been from the 
south to make this voyage in fourteen days. 
Now, from Clauda to Malta, there is not any 
one danger in a .direct line, and we see that 
the distance and direction of drift will both 
agree." 

4 This is clearly shown on the Austrian 
chart of that part of the Adriatic. 

5 From the Adriatic Melida it would have 
been more natural to have gone to Brundusium 
or Ancona, and thence by land to Borne ; and, 
even in going by sea, Syracuse would have 
been out of the course, whereas it is in the 
direct track from Malta. 

6 It is natural to assume that such was its 
name, if such was its " sign," i. e. the sculp- 
tured or painted figures at the prow. It was 
natural to dedicate ships to the Dioscuri, who 
were the hero-patrons of sailors. They were 
supposed to appear in those lights which are 
called by modern sailors the fires of St. Elmo ; 
and in art they are represented as stars. See 
below on the coins of Bhejnum. 



CHAP. XXU1. 



PUTEOLI. 721 



We are not told whether St. Paul was permitted to go on shore at Syra- 
cuse ; but from the courtesy shown him by Julius, it is probable that this 
permission was not refused. If he landed, he would doubtless find Jews 
and Jewish proselytes in abundance, in so great a mercantile emporium ; 
and would announce to them the Glad Tidings which he was commis- 
sioned to proclaim " to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." Hence 
we may without difficulty give credit to the local tradition, which regards 
St. Paul as the first founder of the Sicilian church. 

Sailing out of that beautiful land-locked basin, and past Ortygia, once 
an island, 1 but then united in one continuous town with the buildings 
under the ridge of Epipolae, — the ship which carried St. Paul to Rome 
shaped her course northwards towards the straits of Messina. The 
weather was not favorable at first : they were compelled to take an indi- 
rect course, 2 and they put into Rhegium, a city whose patron divinities 
were, by a curious coincidence, the same hero-protectors of seafaring 
men, " the Great Twin Brethren," to whom the ship itself was dedicated. 3 

Here they remained one day (ver. 13), evidently waiting for a fair 
wind to take them through the Faro ; for the springing-up of a wind 
from the south is expressly mentioned in the following words. This-wind 
would be favorable, not only for carrying the ship through the straits, but 
for all the remainder of the voyage. If the vessel was single-masted, 4 
with one large square-sail, this wind was the best that could blow : for to 
such a vessel the most advantageous point of sailing is to run right 
before the wind ; 5 and Puteoli lies nearly due north from Rhegium. 
The distance is about 182 miles. If, then, we assume, in accordance with 
what has been stated above (p. 683) , that she sailed at the rate of seven 
knots an hour, 6 the passage would be accomplished in about twenty-six 
hours, which agrees perfectly with the account of St. Luke, who says 
that, after leaving Rhegium, they came, " the next day" to Puteoli. 

1 The city has now shrunk to its old limit. 8 Macaulay's Lays of Borne (Battle of Lake 

2 Mr. Smith's view that the word here Regillus). One of these coins, exhibiting the 
(rendered in A. V. " fetching a compass," i. e. heads of the twin-divinities with the stars, is 
" going round ") means simply " beating" is given at the end of the chapter. 

more likely to be correct than that of Mr. 4 We cannot assume this to have been the 

Lewin, who supposes that " as the wind was case, but it is highly probable. See above, 

westerly, and they were under shelter of the We may refer here to the representation of the 

high mountainous range of iEtna on their left, harbor of Ostia on the coin of Nero, given 

they were obliged to stand out to sea in order below, p. 743. It will be observed that all the 

to fill their sails, and so come to Rhegium by ships in the harbor are single-masted. 
a circuitous sweep." He adds in a note, that 5 Smith, p. 180. 

he " was informed by a friend that when he 6 TVe cannot agree with the N. Brit. Re- 
made the voyage from Syracuse to Rhegium, viewer in doubting the correctness of Mr 
the vessel in which he sailed took a similar Smith's conclusion on this point 
circuit for a simPai reason." 
46 



722 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xxm. 

Before the close of the first day they would see on the left the volcanic 
cone and smoke of Stroniboli, the nearest of the Liparian islands. In 
the course of the night they would have neared that projecting part of 
the mainland, which forms the southern limit of the bay of Salerno. 1 
Sailing across the wide opening of this gulf, they would, in a few hours, 
enter that other bay, the bay of Naples, in the northern part of which 
Puteoli was situated. No long description need be given of that bay, 
which has been made familiar, by every kind of illustration, even to those 
who have never seen it. Its south-eastern limit is the promontory of 
Minerva, with the island of Caprese opposite, which is so associated with 
the memory of Tiberius, that its cliffs still seem to rise from the blue 
waters as a monument of hideous vice in the midst of the fairest scenes 
of nature. The opposite boundary was the promontory of Misenum, 
where one of the imperial fleets 2 lay at anchor under the shelter of the 
islands of Ischia and Procida. In the intermediate space the Campanian 
coast curves round in the loveliest forms, with Vesuvius as the prominent 
feature of the view. But here one difference must be marked between 
St. Paul's day and our own. The angry neighbor of Naples was not 
then an unsleeping volcano, but a green and sunny background to the 
bay, with its westward slope covered with vines. 3 No one could have 
suspected that the time was so near, when the admiral of the fleet at 
Misenum would be lost in its fiery eruption ; 4 and little did the Apostle 
dream, when he looked from the vessel's deck across the bay to the right, 
that a ruin, like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, hung over the fair cities 
at the base of the mountain, and that the Jewish princess, who had so 
lately conversed with him in his prison at Cassarea, would find her tomb 
in that ruin, with the child she had borne to Felix. 5 

By this time the vessel was well within the island of Capreas and the 
promontory of Minerva, and the idlers of Puteoli were already crowding 
to the pier to watch the arrival of the Alexandrian corn-ship ; so we may 
safely infer from a vivid and descriptive letter preserved among the corre- 
spondence of the philosopher Seneca. He say that all ships, on rounding 
into the bay within the above-mentioned island and promontory, were 
obliged to strike their topsails, with the exception of the Alexandrian 
corn-vessels, which were thus easily recognized as soon as they hove in 

1 See the Sailing Directions, 129-133, with Strabo describes the mountain as very fertile at 
the Admiralty charts, for the appearance of its base, though its summit was barren, and 
the coast between Cape Spartivento (Pr. Pali- full of apertures, which showed the traces of 
nurum) and Cape Campanella (Pr. Minervas). earlier volcanic action. 

2 The fleet of the " Upper Sea " was sta- 4 See the younger Pliny's description of his 
tioned at Ravenna, of the " Lower" at Mise- uncle's death, Ep. vi. 16. 



So it is described by Martial and others. 



Josephus. See above, p. 652. 



chap, xxm. PUTEOLI. 723 

sight ; and then he proceeds to moralize on the gathering and crowding 
of the people of Puteoli to watch these vessels coming in. Thus we are 
furnished with new circumstances to aid our efforts to realize the arrival 
of the Castor and Pollux, on the coast of Italy, with St. Paul on board. 
And if we wish still further to associate this event with the history and 
the feeling of the times, we may turn to an anecdote of the Emperor 
Augustus which is preserved to us by Suetonius. The Emperor had been 
seized with a feverish attack, — it was the beginning of his last illness, — 
and was cruising about the bay for the benefit of his health, when an 
Alexandrian corn-ship was coming to her moorings, and passed close by. 
The sailors recognized the old man, whom the civilized world obeyed as 
master, and was learning to worship as God ; and they brought out gar- 
lands and incense, that they might pay him divine honors, saying that it 
was by his providence that their voyages were made safe and that their 
trade was prosperous. Augustus was so gratified by this worship, that he 
immediately distributed an immense sum of gold among his suite, exact- 
ing from them the promise that they would expend it all in the pur- 
chase of Alexandrian goods. Such was the interest connected in the 
first century with the trade between Alexandria and Puteoli. Such was 
the idolatrous homage paid to the Roman Emperor. The only difference, 
when the Apostle of Christ came, was that the vice and corruption of the 
Empire had increased with the growth of its trade, and that the Emperor 
now was not Augustus, but Nero. $ 

In this wide and sunny expanse of blue waters, no part was calmer or 
more beautiful than the recess in the northern part of the bay between 
Baiae and Puteoli. It was naturally sheltered by the surrounding coasts, 
and seemed of itself to invite both the gratification of luxurious ease, 
and the formation of a mercantile harbor. Baiae was devoted to the for- 
mer purpose ; it was to the invalids and fashionable idlers of Rome like a 
combination of Brighton and Cheltenham. Puteoli, on the opposite side 
of this inner bay, was the Liverpool of Italy. Between them was that 
enclosed reach of water called the Lucrine Lake, which contained the 
oyster-beds for the luxurious tables of Rome, and on the surface of which 
the small yachts of fashionable visitors displayed their colored sails. 
Still farther inland was that other calm basin, the Lacus Avernus, which 
an artificial passage connected with the former, and thus converted into 
a harbor. Not far beyond was Cumae, once a flourishing Greek city, but, 
when the Apostle visited this coast, a decayed country town, famous only 
for the recollections of the Sibyl. 1 

We must return to Puteoli. We have seen above (p. 684) how it 
divided with Ostia the chief commerce by sea between Rome and the 

1 See Juv. Sat. iii. 1. 



724 . THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiu 

provinces. Its early name, when the Campanian shore was Greek rather 
than Italian, was Dicaearchia. Under its new appellation (which seems 
to have had reference to the mineral springs of the neighborhood) x it 
first began to have an important connection with Rome in the second 
Punic war. It was the place of embarkation for armies proceeding to 
Spain, and the landing-place of ambassadors from Carthage. Ever after- 
wards it was an Italian town of the first rank. In the time of Yespasian 
it became the Flavian Colony, like the city in Palestine from which St. 
Paul had sailed ; 2 but even from an earlier period it had colonial privi- 
leges, and these had just been renewed under Nero. It was intimately 
associated both with this Emperor and with two others who preceded 
him in power and in crime. Close by Baise, across the bay, was Bauli, 
where the plot was laid for the murder of Agrippina. 3 Across these 
waters Caligula built his fantastic bridge ; and the remains of it were 
probably visible when St. Paul landed. 4 Tiberius had a. more honorable 
monument in a statue (of which a fragment is still seen by English 
travellers at Pozzuoli) erected during St. Paul's life to commemorate 
the restitution of the Asiatic cities overthrown by an earthquake. 5 But the 
ruins which are the most interesting to us are the seventeen piers of the 
ancient mole on which the lighthouse stood, and within which the mer- 
chant-men were moored. Such is the proverbial tenacity of the concrete 
which was used in this structure, 6 that it is the most perfect ruin exist- 
ing of any ancient Roman harbor. In the earlier part of this chapter, we 
spoke of the close mercantile relationship which subsisted between Egypt 
and this city. And this remains on our minds as the prominent and sig- 
nificant fact of its history, — whether we look upon the ruins of the mole, 
and think of such voyages as those of Titus and Yespasian, 7 or wander 
among the broken columns of the Temple of Serapis, 8 or read the account 
which Philo gives of the singular interview of the Emperor Caligula with 
the Jewish ambassadors from Alexandria. 9 

Puteoli, from its trade with Alexandria and the East, must necessarily 
have contained a colony of Jews, and they must have had a close con- 
nection with the Jews of Rome. What was true of the Jews would 
probably find its parallel in the Christians. St. Paul met with disciples 

1 It was named either from the springs gorical representations of the towns, is still 
(a puteis), or from their stench (a putendo). extant. 

2 See above on Csesarea, p. 658. 6 The well-known Pozzolana, which is men- 

3 Nero had murdered his mother about two tioned by Pliny, 
years before St. Paul's coming. 7 See p. 685. 

4 Some travellers have mistaken the remains 8 This is one of the most remarkable ruins 
of the mole for those of Caligula's bridge. at Pozzuoli. It is described in the guide-books. 
But that was only a wooden structure. 9 Philo Leg. ad Caium. 

5 The pedestal of this statue, with the alle- 



CHAP.xxm. COIN OF RHEGIUM. 725 

here ; * and, as soon as he was among them, they were in prompt commu- 
nication on the subject with their brethren in Rome. 2 The Italian Chris- 
tians had long been looking for a visit from the famous Apostle, though 
they had not expected to see him arrive thus, a prisoner in chains, hardly 
saved from shipwreck. But these sufferings would only draw their hearts 
more closely towards him. They earnestly besought him to stay some 
days with them, and Julius was able to allow this request to be complied 
with. 3 Even when the voyage began, we saw that he was courteous and 
kind towards his prisoner ; and, after all the varied and impressive inci- 
dents which have been recounted in this chapter, we should indeed be 
surprised if we found him unwilling to contribute to the comfort of one 
by whom his own life had been preserved. 




Coin of Rhegium.' 



1 Acts xxviii. 14. 2 See ver. 15. the intelligence of St. Paul's landing to reach 

3 It is not clearly stated who urged this stay. Rome so long before his own arrival there. 

Possibly it was Julius himself. It is at all 4 From the British Museum. The heads 

events evident from ver. 15 that they did stay; and stars are those of Castor and Pollux. See 

otherwise there would not have been time for p. 720, n. 6 ; and 721, n. 3. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



The Appian Way. — Appii Forum and the Three Taverns. — Entrance into Rome. — The 
Praetorian Prefect. — Description of the City. — Its Population. — The Jews in Rome. — The 
Roman Church. — St. Paul's Interview with the Jews. — His Residence in Rome. 

THE last chapter began with a description of the facilities possessed 
by the ancients for travelling by sea : this must begin with a refer- 
ence to their best opportunities of travelling by land. We have before 
spoken of some of the most important roads through the provinces of the 
Empire : now we are about to trace the Apostle's footsteps along that 
road, which was at once the oldest and most frequented in Italy, 1 and 
which was called, in comparison with all others, the " Queen of Roads." 
"We are no longer following the narrow line of compact pavement across 
Macedonian plains and mountains, 2 or through the varied scenery in the 
interior of Asia Minor : 3 but we are on the most crowded approach to 
the metropolis of the world, in the midst of praetors and proconsuls, 
embassies, legions, and turms of horse, " to their provinces hasting or 
on return," which Milton 4 — in his description of the City enriched with 
the spoils of nations — has called us to behold "in various habits on 
the Appian road." 

Leaving, then, all consideration of Puteoli, as it was related to the sea 
and to the various places on the coast, we proceed to consider its com- 
munications by land with the towns of Campania and Latium. The 
great line of communication between Rome and the southern part of the 
peninsula was the Way constructed by Appius Claudius, which passed 
through Capua, 5 and thence to Brundusium on the shore of the Adri- 

1 "Appia longarum teritur Regina viarum." brated of Roman roads, was constructed as far 
— Stat. Silv. ii. 2. See below. as Capua, a. u. c. 442, by the censor Appius 

2 For the Via Egnatia, see pp. 274, 275. Claudius. Eight hundred years afterwards, 

3 In making our last allusion to Asia Minor, Procopius was astonished at its appearance, 
we may refer to the description which Basil He describes it as broad enough for two car- 
gives of the scenery round his residence, a little riages to pass each other, and as made of stones 
to the east of the inland region thrice traversed, brought from some distant quarry, and so fit- 
by St. Paul. See Humboldt's Kosmos, vol. ii. ted to each other, that they seemed to be thus 
p. 26. (Sabine's Eng. Trans.) formed by nature rather than cemented by art. 

4 Paradise Regained, book iv. He adds that, notwithstanding the ti'affic of so 

5 The Via Appia, the oldest and most cele- many ages, the stones were not displaced, nor 



CHAP. xxrv. 



CAPUA. 727 



atic. 1 Puteoli and its neighborhood lay some miles to the westward of this 
main road, but communicated with it easily by well-travelled cross-roads. 
One of them followed the coast from Puteoli northwards, till it joined the 
Appian Way at Sinuessa, on the borders of Latium and Campania. 2 It 
appears, however, that this road was not constructed till the reign of 
Domitian. 3 Our attention, therefore, is called to the other cross-road 
which led directly to Capua. One branch of it left the coast at Cumae, 
another at Puteoli. It was called the " Campanian Way," and also the 
" Consular Way." It seems to have been constructed during the Repub- 
lic, and was doubtless the road which is mentioned, in an animated 
passage of Horace's Epistles, as communicating with the baths and villas 
of Baise. 4 

The first part, then, of the route which Julius took with his prisoners 
was probably from Puteoli to Capua. All the region near the coast, how- 
ever transformed in the course of ages by the volcanic forces which are 
still at work, is recognized as the scene of the earliest Italian mythology, 
and must ever be impressive from the poetic images, partly of this world, 
and partly of the next, with which Yirgil has filled it. From Cumse to 
Capua, the road traverses a more prosaic district : 5 the " Phlegraean 
fields " are left behind, and we pass from the scene of Italy's dim my- 
thology to the theatre of the most exciting passages of her history. The 
whole line of the road can be traced at intervals, not only in the close 
neighborhood of Puteoli and Capua, but through the intermediate vil- 
lages, by fragments of pavement, tombs, and, ancient milestones. 6, 

Capua, after a time of disgrace had expiated Its friendship with Han- 
nibal, was raised by Julius Caesar to the rank of a colony: in the reign 
of Augustus it had resumed all its former splendor ; and about the very 
time of which we are writing, it received accessions of dignity from the 
Emperor Nero. It was the most important city on the whole line of the 

* 

had they lost their original smoothness. There distances are slightly different. A direct road 

is great doubt as to the date of the continuation from Capua to Neapolis, by Atella, is men- 

by Beneventum to Brundusium, nor is the tioned in the Tab. Pent. 
course of it absolutely ascertained. 3 This is the road which is the subject of 

1 Here it came to the customary ferry be- the pompous yet very interesting poem of 
tween the Greek aud Italian, peninsulas, and Statius, Silv. iv. 

was succeeded on the other side by the Via 4 See the vivid passage in the beginning of 

Egnatia. Strabo, v. 3; vi. 3. Compare p. 274. Ep. i. xv., where we see that the road was well 

2 The stages of this road from Sinuessa travelled at that period, and where its turning 
appear as follows in the Peutingerian Table : — out of the Via Appia is clearly indicated. 
Savonem Fl. III. ; Vulturnum, VII. ; Liter- 5 On the left was a district of pine-woods, 
num, VII. ; Cumas, VI.; Lacum Avernum, notorious for banditti (GalHnaria pinus), Juv. 
II. ; Puteolos, III. Thence it proceeds by iii. 305 ; now Fineta di Castel Volturno. 
Naples to Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabise, and 6 The road seems to have left Puteoli by 
Surrentum. In the Antonine Itinerary it is en- the Solfatara, where Romanelli says that the 
titled, " Iter a Terracina Neapolim," and the old pavement is visible. 



S99 



728 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxrv. 

Appian Way, between Rome and Brundusium. That part of the line 
with which we are concerned is the northerly and most ancient portion. 
The distance is about 125 miles : and it may be naturally divided into 
two equal parts. The division is appropriate, whether in regard to the 
physical configuration of the country, or the modern political boundaries. 
The point of division is where Terracina is built at the base of those 
cliffs, 1 on which the city of Anxur was of old proudly situated, and where 
a narrow pass, between the mountain and the sea, unites (or united re- 
cently) the Papal States to the kingdom of Naples. 

The distance from Capua to Terracina 2 is about seventy Roman miles. 
At the third mile the road crossed the river Vulturnus at Casilinum, a 
town then falling into decay. 3 Fifteen miles farther it crossed the river 
Savo, by what was then called the Campanian Bridge. 4 Thence, after 
three miles, it came to Sinuessa on the sea, 5 which in St. Paul's day was 
reckoned the first town in Latium. But the old rich Campania extended 
farther to the northward, including the vine-clad hills of the famous 
Falernian district through which we pass, after crossing the Savo. 6 The 
last of these hills (where the vines may be seen trained on elms, as of 
old) is the range of Massicus, which stretches from the coast towards the 
Apennines, and finally shuts out from the traveller, as he descends on 
the farther side, all the prospect of Vesuvius and the coast near Puteoli. 7 
At that season, both vines and elms would have a winterly appearance. 
But the traces of spring would be visible in the willows ; 8 among which 
the Liris flows in many silent windings — from the birthplace of Marius 
in the mountains 9 — to the city and the swamps by the sea, which the 
ferocity of his mature life has rendered illustrious. After leaving Min- 
turna3, the Appian Way passes on to another place, which has different 

1 The modern Terracina is by the sea at 6 Pliny extends Campania to the Liris or 
the base of* the cliffs, and the present road Garigliano. It is difficult to fix the limits of 
passes that way. The ancient road ascended the Falernus ager, which extended from the 
to Anxur, which was on the summit. Massic Hills towards the Volturnus. 

2 The stages are as follows (reckoning 7 The ancient road, however, seems to have 
from Terracina) in the Antonine Itinerary : followed the coast. 

fcndis. xvi. Fokmis. xiii. minturnis. ix. 8 "March 22. We crossed the Liris by a 

sinuessa. ix. capua. xxvi. The distances suspension-bridge. It is a large stream — 

are rather smaller in the Jerusalem Itinerary, truly a taciturnus amnis — winding like the 

where a mutatio Ponte Campano and a mutatio Trent among willow -trees, which showed 

ad octavum are here inserted between Sinuessa nearly the first symptoms of spring we had 

and Capua. Casilinum is mentioned only in seen." (Extract from a private journal.) 

the Peutingerian Table. We have already seen that St. Paul's journey 

3 The operations on the Volturno in Gari- through Campania and Latium was very early 
baldi's recent campaign are very fresh in our in the spring. 

recollection. 9 The Garigliano rises near Arpinum, which 

4 Campano Ponti. Hor. Sat. i. v, 45. was also the birthplace of Cicero. 
6 " Plotius et Varius Sinuessae, Virgiliusque 

Occurrunt." lb. 40. 



chap. xxiv. ANXUE TO APPII FOEUM!. 729 

associations with the later years of the Republic. We speak of Formiae, 1 
with its long street by the shore of its beautiful bay, and with its villas 
on the seaside, and above it ; among which was one of Cicero's favorite 
retreats from the turmoil of the political world, and where at last he fell 
by the hand of assassins. 2 Many a lectica, 3 or palanquin, such as that in 
which he was reclining when overtaken by his murderers, may have been 
met by St. Paul in his progress, — with other carriages, with which the 
road would become more and more crowded, — the cisium* or light cab- 
riolet, of some gay reveller, on his way to Baias, — or the four-wheeled 
rheda? full of the family of some wealthy senator quitting the town for 
the country. At no great distance from Formias the road left the sea 
again, and passed, where the substructions of it still remain, through the 
defiles 6 of the Caecuban hills, with their stony but productive vineyards. 
Thence the traveller looked down upon the plain of Fundi, which retreats 
like a bay into the mountains, with the low lake of Amyclae between 
the town and the sea. Through the capricious care, with which time 
has preserved in one place what is lost in another, the pavement of 
the ancient way is still the street of this, the most northerly town of 
the Neapolitan kingdom in this direction. We have now in front of us the 
mountain line, which is both the frontier of the Papal States, 7 and the 
natural division of the Apostle's journey from Capua to Rome. Where 
it reaches the coast, in bold limestone precipices, there Anxur was situated, 
with its houses and temples high above the sea. 8 

After leaving Anxur, 9 the traveller observes the high land retreating 
again from the coast, and presently finds himself in a wide and remark- 
able plain, enclosed towards the interior by the sweep of the blue 
Volscian mountains, and separated by a belt of forest from the sea. 
Here are the Pomptine marshes, — " the only marshes ever dignified by 

1 This is Mala dl Gaeta, just opposite the 6 Itri is in one of these defiles. The sub- 
fortress which has been so notorious in recent structions of the ancient way show that it 
passages of Italian history. nearly followed the line of the modern road 

2 See Plutarch's description of his death. between Rome and Naples. 

3 The lecticce, or couches carried by bear- ? Or of what were till lately the Papal 
ers, were in constant use both for men and States. 

women ; and a traveller could hardly go from 8 See Hor. Sat. i. v. 25, 26, and many 

Puteoli to Eome without seeing many of them. other passages in Eoman poets. There are 

4 Seneca says you could write in the cisium, here still the substructions of large temples, 
whence we must infer that such carriages [if one of them probably that of Jupiter, to whom 
they had springs] were often as comfortable as the town was dedicated. 

those of modern times. 9 The stages during the latter half of the 

5 " Tota domus rheda componitur una." journey, reckoning from Ecme, appear thus 
(Juv. iii. 10.) The remark just made on the in the Antonine Itinerary: ariciam. xvi. 
cisium is equally applicable to the larger car- tres tabernas. xvii. appi foro. x. tarra- 
riage. Cicero says in one of his Cilician let- cina. xyiii. The other Itineraries give some 
ters that he dictated it while seated iu his rheda. intermediate details. 



730 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxiv. 

classic celebrity." The descriptive lines of the Roman satirist have 
wonderfully concurred with the continued unhealthiness of the half- 
drained morass, in preserving a living commentary on that fifteenth verse 
in the last chapter of the Acts, which exhibits to us one of the most 
touching passages in the Apostle's life. A few miles beyond Terracina, 
where a fountain, grateful to travellers, welled up near the sanctuary of 
Feronia, 1 was the termination of a canal, which was formed by Augustus 
for the purpose of draining the marshes, and which continued for twenty 
miles by the side of the road. 2 Over this distance, travellers had their 
choice, whether to proceed by barges dragged by mules, or on the pave- 
ment of the way itself. 3 It is impossible to know which plan was adopted 
by Julius and his prisoners. If we suppose the former to have been 
chosen, we have the aid of Horace's Satire to enable us to imagine the 
incidents and the company, in the midst of which the Apostle came, 
unknown and unfriended, to the corrupt metropolis of the world. And 
yet he was not so unfriended as he may possibly have thought himself 
that day, in his progress from Anxur across the watery, -unhealthy plain. 
On the arrival of the party at Appii Forum, which was a town where the 
mules were unfastened, at the other end of the canal, and is described 
by the satirist as full of low tavern-keepers and bargemen, 4 — at that 
meeting-place where travellers from all parts of the Empire had often 
crossed one another's path, — on that day, in the motley and vulgar 
crowd, some of the few Christians who were then in the world suddenly 
recognized one another, and emotions of holy joy and thanksgiving 
sanctified the place of coarse vice and vulgar traffic. The disciples at 
Home had heard of the Apostle's arrival at Puteoli, and hastened to meet 
him on the way ; and the prisoner was startled to recognize some of 
those among whom he had labored, and whom he had loved, in the 
distant cities of the East. Whether Aquila and Priscilla were there it is 
needless to speculate. Whoever might be the persons, they were brethren 
in Christ, and their presence would be an instantaneous source of com- 
fort and strength. We have already seen, on other occasions of his life, 5 
how the Apostle's heart was lightened by the presence of his friends. 

About ten miles farther he received a second welcome from a similar 
group of Christian brethren. Two independent companies had gone to 
meet him ; or the zeal and strength of one party had outstripped the 



1 Hor. Sat. i. 24. 4 This place is also mentioned by Cicero 

2 " Qua Pomptinas via dividit uda palu- Att. ii. 10. Its situation was near the present 
des." (Lucan, iii. 85.) The length of the Treponti. 

canal was nineteen miles. 5 See especially p. 313. 

3 With Horace's account of his night- 
journey on the canal we may compare Strabo. 



chap. xxiv. APPROACH TO HOME. 731 

other. At a place called the Three Taverns, 1 where a cross-road from 
the coast at Antium came in from the left, this second party of Chris- 
tians was waiting to welcome and to honor " the ambassador in bonds." 
With a lighter heart and a more cheerful countenance, he travelled the 
remaining seventeen miles, which brought him along the base of the 
Alban hills, in the midst of places well known and famous in early 
Roman legends, to the town of Aricia. The Great Apostle had the 
sympathies of human nature ; he was dejected and encouraged by the 
same causes which act on our spirits ; he too saw all outward objects in 
" hues borrowed from the heart." The diminution of fatigue — the 
more hopeful prospect jf the future — the renewed elasticity of religious 
trust — the sense of a brighter light on all the scenery round him — on 
the foliage which overshadowed the road — on the wide expanse of the 
plain to the left — on the high summit of the Alban Mount, — all this, 
and more than this, is involved in St. Luke's sentence, — "When Paul 
saio the brethren, he thanked God, and took courage" 

The mention of the Alban Mount reminds us that we are approaching 
the end of our journey. The isolated group of hills which is called by 
this collective name stands between the plain which has just been trav- 
ersed and that other plain which is the Campagna of Rome. All the 
bases of the mountain were then (as indeed they are partially now) 
clustered round with the villas and gardens of wealthy citizens. The 
Appian Way climbs and then descends along its southern slope. After 
passing Lanuvium, 2 it crossed a crater-like valley on immense substruc- 
tions, which still remain. 3 Here is Aricia, an easy stage from Rome. 4 
The town was above the road ; and on the hill-side swarms of beggars 
beset travellers as they passed. 5 On the summit of the next rise, Paul 
of Tarsus would obtain his first view of Rome. There is no doubt that 
the prospect was, in many respects, very different from the view which 



1 This place is mentioned by Cicero when See Sir W. Gell's Campagna, under Aricia 
on a journey from Antium to Rome. Att. ii. andLaricia : see also an article entitled "Ex- 
12. From the distances in the Itineraries it cursions from Pome in 1843," in the first vol- 
seems to have been not very far from the mod- time of the Classical Museum, p. 322. The 
ern Cisterna. magnificent causeway or viaduct, mentioned 

2 Sub Lanuvio is one of the stations in the in the text, is 700 feet long, and in some 
Tab. Peut. (See above.) The ancient Lanu- places 70 feet high. It is built of enormous 
viuin was on a hill on the left, near where squared blocks of peperino, with arches for the 
the Via Appia (which can be traced here, by water of the torrents to pass through, 
means of the tombs, as it ascends from the 4 It was Horace's first halting-place. The 
plain) strikes the modern road by Velletri. distance from Pome was sixteen miles. 

3 The present road is carried through the 5 The dims Aricinus is repeatedly men- 
modern town of Laricia, which occupies the tioned by the Poman satirists as swarming 
site of the citadel of ancient Aricia. The with beggars. 

Appian Way went across the valley below. 



732 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxtv. 

is now obtained from the same spot. It is true that the natural features 
of the scene are unaltered. The long wall of blue Sabine mountains, 
with Soracte in the distance, closed in the Campagna, which stretched 
far across to the sea and round the base of the Alban hills. But ancient 
Rome was not, like modern Rome, impressive from its solitude, standing 
alone, with its one conspicuous cupola, in the midst of a desolate though 
beautiful waste. St. Paul would see a vast city, covering the Campagna, 
and almost continuously connected by its suburbs with the villas on the 
hill where he stood, and with the bright towns which clustered on the 
sides of the mountains opposite. Over all the intermediate space were 
the houses and gardens, through which aqueducts and roads might be 
traced in converging lines towards the confused mass of edifices which 
formed the city of Rome. Here no conspicuous building, elevated above 
the rest, attracted the eye or the imagination. Ancient Rome had neithe.i 
cupola l nor campanile. Still less had it any of those spires, which give 
life to all the landscapes of Northern Christendom. It was a widespread 
aggregate of buildings, which, though separated by narrow streets and 
open squares, appeared, when seen from near Aricia, blended into one 
indiscriminate mass : for distance concealed the contrasts 2 which divided 
the crowded habitations of the poor, and the dark haunts of filth and 
misery, — from the theatres and colonnades, the baths, the temples and 
palaces with gilded roofs, flashing back the sun. 

The road descended into the plain at Bovillge, six miles from Aricia, 3 
and thence it proceeded in a straight line, 4 with the sepulchres of illus- 
trious families on either hand. 5 One of these was the burial-place of the 
Julian gens, 6 with which the centurion who had charge of the prisoners 
was in some way connected. 7 As they proceeded over the old pavement, 
among gardens and modern houses, 8 and approached nearer the busy 
metropolis, the " conflux issuing forth or entering in " 9 on various 

1 The Pantheon was indeed built ; but the Cecilia Metella is familiar to all travellers, 
world had not seen any instance of an elevat- Pompey's tomb was also on the Appian Way, 
ed dome, like that of St. Sophia, St. Peter's, but nearer to Aricia. 

or St. Paul's. 6 Sir W. Gell, on what appears to be a me- 

2 See below, p. 735, and the reference to morial of the burying-place of the Gens Julia, 
1 Cor. near Bovillas. See Tac. Ann. ii. 41, xv. 33. 

3 Bovillse (not far from Fratocchie) is mem- 7 He might be a free-born Italian (like Cor- 
orable as the place where Clodius was killed. nelius, see p. 108), or he might be a freedman, 

4 The modern road deviates slightly from or the descendant of a freedman, manumitted 
the Via Appia ; but by aid of the tombs by some members of the Julian house. 

the eye can easily trace the course of the 8 Much building must have been continu- 

ancientway. Recent excavations have brought ally going on. Juvenal mentions the carrying 

the whole line of the Via Appia more clearly of building materials as one of the annoyances 

into view than formerly. of Rome. 

5 There is a well-known sentence in Cicero 9 Paradise Regained, iv. 62. 
having reference to these sepulchres. That of 



chap. xxiv. ENTRANCE INTO EOME. 733 

errands and in various costumes — vehicles, horsemen, and foot-passen- 
gers, soldiers and laborers, Romans and foreigners — became more 
crowded and confusing. The houses grew closer. They were already in 
Rome. It was impossible to define the commencement of the city. Its 
populous portions extended far beyond the limits marked out by Servius. 
The ancient wall, with its once sacred pomoerium, was rather an object 
for antiquarian interest, like the walls of York or Chester, than any pro- 
tection against the enemies, who were kept far aloof by the legions on the 
frontier. 

Yet the Porta Capena is a spot which we can hardly leave without 
lingering for a moment. Under this arch — which was perpetually drip- 
ping l with the water of the aqueduct that went over it 2 — had passed all 
those who, since a remote period of the Republic, had travelled by the 
Appian Way, — victorious generals with their legions returning from 
foreign service, — emperors and courtiers, vagrant representatives of every 
form of Heathenism, Greeks and Asiatics, Jews and Christians. 3 From 
this point entering within the city, Julius and his prisoners moved on, 
with the Aventine on their left, close round the base of the Ccelian, and 
through the hollow ground which lay between this hill and the Palatine ; 
thence over the low ridge called Velia, 4 where afterwards was built the 
arch of Titus to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem ; and then 
descending, 5 by the Sacra Via, into that space which was the centre of 
imperial power and imperial magnificence, and associated also with the 
most glorious recollections of the Republic. The Forum was to Rome 
what the Acropolis 6 was to Athens, the heart of all the characteristic 
interest of the place. Here was the Milliarmm Aureum, to which the 
roads of all the provinces converged. All around were the stately build- 
ings, which were raised in the closing years of the Republic, and by the 

1 Mart. iii. 47. Hence called the moist 4 " The ridge on which the arch of Titus 
gate by Juvenal, iii. 10. Compare Mart. iv. stands was much more considerable than the 
1 8. It was doubtless called Capena, as being modern traveller would suppose : the pave- 
the gate of Capua. Its position is fully ascer- ment, which has been excavated at this point, is 
tained to have been at the point of union of fifty-three feet above the level of the pavement in 
the valleys dividing the Aventine, Coelian, and the Forum. This ridge ran from the Palatine to 
Palatine. Both the Via Latina and Via Appia the Esquiline, dividing the basin in which the 
issued from this gate. The first milestone on Colosseum stands from that which contained 
the latter was found in the first vineyard be- the Forum : it was called Velia. Publicola 
yoncl the Porta S. Sebastiano (see Map). excited popular suspicion and alarm by build- 

2 This was a branch of the Marcian aque- ing his house on the elevated part of this 
duct. ridge." — Companion Volume to Mr. Cookes- 

3 We must not forget that close by this ley's Map of Rome, p. 30. 

gate was the old sanctuary of Egeria, which • 5 This slope, from the arch of Titus down 
in Juvenal's time was occupied by Jewish beg- to the Forum, was called the Sacer Clivus. 
gars. See Sat. iii. 13, vL 542, already referred 6 Seep. 308. 

to in p. 133. ' 



734 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiv. 

earlier Emperors. In front was the Capitoline Hill, illustrious long before 
the invasion of the Gauls. Close on the left, covering that hill, whose 
name is associated in every modern European language with the notion of 
imperial splendor, were the vast ranges of the palace — the " house of 
Caesar" (Phil. iv. 22). Here were the household troops quartered in a 
prcetorium l attached to the palace. And here (unless, indeed, it was in 
the great Prcetorian camp 2 outside the city wall) Julius gave tip his 
prisoner to Burrus, the Praetorian Prefect, 3 whose official duty it was to 
keep in custody all accused persons who were to be tried before the 
Emperor. 4 

This doubt, which of two places, somewhat distant from each other, was 
the scene of St. Paul's meeting with the commander-in-chief of the 
Praetorian guards, gives us the occasion for entering on a general descrip- 
tion of the different parts of the city of Rome. It would be nugatory to 
lay much stress, as is too often done, on its " seven hills : " for a great 
city at length obliterates the original features of the ground, especially 
where those features were naturally not very strongly marked. The 
description, which is easy in reference to Athens or Edinburgh, is hard 
in the instance of modern London or ancient Rome. Nor is it easy, in 
the case of one of the larger cities of the world, to draw any marked 
lines of distinction among the different clases of buildings. It is true, 
the contrasts are really great ; but details are lost in a distant view of so 
vast an aggregate. The two scourges to which ancient Rome was most 
exposed revealed very palpably the contrast, both of the natural ground 
and the human structures, which by the general observer might be unno- 
ticed or forgotten. When the Tiber was flooded, and the muddy waters 
converted all the streets and open places of the lower part of the city 
into lakes and canals, 5 it would be seen very clearly how much lower 
were the Forum and the Campus Martins than those three detached hills 
(the Capitoline, the Palatine, and the Aventine) which rose near the 

1 We think that Wieseler has proved that peror, though he had not yet acquired all that 
the npcurupiov in Phil. i. 13 denotes the quar- extensive jurisdiction which was subsequently 
ters of the household troops attached to the conferred upon him. At this time (a.d. 61) 
Emperor's residence on the Palatine. See the Burrus, one of the best of Nero's advisers, was 
beginning of Ch. XXVI. Prsetorian Prefect. 

2 The establishment of this camp was the 4 Trajan says (Plin. Ep. x. 65) of such a 
work of Tiberius. Its place is still clearly prisoner, " vinctus mitti ad Prsefectos Prastorii 
visible in the great rectangular projection in mei debet." Compare also Joseph. Ant. xviii. 6, 
the walls, on the north of the city. In St. quoted by Wieseler, p. 393. 

Paul's time it was strictly outside the city. The 5 The writer has known visits paid in the 

inner wall was pulled down by Gonstantine. ' Ripetta (in the Campus Martius) by means of 

3 This is the accurate translation of Acts boats brought to the windows of the first 
xxviii. 16. The Prcefectus Prcetorio was al- story. Dio Cassius makes three distinct refer- 
ready the most important subject of the Em* ences to a similar state of things. 



chap. xxiv. DESCRIPTION OF EOME. 735 

river, and those four ridges (the Ccelian, the Esquiline, the Viminal, and 
the Quirinal) .which ascended and united together in the higher ground 
on which the Praetorian camp was situated. And when fires swept 
rapidly from roof to roof, 1 and vast ranges of buildings were in the ruins 
of one night, that contrast between the dwellings of the poor and the 
palaces of the rich, which has supplied the Apostle with one of his most 
forcible images, would be clearly revealed, — the difference between struc- 
tures of " sumptuous marbles with silver and gold," which abide after 
the fire, and the hovels of " wood, hay, stubble," which are burnt (1 
Cor. iii. 10-15). 

If we look at a map of modern Rome, with a desire of realizing to 
ourselves the appearance of the city of Augustus and Nero, we must in 
the first place obliterate from our view that circuit of walls, which is due, 
in various proportions, to Aurelian, Belisarius, and Pope Leo IV. 2 The 
wall through which the Porta Capena gave admission was the old 
Servian enclosure, which embraced a much smaller area ; though we 
must bear in mind, as we have remarked above, that the city had extend- 
ed itself beyond this limit, and spread through various suburbs, far into 
the country. In the next place, we must observe that the hilly part of 
Rome, which is now half occupied by gardens, was then the most popu- 
lous, while the Campus Martius, now covered with crowded streets, was 
comparatively open. It was only about the close of the Republic that 
many buildings were raised on the Campus Martius, and these were 
chiefly of a public or decorative character. One of these, the Pantheon, 
still remains, as a monument of the reign of Augustus. This, indeed, is 
the period from which we must trace the beginning of all the grandeur 
of Roman buildings. Till the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, the 
private houses of the citizens had been mean, and the only public struc- 
tures of note were the cloacae and the aqueducts. But in proportion as 
the ancient fabric of the constitution broke down, and while successful 
generals brought home wealth from provinces conquered and plundered 
on every shore of the Mediterranean, the city began to assume the ap- 
pearance of a new and imperial magnificence. To leave out of view the 
luxurious and splendid residences which wealthy citizens raised for their 
own uses, 3 Pompey erected the first theatre of stone, 4 and Julius Caesar 

1 Suetonius mentions floods and fires to- word burgh, used by Anglo-Saxon pilgrims) 
gether, Aug. 29, 30. The fire-police of Augus- where St. Peter's and the Vatican are situated, 
tus seems to have been organized with great 3 Till the reign of Augustus, the houses of 
care. The care of the river, as we learn from private citizens had been for the most part 
inscriptions, was committed to a Curator alvei of sun-dried bricks, on a basement of stone. 
Tiberis. The houses of Crassus and Lepidus were 

2 The wall of Leo IV. is that which en- among the earlier exceptions. 

closes the Borgo (said to be so called from the 4 This theatre was one of the principal or- 



736 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxiv. 

surrounded the great Circus with a portico. From this time the change 
went on rapidly and incessantly. The increase of public business led to 
the erection of enormous Basilicas. 1 The Forum was embellished on all 
sides. 2 The Temple of Apollo on the Palatine, and those other temples 
the remains of which are still conspicuous at the base of the Capitoline, 3 
were only a small part of similar buildings raised by Augustus. The 
triumphal arch erected by Tiberius near the same place 4 was only one of 
many structures, which rose in rapid succession to decorate that busy 
neighborhood. And if we wish to take a wider view, we have only to 
think of the aqueducts, which were built, one by one, between the pri- 
vate enterprises of Agrippa in the reign of Augustus, and the recent 
structures of the Emperor Claudius, just before the arrival of the Apostle 
Paul. We may not go farther in the order of chronology. We must 
remember that the Colosseum, the Basilica of Constantine, and the baths 
of other emperors, and many other buildings which are now regarded as 
the conspicuous features of ancient Rome, did not then exist. We are 
describing a period which is anterior to the time of Nero's fire. Even 
after the opportunity which that calamity afforded for reconstructing the 
city, Juvenal complains of the narrowness of the streets. Were we to 
attempt to extend our description to any of these streets, — whether the 
old Vicus Tuscus, with its cheating shopkeepers, which led round the 
base of the Palatine, from the Forum to the Circus, — or the aristocratic 
Carinae along'the slope of the Esquiline, — or the noisy Suburra, in the 
hollow between the Yiminal and Quirinal, which had sunk into disrepute, 
though once the residence of Julius Ca3sar, — we should only wander 
into endless perplexity. And we should be equally lost if we were to 
attempt to discriminate the mixed multitude, which were crowded on 
the various landings of those insulce? or piles of lodging-houses, which 
are, perhaps, best described by comparing them to the houses in the old 
town of Edinburgh. 

If it is difficult to describe the outward appearance of the city, it is 

naments of the Campus Martius. Some parts are popularly called the remains of the Tem- 
of it still remain. pie of Jupiter Stator : perhaps they are part 

1 The Roman Basilica is peculiarly interest- of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. 

ing to us, since it contains the germ of the Chris- 3 The larger ruin, on the lower side of the 

tian cathedral. Originally these Basilicas were Clivus Capitolinus, is believed to he the Tem- 

rather open colonnades than enclosed halls ; pie of Vespasian, and was not huilt till after 

but, before the reign of Nero, they had assumed St. Paul's death. The Temples of Concord 

their ultimate form of a nave with aisles. We and of Saturn were of earlier date, 
shall refer again to them in our account of 4 It was built in commemoration of the re- 

St. Paul's last trial. See p. 778. covery of the standards of Yarns. 

2 Three well-known Corinthian columns, 5 A decree was issued by Augustus, defin- 
of the best period of art under the Emperors, ing the height to which these insula might be 
remain near the base of the Palatine. They raised. 



chap. xxiv. POPULATION OF ROME. 737 

still more difficult to trace the distinctive features of all the parts of that 
colossal population which filled it. Within a circuit of little more than 
twelve miles * more than two millions 2 of inhabitants were crowded. It 
is evident that this fact is only explicable by the narrowness of the streets, 
with that peculiarity of the houses which has been alluded to above. In 
this prodigious collection of human beings, there were of course all the 
contrasts which are seen in a modern city, — all the painful lines of 
separation between luxury and squalor, wealth and want. But in Rome 
all these differences were on an exaggerated scale, and the institution of 
slavery modified further all social relations. The free citizens were more 
than a million : of these, the senators were so few in number as to be 
hardly appreciable : 3 the knights, who filled a great proportion of the 
public offices, were not more than 10,000 : the troops quartered in the 
city may be reckoned at 15,000 : the rest were the Plebs urbana. That 
a vast number of these would be poor is an obvious result of the most 
ordinary causes. But, in ancient Rome, the luxury of the wealthier 
classes did not produce a general diffusion of trade, as it does in a 
modern city. The handicraft employments, and many of what we should 
call professions, 4 were in the hands of slaves ; and the consequence was, 
that a vast proportion of the Plebs urbana lived on public or private 
charity. Yet were these pauper citizens proud of their citizenship, 
though many of them had no better sleeping-place for the night than the 
public porticoes or the vestibules of temples. They cared for nothing 
beyond bread for the day, the games of the Circus, 5 and the savage 
delight of gladiatorial shows. Manufactures and trade they regarded as 
the business of the slave and the foreigner. The number of the slaves 
was perhaps about a million. The number of the strangers or peregrini 
was much smaller ; but it is impossible to describe their varieties. Every 
kind of nationality and religion found its representative in Rome. But 
it is needless to pursue these details. The most obvious comparison is 
better than an elaborate description. Rome was like London with all its 
miseries, vices, and follies exaggerated, and without Christianity. 

One part of Rome still remains to be described, the " Trastevere " or 
district beyond the river. 6 This portion of the city has been known in 

1 This is of course a much wider circuit 3 Before Augustus there were 1,000 sena- 
than that of the Servian wall. The present tors ; he reduced them to about 700. 

wall, as we hare said above, did not then exist. 4 Some were physicians, others were en- 

2 See Milman's note on Gibbon's thirty-first gaged in education, &c. * 
chapter. The estimate of 2,000,000 agrees 5 " Panem et Circenses ; " such is tbe Sati- 
with that of the writer of the article " Rome " rist's account of the only, two things for which 
in Smith's Diet, of Geog. vol. ii. p. 748. Mr. the Roman populace was really anxious. 
Merivale thinks it far too high. Hist, of Rom. 6 Whether the wall of Servius included any 
under Emp. vol. iv. pp. 515-528. portion of the opposite side of the river, or not 

47 



^^^^^™ 



738 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxir, 

modern times for the energetic and intractable character of its popula- 
tion. In earlier times it was equally notorious, though not quite for the 
same reason. It was the residence of a low rabble, and the place of the 
meanest merchandise. 1 There is, however, one reason why our attention 
is particularly called to it. It was the ordinary residence of the Jews, 
the " Ghetto " of ancient Rome : 2 and great part of it was doubtless 
squalid and miserable, like the Ghetto of modern Rome, 3 though the 
Jews were often less oppressed under the Caesars than under the Popes. 
Here, then, on the level ground, between the windings of the muddy 
river, and the base of that hill 4 from the brow of which Porsena looked 
down on early Rome, and where the French within these few years have 
planted their cannon — we must place the home of those Israelitish 
families among whom the Gospel bore its first-fruits in the metropolis of 
the world : and it was on these bridges 5 — which formed an immediate 
communication from the district beyond the Tiber to the Emperor's 
household and the guards on the Palatine — that those despised Jewish 
beggars took their stand, to whom in the place of their exile had come 
the hopes of a better citizenship than that which they had lost. 

The Jewish community thus established in Rome had its first begin- 
nings in the captives brought by Pompey after his Eastern campaign. 6 
Many of them were manumitted ; and thus a great proportion of the 
Jews in Rome were freedmen. 7 Frequent accessions to their numbers 
were made as years went on — chiefly from the mercantile relations 
which subsisted between Rome and the East. Many of them were 
wealthy, and large sums were sent annually for religious purposes from 
Italy to the mother-country. 8 Even the proselytes contributed to these 
sacred funds. 9 It is difficult to estimate the amount of the religious in- 
fluence exerted by the Roman Jews upon the various Heathens around 
them ; but all our sources of information lead us to conclude that it was 
very considerable. 10 So long as this influence was purely religious, we 

(a question which is disputed among thetopog- 5 Mart. x. 5. See Juv. iv. 116; v. 8; xiv. 

raphers of the Italian and German schools), 134. 

a suburb existed there under the imperial 6 See p. 1 7. The first introduction of the 

regime. Jews to Rome was probably the embassy of 

1 Juv. xiv. 202 ; Mart. i. 42, 109 ; vi. 93. the Maccabees. 

2 We learn this from Philo. 7 This we have on the authority of Philo. 

8 The modern Ghetto is in the filthy quar- 8 Here again Cicero confirms what we learn 

ter between the Capitoline Hill and the old from Philo. 

' Fabrician Bridge, which leads to the island, and 9 Tac. Hist. v. 6. 

thence to the Trastevere. It is surrounded by 10 The very passages (and they are numer- 

walls, and the gates are closed every night by ous) which express hatred of the Jews imply 

the police. The number of Jews is about a sense of their influence. Again, many Jews 

8,000, in a total population of 150,000. were Roman citizens, like Josephus and St. 

4 The Janiculum. Paul : and there were numerous proselytes at 



chap. xxiv. THE ROMAN CHURCH. 739 

have no reason to suppose that any persecution from the civil power 
resulted. It, was when commotions took place in consequence of expecta- 
tions of a temporal Messiah, or when vague suspicions of this mysterious 
people were more than usually excited, that the Jews of Rome were 
cruelly treated, or peremptorily banished. Yet from all these cruel- 
ties they recovered with elastic force, and from all these exiles they 
returned ; and in the early years of Nero, which were distinguished for 
a mild and lenient government of the Empire, 1 the Jews in Rome seem 
to have enjoyed complete toleration, and to have been a numerous, 
wealthy, and influential community. 

The Christians doubtless shared the protection which was extended to 
the Jews. They were hardly yet sufficiently distinguished as a self- 
existent community to provoke any independent hostility. It is even 
possible that the Christians, so far as they were known as separate, were 
more tolerated than the Jews ; for, not having the same expectation of 
an earthly hero to deliver them, they had no political ends in view, and 
would not be in the same danger of exciting the suspicion of the govern- 
ment. Yet we should fall into a serious error if we were to suppose 
that all the Christians in Rome, or the majority of them, had formerly 
been Jews or Proselytes ; though this was doubtless true of its earliest 
members, who may have been of the number that were dispersed after 
the first Pentecost, or, possibly, disciples of our Lord Himself. It is 
impossible to arrive at any certain conclusion concerning the first origin 
and early growth of the Church in Rome ; 2 though, from the manifold 
links between the city and the provinces, it is easy to account for the 
formation of a large and flourishing community. Its history before the 
year 61 might be divided into three periods, separated from each other 
by the banishment of the Jews from Rome in the reign of Claudius, 3 
and the writing of St. Paul's letter from Corinth. 4 Even in the first of 
these periods there might be points of connection between the Roman 
Church and St. Paul ; for some of those whom he salutes (Rom. xvi. 
7, 11) as " kinsmen " are also said to have been " Christians before him." 
In the second period it cannot well be doubted that a very close connec- 
tion began between St. Paul and some of the conspicuous members and 
principal teachers of the Roman Church. The expulsion of the Jews in 

Rome, especially among the women (see, for first quinquennium — had not yet expired. The 

instance, Joseph. Ant. xviii. 3, 5). As in the full toleration of the Jews in Rome is implied 

case of Greece, the conquest of Judaea brought in the narration of St. Paul's meeting with the 

Rome under the influence of her captive. elders, as well as in a passage which might be 

Hence Seneca's remark, in reference to the quoted from the satirist Persius 

Jews : " The conquered gave laws to their 2 See above, pp. 5 13, 544. 

conquerors." 8 P. 335. 

1 The good period of Nero's reign — the * P. 542. 



740 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAC7L. chap.xxtt, 

consequence of the edict of Claudius brought them in large numbers to 
the chief towns of the Levant ; and there St. Paul met them in the 
synagogues. We have seen what results followed from his meeting with 
Aquila and Priscilla at Corinth. They returned to Rome with all the 
stores of spiritual instruction which he had given them ; and in the 
Epistle to the Romans we find him, as is natural, saluting them thus : — 
" Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus : who have for 
my sake laid down their own necks : unto whom not only I give thanks, 
but also all the Churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the Church 
that is in their house." All this reveals to us a great amount of devoted 
exertion on behalf of one large congregation in Rome ; and all of it dis- 
tinctly connected with St. Paul. And this is perhaps only a specimen 
of other cases of the like kind. Thus he sends a greeting to Epaenetus, 
whom he names " the first-fruits of Asia" * (ver. 5), and who may have 
had the same close relation to him during his long ministration at 
Ephesus (Acts xix.) which Aquila and Priscilla had at Corinth. Nor 
must we forget those women whom he singles out for special mention, 
— " Mary, who bestowed much labor on him" (ver. 6) ; "the beloved 
Persis, who labored much in the Lord " (ver. 12) ; with Tryphama and 
Tryphosa, and the unknown mother of Rufus (ver. 13). We cannot 
doubt, that, though the Church of Rome may have received its growth 
and instruction through various channels, many of them were connected, 
directly or indirectly, with St. Paul ; and accordingly he writes, in the 
whole of the letter, as one already in intimate relation with a Church 
which he has never seen. And whatever bonds subsisted between this 
Apostle and the Roman Christians must have been drawn still closer 
when the letter had been received ; for from that time they were looking 
forward to a personal visit from him, in his projected journey to the 
West. Thenceforward they must have taken the deepest interest in all 
his movements, and received with eager anxiety the news of his impris- 
onment at Csesarea, and waited (as we have already seen) for his arrival 
in Italy. It is indeed but too true that there were parties among the 
Christians in Rome, and that some had a hostile feeling against St. Paul 
himself ; 2 yet it is probable that the animosity'of the Judaizers was less 
developed than it was in those regions which he had personally visited, 
and to which they had actually followed him. As to the unconverted 
Jews, the name of St. Paul was doubtless known to them ; yet were 
they comparatively little interested in his movements. Their proud con- 
tempt of the Christian heresy would make them indifferent. The leaven 
of the Gospel was working around them to an extent of which they were 
hardly aware. The very magnitude of the population of Rome had a 

1 For the reading here, see p. 581, n. a 2 See Phil. i. 15. 



chap. xxiv. THE ROMAN CHURCH, 741 

tendency to neutralize the currents of party feeling. For these reasons, 
the hostility of the Jews was probably less violent than in any other part 
of the Empire. 

Yet St. Paul could not possibly be aware of the exact extent of their 
enmity against himself. Independently, therefore, of his general prin- 
ciple of preaching, first to the Jew, and then to the Gentile, he had an 
additional reason for losing no time in addressing himself to his country- 
men. Thus, after the mention of St. Paul's being delivered up to Burrus, 
and allowed by him to be separate from the other prisoners, 1 the next 
scene to which the sacred historian introduces us is among the Jews. 
After three days 2 he sent for the principal men among them to his 
lodging, 3 and endeavored to conciliate their feelings towards himself and 
the Gospel. 

It is highly probable that the prejudices of these Roman Jews were 
already roused against the Apostle of the Gentiles ; or if they had not 
yet conceived an unfavorable opinion of him, there was a danger that 
they would now look upon him as a traitor to his country, from the mere 
fact that he had appealed to the Roman power. He might even have 
been represented to them in the odious light of one who had come to Rome 
as an accuser of the Sanhedrin before the Emperor. St. Paul, therefore, 
addressed his auditors on this point at once, and showed that his enemies 
were guilty of this very appeal to the foreign power, of which he had 
himself been suspected. He had committed no offence against the holy 
nation, or the customs of their fathers ; yet his enemies at Jerusalem 
had delivered him — one of their brethren — of the seed of Abraham — 
of the tribe of Benjamin — a Hebrew of the Hebrews — into the hands 
of the Romans. So unfounded was the accusation, that even the Roman 
governor had been ready to liberate the prisoner ; but his Jewish enemies 
opposed his liberation. They strove to keep a child of Israel in Roman 
chains. So that he was compelled, as his only hope of safety, to appeal 
unto Caesar. He brought no accusation against his countrymen before 
the tribunal of the stranger : that was the deed of his antagonists. In 
fact, his only crime had been his firm faith in God's deliverance of his 

1 "By himself," v. 16 ; an indulgence prob- manent residence; and the mention of the 
ably due to the influence of Julius. money he received from the Philippians (Phil. 

2 V. 17. This need not mean three com- iv.) serves to show that he would not need the 
plete days. means of hiring a lodging. The former 

3 " Paul called the chief of the Jews to- phrase implies the temporary residence of a 
gether," v. 17. "With regard to the " lodging," guest with friends, as in Philemon 22. Noth- 
v. 23, we are convinced, with Wieseler, that it ing is more likely than that Aquila and Pris- 
is to be distinguished from " his own hired cilia were his hosts at Rome, as formerly at 
house," v. 30, mentioned below. The latter Corinth. 

was a hired lodging, which he took for his per- 



742 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxrr. 



people through the Messiah promised by the Prophets. "For the hope of 
Israel" he concluded, "lam bound with this chain." 1 

Their answer to this address was re-assuring. They said that they had 
received no written communication from Judaea concerning St. Paul, and 
that none of " the brethren " who had arrived from the East had spoken 
any evil of him. They further expressed a wish to hear from himself a 
statement of his religious sentiments, adding that the Christian sect was 
everywhere spoken against. 2 There was perhaps something hardly 
honest in this answer ; for it seems to imply a greater ignorance with 
regard to Christianity than we can suppose to have prevailed among the 
Roman Jews. But with regard to Paul himself, it might well be true 
that they had little information concerning him. Though he had been 
imprisoned long at Caesarea, his appeal had been made only a short time 
before winter. After that time (to use the popular expression), the sea 
was shut ; and the winter had been a stormy one ; so that it was natural 
enough that his case should be first made known to the Jews by himself. 
All these circumstances gave a favorable opening for the preaching of 
the Gospel, and Paul hastened to take advantage of it. A day was 
fixed for a meeting at his own private lodging. 3 

They came in great numbers 4 at the appointed time. Then followed 
an impressive scene, like that at Troas (Acts xxi.), — the Apostle plead- 
ing long and earnestly, — bearing testimony concerning the kingdom of 
God,- — and endeavoring to persuade them by arguments drawn from 
their own Scriptures, — " from morning till evening." 5 The result was 
a division among the auditors, 6 — " not peace, but a sword," — the divis- 
on which has resulted ever since when the truth of God has encoun- 
tered, side by side, earnest conviction with worldly indifference, honest 
investigation with bigoted prejudice, trustful faith with the pride of 
scepticism. After a long and stormy discussion, the unbelieving portion 
departed ; but not until St. Paul had warned them, in one last address, 
that they were bringing upon themselves that awful doom of judicial 
blindness, which was denounced in their own Scriptures against obstinate 
unbelievers ; that the salvation which they rejected would be withdrawn 
from them, and the inheritance they renounced would be given to the 
Gentiles. 7 The sentence with which he gave emphasis to this warning 
was that passage in Isaiah, which is more often quoted in the New 
Testament than any other words from the Old, 8 — which, recurring thus 
with solemn force at the very close of the Apostolic history, seems to 
bring very strikingly together the Old Dispensation and the New, and to 

1 Ver. 17-20. 2 Ver. 21, 22. 6 "Some believed the things which were 

8 " When they had appointed him a day." spoken, and some believed not. And when 

4 " Then came many." they agreed not among themselves," &c. 
6 Ver. 23. 7 Ver. 28. 8 Ver. 24-28. 



CttAP, XXIV. 



COIN OF NERO. 



743 



connect the ministry of our Lord with that of his Apostles : — " <$cr mU 
tto ptopU mxxl »j, ^mxxtxx} %t $Ml txmx »wd jtott not \m&tx$tm& t mxtX mxxx% 
%t $n%\\ $tt »M Mil not nmtm : iox tnt nmxt of tW ntoyXt %$ mxtft %xo$% 
mil tlxtxx mx$ m Ml oi Umxn$ t mil tMx t$t# to* tntx} tio$u\ ; U$t t\xt% 
$UoxxU m with tlxtxx **)*& mxX Ixtm xfxtn tMv m&, mil nxx&cx$tM& with tlxtxx 
tart, antf $uoM to wnvtxUft, mil f $hoxx\tl tat thtnx." l 

A formal separation was now made between the Apostle of the Gentiles 
and the Jews of Rome. They withdrew to dispute concerning the 
"sect" which was making such inroads on their prejudices (ver. 29). 
He remained in his own hired house 2 — where the indulgence of Burrus 
permitted him to reside, instead of confining him within the walls of the 
Praetorian barrack. We must not forget, however, that he was still a 
prisoner under military custody, — chained by the arm, 3 both day and 
night, to one of the imperial body-guard, — and thus subjected to the 
rudeness and caprice of an insolent soldiery. This severity, however, 
was indispensable, according to the Roman law ; and he received every 
indulgence which it was in the power of the Prefect to grant. He was 
allowed to receive all who came to him (ver. 30), and was permitted, 
without hinderance, to preach boldly the kingdom of God, and teach the 
things of the Lord Jesus Christ (ver. 31). 

Thus was fulfilled his long-cherished desire " to proclaim the Gospel 
to them that were in Rome also " (Rom. i. 15). Thus ends the Apos- 
tolic History, so far as it has been directly revealed. Here the thread of 
sacred narrative, which we have followed so long, is suddenly broken. 
Our knowledge of the incidents of his residence in Rome, and of his 
subsequent history, must be gathered almost exclusively from the letters 
of the Apostle himself. 




Coin of Nero (with the Harbor of Ostia).* 



1 Isa. vi. 9, 10 (LXX.). Quoted also by 
our Lord (Matt. xiii. 15), and referred to by 
St. John (John xii. 40). 2 See above. 

8 " With the soldier that kept him," Acts 
xxviii. 16. See above, pp. 665, 666, and com- 
pare Eph. vi. 20 (" an ambassador in bonds "), 
Col. iv*. 18, Phil. i. 13. Possibly two soldiers 
guarded him by night according to the sen- 



tence of the Roman law — "nox custodiara 
geminat," — quoted by Wieseler. 

4 From the British Museum. This is ono 
of the large brass coins of Nero's reign, which 
exhibit admirable portraits of the emperor. 
We notice here that peculiar ri» of ancient 
ships which was mentioned above, pp. 679 
and 721. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Delay of St. Paul's Trial. — His Occupations and Companions during his Imprisonment. — He 
writes the Epistle to Philemon, the Epistle to the Colossians, and the Epistle to the Ephesians (so 
called). 

AVTE have seen that St. Paul's accusers had not yet arrived from 
* * Palestine, and that their coming was not even expected by the 
Roman Jews. This proves that they had not left Syria before the pre- 
ceding winter, and consequently that they could not have set out on 
their journey till the following spring, when the navigation of the Medi- 
terranean was again open. Thus they would not reach Rome till the 
summer or autumn of the year 61 a.d. 1 Meanwhile, the progress of the 
trial was necessarily suspended, for the Roman courts required 2 the per- 
sonal presence of the prosecutor. It would seem that, at this time, 3 an 
accused person might be thus kept in prison for an indefinite period, 
merely by the delay of the prosecutor to proceed with his accusation ; 
nor need this surprise us, if we consider how harshly the law has dealt 
with supposed offenders, and with what indifference it has treated the 
rights of the accused, even in periods whose civilization was not only 
more advanced than that of the Roman Empire, but also imbued with the 
merciful spirit of Christianity. And even when the prosecutors were 
present, and no ground alleged'for the delay of the trial, a corrupt judge 
might postpone it, as Felix did, for months and years, to gratify the ene- 

1 About this period (as we learn from Jose- was not the State (as with us the Crown), but 
phus) there Avere two embassies sent from Jeru- any private individual who chose to bring an 
salem to Rome ; viz., that which was charged accusation. 

to conduct the impeachment of Felix, and that s At a later period, the suspension on the 
which was sent to intercede with Nero on the part of the prosecutor of the proceedings dur- 
subject of Agrippa's palace, which overlooked ing a year was made equivalent to an aban- 
the Temple. The former seems to have ar- donment of it, and amounted to an abolitio of 
rived in Rome in a. d. 60, the latter in a. d. the process. In the time of Nero, the prosecu- 
61. (See note on the Chronological Table in tors on a public charge were liable to punish- 
Appendix III.) It is not impossible that the ment if they abandoned it from corrupt mo- 
latter embassy, in which was included Ishmael tives, by the Senatus Consultum Turpilianum. 
the high priest, may have been intrusted with See Tacitus, Ann. xiv. 41 . This law was 
the prosecution of St. Paul, in addition to their passed a. d. 61, and was afterwards interpreted 
other business. by the jurisconsults as forbidding an accuser to 

2 It should be observed that the prosecutor withdraw his accusation, 
on a criminal charge, under the Roman law, 

744 



ckap.xxv. DELAY OF ST. PAUL'S TEIAL. 745 

mies of the prisoner. And if a provincial Governor, though responsible 
for such abuse of power to his master, might venture to act in this arbi- 
trary manner, much more might the Emperor himself, who was respon- 
sible to no man. Thus we find that Tiberius was in the habit of delaying 
the hearing of causes, and retaining the accused in prison unheard, merely 
out of procrastination. 1 So that, even after St. Paul's prosecutors had 
arrived, and though we were to suppose them anxious for the progress 
of the trial, it might still have been long delayed by the Emperor's 
caprice. But there is no reason to think that, when they came, they 
would have wished to press on the cause. From what had already 
occurred, they had every reason to expect the failure of the prosecution. 
In fact it had already broken down at its first stage, and Festus had 
strongly pronounced his opinion of the innocence 2 of the accused. Their 
hope of success at Rome must have been grounded either on influencing 
the Emperor's judgment by private intrigue, or on producing further 
evidence in support of their accusation. For both these objects, delay 
would be necessary. Moreover, it was quite in accordance with the regular 
course of Roman jurisprudence, that the Court should grant along suspen- 
sion of the cause, on the petition of the prosecutor, that he might be al- 
lowed time to procure the attendance of witnesses 3 from a distance. The 
length of time thus granted would depend upon the remoteness of the 
place where the alleged crimes had been committed. We read of an 
interval of twelve months permitted during Nero's reign, in the case 
of an accusation against Suilius, 4 for misdemeanors committed during 
his government of Proconsular Asia. The accusers of St. Paul might 
fairly demand a longer suspension ; for they accused him of offences 
committed not only in Palestine (which was far more remote than 
Proconsular Asia from Rome), but also over the whole 5 Empire. Their 
witnesses must be summoned from Judasa, from Syria, from Cilicia, from 
Pisidia, from Macedonia. In all cities, from Damascus to Corinth, in all 
countries, " from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum," must testimony 
be sought to prove the seditious turbulence of the ringleader of the 
Nazarenes. The interval granted them for such a purpose could not be 
less than a year, and might well be more. 6 Supposing it to be the 

1 Joseph. Ant, xviii. 6, 5. 6 Another cause of delay, even if the prose- 

2 Acts xxv. 25, and xxvi. 32. cutors did not make the demand for suspension, 

3 A good instance is given in Tacitus, Ann. would have been the loss of the official notice 
xiii. 52. This was in a case where the accused of the case forwarded by Festus. No appeal 
had been proconsul in Africa. We may observe (as we have before observed) could be tried 
that the attendance of the witnesses for the without a rescript (called Apostoli or literee 
prosecution could be legally enforced. dimissorim) from the inferior to the superior 

4 Tac. Ann. xiii. 43. judge, stating full particulars of the case. 

5 " A mover of sedition among the Jews Such documents might well have been lost in 
throughout the world," Acts xxtv. 5. the wreck at Malta. 



746 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxv. 

shortest possible, and assuming that the prosecutors reached Rome in 
August a.d. 61, the first stage of the trial would be appointed to commence 
not before August a.d. 62. And when this period arrived, the prosecu- 
tors and the accused, with their witnesses, must have been heard on each 
of the charges separately (according to Nero's regulations), 1 and sentence 
pronounced on the first charge before the second was entered into. Now, 
the charges against St. Paul were divided (as we have seen) into three 2 
separate heads of accusation. Consequently the proceedings, which 
would of course be adjourned from time to time to suit the Emperor's 
convenience, may well have lasted till the beginning of 63, at which 
time St. Luke's narrative would lead us to fix their termination. 3 

During the long delay of his trial, St. Paul was not reduced, as he had 
been at Caesarea, to a forced inactivity. On the contrary, he was per- 
mitted the freest intercourse with his friends, and was allowed to reside 
in a house of sufficient size to accommodate the congregation which 
flocked together to listen to his teaching. The freest scope was given to 
his labors, consistent with the military custody under which he was 
placed. We are told, in language peculiarly emphatic, that this preach- 
ing was subjected to no restraint whatever. 4 And that which seemed at 
first to impede must really have deepened the impression of his eloquence ; 
for who could see without emotion that venerable form subjected by iron 
links to the coarse control of the soldier who stood beside him ? How 
often must the tears of the assembly have been called forth by the uprais- 
ing of that fettered hand, and the clanking of the chain which checked 
its energetic action ! 

We shall see hereafter that these labors of the imprisoned Confessor 
were not fruitless ; in his own words he begot many children in his 
chains. 5 Meanwhile, he had a wider sphere of action than even the 
metropolis of the world. Not only " the crowd which pressed upon him 
daily," 6 but also " the care of all the churches," demanded his constant 
vigilance and exertion. Though himself tied down to a single spot, he 
kept up a constant intercourse, by his delegates, with his converts 
throughout the Empire ; and not only with his own converts, but with the 
other Gentile Churches, who, as yet, had not seen his face in the flesh. 
To enable him to maintain this superintendence, he manifestly needed 
many faithful messengers ; men who (as he says of one of them) ren- 

1 It was Nero's practice, as Suetonius tells only lasted five days. It has already been re- 
us (Nero, 15), " to take the heads of accusa- futed by Neander and Wieseler. 

tion singly." 4 Acts xxviii. 31 : " teaching . . . with all 

2 See above, p. 660. confidence, no man forbidding him." 

3 We need not notice the hypothesis of 5 Philem. 10. 
Bottger, that St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome 6 2 Cor. xi. 28. 



chap. xxv. HIS COMPANIONS DURING IMPRISONMENT. 747 

dered him profitable service ; l and by some of whom he seems to have 
been constantly accompanied, wheresoever he went. 2 Accordingly, we 
find him, during this Roman imprisonment, surrounded by many of 
his oldest and most valued attendants. Luke, 3 his fellow-traveller, 
remained with him during his bondage ; Timotheus, 4 his beloved son in 
the faith, ministered to him at Rome, as he had done in Asia, in Macedo- 
nia, and in Achaia. Tychicus, 5 who had formerly borne him company 
from Corinth to Ephesus, is now at hand to carry his letters to the shores 
which they had visited together. But there are two names amongst his 
Roman companions which excite a peculiar interest, though from oppo- 
site reasons, — the names of Demas and of Mark. The latter, when last 
we heard of him, was the unhappy cause of the separation of Barnabas 
and Paul. He was rejected by Paul as unworthy to attend him, because 
he had previously abandoned the work of the Gospel out of timidity or 
indolence. 6 It is delightful to find him now ministering obediently to 
the very Apostle who had then repudiated his services ; still more, to 
know that he persevered in this fidelity even to the end, 7 and was sent 
for by St. Paul to cheer his dying hours. Demas, on the other hand, is 
now a faithful " fellow-laborer" 8 of the Apostle ; but in a few years we 
shall find that he had " forsaken " him, "having loved this present 
world." Perhaps we may be allowed to hope, that, as the fault of Demas 
was the same with that of Mark, so the repentance of Mark may have 
been paralleled by that of Demas. 

Amongst the rest of St. Paul's companions at this time, there were two 
whom he distinguishes by the honorable title of his " fellow-prisoners." 
One of these is Aristarchus, 9 the other Epaphras. 10 With regard to the 
former, we know that he was a Macedonian of Thessalonica, one of 
" Paul's companions in travel," whose life was endangered by the mob at 
Ephesus, and who embarked with St. Paul at Caesarea when he set sail 
for Rome. The other, Epaphras, was a Colossian, who must not be iden- 
tified with the Philippian Epaphroditus, another of St. Paul's fellow- 
laborers during this time. It is not easy to say what was the exact sense 
in which these two disciples were peculiarly fellow-prisoners n of St. Paul. 

1 2 Tim. iv. 11. 6 Pp. 145 and 216. 

2 Comp. Acts xix. 22 : " two of them that 7 2 Tim. iv. 11 : "Take Mark, and bring 
ministered to him." him with thee ; for his services are profitable 

3 Col. iv. 14; Philem. 24. Luke seems, to me." 

however, to have been absent from Rome when 8 Philem. 24 ; cf. Col. iv. 14. 

the Epistle to the Philippians was written. 9 Col. iv. 10; cf. Acts xix. 29, and Acts 

4 Philem. 1 ; Col. i. 1 ; Philip, i. 1. xxvii. 2, and Philem. 24. 

6 Col. iv. 7 ; Eph. vi. 21 ; cf. Acts xx. 4, i° Col. i. 7 ; Philem. 23. 

and Tit. iii. 12. [St. Paul himself was not n The same expression s used of Androni- 

actually at Ephesus. It is very possible that cus and Junias (Rom. xvi. 7) but of no others 

Tychicus went thither from Miletus. See Acts except these four. 
xx. 16, 38. — H.J 



748 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxv. 

Perhaps it only implies that they dwelt in his house, which was also his 
prison. 

But of all the disciples now ministering to St. Paul at Rome, none has 
for us a greater interest than the fugitive Asiatic slave Onesimus. He 
belonged to a Christian named Philemon, a member of the Colossian l 
Church. But he had robbed 2 his master, and fled from Colossae, and at 
last found his way to Rome. It is difficult to imagine any portion of 
mankind more utterly depraved than the associates among whom a run- 
away pagan slave must have found himself in the capital. Profligate 
and unprincipled as we know even the highest and most educated society 
to have then been, what must have been its dregs and offal ? Yet from 
this lowest depth Onesimus was dragged forth by the hand of Christian 
love. Perhaps some Asiatic Christian, who had seen him formerly at his 
master's house, recognized him in the streets of Rome destitute and starv- 
ing, and had compassion on him ; and thus he might have been brought 
to hear the preaching of the illustrious prisoner. Or it is not impossible 
that he may have already known St. Paul at Ephesus, where his master 
Philemon had formerly been himself converted 3 by the Apostle. How- 
ever this may be, it is certain that Onesimus was led by the providence 
of God to listen to that preaching now which he had formerly despised. 
He was converted to the faith of Christ, and therefore to the morality 
of Christ. He confessed to St. Paul his sins against his master. The 
Apostle seems to have been peculiarly attracted by the character of 
Onesimus ; and he perceived in him the indications of gifts which fitted 
him for a more important post than any which he could hold as the slave 
of Philemon. He wished 4 to keep him at Rome, and employ him in the 
service of the Gospel. Yet he would not transgress the law, nor violate 
the rights of Philemon, by acting in this matter without his consent. He 
therefore decided that Onesimus must immediately return to his master ; 
and, to make this duty less painful, he undertook himself to discharge 
the sum of which Philemon had been defrauded. An opportunity now 
offered itself for Onesimus to return in good company ; for St. Paul was 
sending Tychicus to Asia Minor, charged, amongst other commissions, 
with an epistle to Colossas, the home of Philemon. Under his care, 
therefore, he placed the penitent slave, who was now willing to surrender 
himself to his offended master. Nevertheless, he did not give up the 
hope of placing his new convert in a position wherein he might minister 
no longer to a private individual, but to the Church at large. He inti- 
mated his wishes on the subject to Philemon himself, with characteristic 

1 For the proof of this, see Paley's Horce 8 Philem. 10 appears to state this. (See 
Paulinos on Philemon (10-12). p. 413.) 

2 Philem. 18. * Philem. 13. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO PHILEMON". 749 

delicacy, in a letter which he charged Onesimus to deliver on his arrival 
at Colossae. This letter is not only a beautiful illustration of the charac- 
ter of St. Paul, but also a practical commentary upon the precepts con- 
cerning the mutual relations of slaves l and masters given in his contem- 
porary Epistles. We see here one of the earliest examples of the mode 
in which Christianity operated upon these relations ; not by any violent 
disruption of the organization of society, such as could only have pro- 
duced another Servile War, but by gradually leavening and inter-penetrat- 
ing society with the spirit of a religion which recognized the equality of 
all men in the sight of God. The letter was as follows : — 



THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON. 2 

Salutation. PAUL, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the bro- 1 

ther, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow-laborer, and to 2 
Appia 3 our beloved sister, 4 and to Archippus 5 our fellow-soldier, 
and to the church at thy . house. 

Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father and our Lord Jesus 3 
Christ, 

ings'Sd^" I tnan k m y &o&, making mention of thee always in my 4 

Phii y emon? r prayers, because I hear of thy love and faith towards the Lord 5 

Jesus, and towards all the saints ; praying 6 that thy faith may communi- 6 

1 See Col. iii. 22, and Eph. vi. 5. St. Paul's 23, 24 compared with Col. iv. 12-14), prove 
attention seems to have been especially drawn that it was sent to Asia Minor, together with 
to this subject at the present time ; and he the Epistle to the Colossians, the date of which 
might well feel the need there was for a fun- is discussed in a note on the beginning of that 
damental change in this part of the social sys- epistle. 

tem of antiquity, such as the spirit of Christ 3 We are told by Chrysostom that she was 

alone could give. In the very year of his the wife of Philemon, which seems probable 

arrival at Rome, a most frightful example was from the juxtaposition of their names, 
given of the atrocity of the laws which regu- 4 " Sister " is added in many of the best 

lated the relations of slave to master. The MSS. 

prefect of the city (Pedanius Secundus) was 5 Archippus was apparently a presbyter 
killed by one of his slaves ; and in accordance of the church at Colossse, or perhaps an evan- 
with the ancient law, the whole body of slaves gelist resident there on a special mission (com- 
belonging to Pedanius at Rome, amounfing to pare Col. iv. 17) ; from the present passage, he 
a vast multitude, and including many women seems to have lived in the house of Philemon, 
and children, were executed together, although 6 " That " is to be joined with verse 4, as 
confessedly innocent of all participation in the stating the object of the prayer there men- 
crime. Tac. Ann. xiv. 42-45. tioned, while verse 5 gives the subject of the 

2 With respect to the date of this epistle, thanksgiving. This is Chrysostom's view, 
the fact that it was conveyed by Onesimus against which Meyer's objections appear irjcon- 
(compare Col. iv. 9), and the persons men- elusive. The literal English of verse 6 is as 
tioned as with St. Paul at the time (Philem. v follows, that the communicat ion of thy faith may 



750 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxv. 

cate itself to others, and may become workful, in causing true knowledge 

7 of all the good which is in us, for Christ's service. For I have great joy 
and consolation in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been 
comforted, by thee, brother. 

8 Wherefore, although in the authority of Christ I might bold- ^Xvorlble 

9 ly enjoin upon thee that which is befitting, yet for love's sake oneffiw. 

I rather beseech thee as Paul the aged, and now also prisoner of Jesus 

10 Christ. I beseech thee for my son, whom I have begotten in my chains, 

11 Onesimus ; who formerly was to thee unprofitable, 1 but now is profitable 

12 both to thee and me. Whom I have sent back to thee ; 2 but do thou 

13 receive him as my own 3 flesh and blood. For I would gladly 4 retain him 
with myself, that he might render service to me in thy stead, while I am 

14 a prisoner for declaring the Glad-tidings ; but I am unwilling to do any 
thing without thy decision, that thy kindness may not be constrained, but 

15 voluntary. For perhaps to this very efhd he was parted from thee, for a 

16 time, that thou mightest possess him forever ; no longer as a bondsman, 
but above a bondsman, a brother beloved ; very dear to me, but how 

17 much more to thee, being thine both in the flesh and in the Lord ! If, 

18 then, thou count me in fellowship with thee, receive him as myself. But 

19 whatsoever he has wronged thee of, or owes thee, reckon it to my account 

20 (I, Paul, write 5 this with my own hand) ; I will repay it; for I would 
not say to thee that thou owest me even thine own self besides. Yea, 
brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord ; comfort my heart in 
Christ. 6 

21 I write to thee with full confidence in thy obedience, know- Announce- 

ment of a visit 

22 ing that thou wilt do even more than I say. But, moreover, fromPa ^to 

become workful, in true knowledge of all good The omission of *he imperative makes no dif- 

which is in us, for Christ. The latter words are ference in the sense ; bat it is characteristic of 

very obscure, but the rendering adopted in the St. Paul's abrupt and rapid dictation. [If, 

text appears to make the best sense. The best with the best MSS., we omit the imperative, we 

MSS. are divided between Christ and Christ find it in v. 17 : and the intermediate matter is 

Jesus ; but agree in reading " in us," not " in practically parenthetic. — h.J 

you." 8 Children were called the cirXayxva of their 

1 Most modern commentators suppose a parents. 

play on the name Onesimus, which means use- 4 The imperfect here, and aorist in the pre- 

ful ; but there seems scarcely sufficient ground ceding and following verse, are used, accord- 

for this, and it was never remarked by the ing to classical idiom, from the position of the 

ancient Greek commentators, whose judgment reader of the letter. 

on such a point would be entitled to most def- 5 See the preceding note. 

erence. 6 " Christ " is the reading of the best MSS. 

2 Many of the best MSS. add " to thee." 



CHAP. XXV. 



ST. PAUL WRITES TO THE COLOSSIANS. 



'51 



Asia Minor on prepare to receive me as thy guest ; for I trust that through 

his acquittal. 

your * prayers I shall be given to you. 



Salutations 
from Rome. 



laborers. 

Concluding 
benediction. 



There salute thee Epaphras my fellow-prisoner 2 in Christ 23 
Jesus, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow- 24 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits. 3 25 



While Onesimus, on the arrival of the two companions at Colossa3, 4 
hurried to the house of his master with the letter which we have just 
read, Tychicus proceeded to discharge his commission likewise by deliver- 
ing to the Presbyters the Epistle with which he was charged, that it 
might be read to the whole Colossian Church at their next meeting. The 
letter to the Colossians itself gives us distinct information as to the cause 
which induced St. Paul to write it. Epaphras, the probable founder of 
that Church (Col. i. 7), was now at Rome, and he had communicated 
to the Apostle the unwelcome tidings, that the faith of the Colossians 
was in danger of being perverted by false teaching. It has been ques- 
tioned whether several different systems of error had been introduced 
among them, or whether the several errors combated in the Epistle were 
parts of one system, and taught by the same teachers. On the one side 
we find that, in the Epistle, St. Paul warns the Colossians separately 
against the following different errors: — First, A combination of angel- 
worship and asceticism ; Secondly, A self-styled philosophy or gnosis 
which depreciated Christ ; Thirdly, A rigid observance of Jewish festivals 
and Sabbaths. On the other side, First, the Epistle seems distinctly 



1 Observe the change from singular to plural 
here, and in verse 25. 

2 " Fellow-soldier," as we have before re- 
marked, perhaps means only that Epaphras had 
voluntarily shared Paul's imprisonment at 
Rome by taking up his residence with him, in 
the lodging where he was guarded by the 
" soldier that kept him." 

3 The Amen as usual is interpolated. 

4 Though we have come to the conclusion 
that St. Paul had not himself (at this time) 
visited Colossae, yet it is hardly possible to 
read these Epistles without feeling an interest 
in the scenery and topography of its vicinity. 
The upper part of the valley of the Meeander, 
where this city, with its neighbor cities Hie- 
rapolis and Loadicea (Col. ii. 1, iv. 13 ; Rev. iii. 
14), was sicuated, has been described by many 
travellers ; and the illustrated works on Asia 



Minor contain several views, especially of the 
vast and singular petrifactions of Hierapolis 
(Pambouk-Kalessi). Colossal was older than 
either Laodicea or Hierapolis, and it fell into 
comparative insignificance as they rose into 
importance. In the Middle Ages it became a 
place of some consequence, and was the birth- 
place of the Byzantine writer Nicetas Chonia- 
tes, who tells us that Chonse and Colossae 
were the same place. A village called Chonas 
still remains, the proximity of which to the 
ancient Colossae is proved by the correspond- 
ence of the observed phenomena with what 
Herodotus says of the river Lycus. The 
neighborhood was explored by Mr. Arundel 
(Seven Churches, p. 158; Asia Minor, n. 160) ; 
but Mr. Hamilton was the first to determine 
the actual site of the ancient city. (Researches, 
i. 508.) 



752 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. Chap.xxv. 

(though with an indirectness caused by obvious motives) to point to a 
single source, and even a single individual, as the origin of the errors 
introduced ; and, Secondly, we know that at any rate the two first of 
these errors, and apparently the third also, were combined by some of 
the early Gnostics. The most probable view, therefore, seems to be, 
that some Alexandrian Jew had appeared at Colossi, professing a belief 
in Christianity, and imbued with the Greek " philosophy " of the school 
of Philo, but combining with it the Rabbinical theosophy and angelolo- 
gy, which afterwards was embodied in the Cabala, and an extravagant 
asceticism, which also afterwards distinguished several sects of the 
Gnostics. 1 In short, one of the first heresiarchs of the incipient Gnos- 
ticism had begun to pervert the Colossians from the simplicity of their 
faith. We have seen in a former chapter 2 how great was the danger to 
be apprehended from this source, at the stage which the Church had now 
reached ; especially in a church which consisted, as that at Colossae did, 
principally of Gentiles (Col. i. 25-27, Col. ii. 11) ; and that, too, in 
Phrygia, 3 where the national character was so prone to a mystic fanati- 
cism. We need not wonder, therefore, that St. Paul, acting under the 
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should have thought it needful to use 
every effort to counteract the growing evil. This he does, both by con- 
tradicting the doctrinal errors of the new system, and by inculcating, as 
essential to Christianity, that pure morality which these early heretics 
despised. Such appears to have been the main purpose of the following 
Epistle : — 

THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 4 

i. 1 PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Salutation. 
2 Timotheus the brother, To the holy and faithful brethren in Christ 

WHO ARE AT COLOSSI, 5 

Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father. 6 

1 See pp. 34 and 396. (b) Because he could not have expected 

2 Ch. XIII. at Ciesarea to be soon coming to 

3 See p. 235; and also the account of Phrygia (Acts xxiii. 11, xix. 21; 
the early Phrygian Gnostics in the lately- Rom. i. 13; Acts xx. 25), whereas 
discovered " Refutation of Heresies," Book v. while writing this he expected soon 

4 The following are the grounds for the to visit Phrygia (Philem. 22). 

date assigned to this Epistle : — (3.) The indications above mentioned all 

(1.) It was written in prison at the same correspond with Rome. Moreover, Timotheus 

time as that to Philemon, and sent by the was with him, as we know he was at Rome, 

same messenger (iv. 7-9). from Phil. i. 1. 

(2.) It was not written in Csesarea, — 5 Many of the best MSS. have Colassae; 

(a) Because while writing St. Paul was and this form is found in some of the later 

laboring for the Gospel (iv. 3, 4), Greek writers. 

which he did not at Csesarea (Acts 6 The words " And our Lord Jesus Christ," 

xxviii. 31). with which St. Paul in all other cases con- 



.$$? 



I 





m : |§l^( 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 753 

i. 

Thanksgiving I l give continual thanks to God 2 the Father of our Lord 3 

for their con- 
version. Jesus Christ, in my prayers for you (since I heard of your 4 

faith in Christ Jesus, and your love to all the saints), because 3 of the 5 

hope laid up for you in the heavens, whereof you heard the promise 4 in 

the truthful Word of the Glad-tidings ; which is come to you, as it is 6 

through all the world ; and everywhere it bears fruit and 5 grows, as it 

does also among you, since the day when first you heard it, and learned to 

know truly the grace of God. And thus you were taught by Epaphras my 7 ' 

beloved fellow-bondsman, 6 who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf. 

And it is he who has declared to me your love for me 7 in the Spirit. 8 

prayers for Wherefore I also, since the day when first I heard it, cease 9 

their perfec- ' J ' 

tion ' not to pray for you, and to ask of God that you may fully 

attain to the knowledge of His will ; that 8 in all wisdom and spiritual 10 
understanding you may walk worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all 
things ; that you may bear fruit in all good works, and grow continually 
in the knowledge of God ; that you may be strengthened to the utter- n 
most in the strength of His glorious power, to bear all sufferings with 
steadfastness and with joy, giving thanks 9 to the Father who has fitted 12 
us to share the portion of the saints in the light. 
Aicnement For He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness, 13 

and sove- 7 

Chris? of an ^ transplanted us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 

in whom we have our redemption, 10 the forgiveness of our sins. Who isi4,i5 



eludes this formula of benediction, are omitted 7 This interpretation (which is Chrysos- 

here in the best MSS. Chrysostom remarks tom's) seems the most natural. Their love 

on the omission. for St. Paul was in the Spirit, because they had 

1 See note on 1 Thess. i. 2. never seen him in the flesh. 

2 "And" is omitted by the best MSS. 8 The punctuation here adopted connects 
8 It seems more natural to take the prepo- " in all wisdom," &c, with the following 

sition thus, as in verse 9, than to connect it verb. 

with the preceding verse. 9 The " giving thanks " here seems parallel 

4 " Before." The information regarding to the preceding participles, and consequently 

the hope had been reaeived by them here before the " us " is used, not with reference to the 

itsfiifilment. Olshausen. writer, but generally as including both writer 

6 The MSS. add this to the T. R. and readers ; and the particular case of the 

6 Epaphras is the same name with Epaph- readers (as formerly Heathens) referred to in 

roditus; but this can scarcely be the same per- verse 21 ("and you"). 

son with that Epaphroditus who brought the » "Through His blood "has been introduced 

contribution from Philippi to Rome about here by mistake from Eph. i. 7, and is not 

this time. This was a native of Colossal (see found in the best MSS. 

iv. 12) : the other was settled at Philippi, and 

held office in the Philippian Church. 
48 



754 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXV. 



16 a visible l image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation ; for 
in 2 Him were all things created, both in the heavens and on the earth, 
both visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Dominations, or 

17 Principalities, or Powers ; 3 by Him and for Him 4 were all created. And 

18 He is before all things, and in Him all things subsist. 5 And He is the 
head of the body, the Church ; whereof He is the beginning, as first- 
born from the dead ; that in all things His place might be the first. 

19 For He willed 6 that in Himself all the Fulness of the universe 7 should 

20 dwell ; and by Himself He willed to reconcile all things to Himself, 
having made peace by the blood of His cross ; by Himself (I say) to 
reconcile all things, whether on the earth, or in the heavens. 8 

21 And you, likewise, who once were estranged from Him, and TheCoios- 

sians had been 

with your mind at war with Him, when you lived in wicked- called from 



1 It is important to observe here that St. 
Paul says not merely that our Lord was when 
on earth the visible image of God, but that he 
is so still. In Him only God manifests him- 
self to man, and He is still visible to the eye 
of faith. 

2 " In " here must not be confounded with 
" through " or " by." The existence of Christ, 
the ?Myog, is the condition of all creation ; in 
Him the Godhead is manifested. 

3 St. Paul here appears to allude to the doc- 
trines of the Colossian heretics, who taught a 
system of angel-worship based upon a syste- 
matic classification of the angelic hierarchy 
(probably similar to that found in the Cab- 
ala), and who seem to have represented our 
Lord as only one (and perhaps not the highest) 
of this hierarchy. Other allusions to a hierar- 
chy of angels) which was taught in the Rab- 
binical theology) may be found Rom. viii. 38, 
Eph. i. 21, iii. 10, 1 Pet. iii. 22, joined with 
the assertion of their subjection to Christ. 

4 Compare Rom. xi. 36, where exactly the 
same thing is said concerning God; from 
which the inference is plain. It appears evi- 
dent that St. Paul insists here thus strongly 
on the creation by Jesus Christ, in opposition 
to some erroneous system which ascribed the 
creation to some other source ; and this was 
the case with the early Gnosticism, which 
ascribed the creation of the world to a Demi- 
urge, who was distinct from the man Jesus. 

5 i. e. the life of the universe is conditioned 
by His existence. See the last note but two. 



6 "He willed." Most commentators sup- 
pose an ellipsis of " God," but the instances 
adduced by De Wette and others to justify 
this seem insufficient; and there seems no rea- 
son to seek a new subject for the verb when 
there is one already expressed in the preceding 
verse. 

7 The word Pleroma is here used by St 
Paul in a technical sense, with a manifest allu 
sion to the errors against which he is writing. 
The early Gnostics used the same word to 
represent the assemblage of emanations (con- 
ceived as angelic powers) proceeding from the 
Deity. St. Paul therefore appears to say, that 
the true Fulness of the universe (or, as he calls 
it, chap. ii. 9, Fulness of the Godhead) is to be 
found, not in any angelic hierarchy (see the 
remarks introductory to this epistle, p. 751), 
but in Christ alone. 

8 This statement of the infinite extent of 
the results of Christ's redemption (which may 
well fill us with reverential awe) has been a 
sore stumbling-block to many commentators, 
who have devised various (and some very in- 
genious) modes of explaining it away. Into 
these this is not the place to enter. It is suffi- 
cient to observe that St. Paul is still led to set 
forth the true greatness of Christ in opposi- 
tion to the angelolatry of the Colossian here- 
tics ; intimating that, far from Christ being one 
only of the angelic hierarchy, the heavenly 
hosts themselves stood in need of His atone- 
ment. Compare Heb. ix. 23. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE COLOS8IANS. 755 

i. 
SfdrecoSed ness > y et now *I e nas reconciled in the body of His flesh 1 22 
Christ. y through death, that He might bring you to His presence in 
holiness, without blemish and without reproach ; if, indeed, you be stead- 23 
fast in your faith, with your foundation firmly grounded and immovably 
fixed, and not suffering yourselves to be shifted away from the hope of 
the Glad-tidings which you heard, which has been published throughout 
all the earth, 2 whereof I, Paul, was made a ministering servant, 
•st. Paul's And even now I rejoice in the afflictions which I bear for 24 

r™the° n ° your 3 sake, and I fill up what yet is lacking of the sufferings 4 

Christian 

mystery of f Christ in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the 

universal sal- J 7 * 7 

Church; whereof I was made a servant, to minister in the 25 
stewardship which God gave me for you [Gentiles] , that I might fulfil it 26 
by declaring the Word of God, the mystery which has been hid for ages 
and generations, 5 but has now been shown openly to His saints ; to whom 27 
God willed to manifest how rich, among the Gentiles, is the glory of this 
mystery, which 6 is Christ in you the hope op glory. 

Him, therefore, I proclaim, warning every man, and teaching every 28 
man, in all wisdom ; that I may bring every man into His presence full 
grown in Christ. 7 And to this end I labor in earnest conflict, according 29 
to His working which works in me with mighty power. 

For I would have vou know how great 8 a conflict I sustain for ii. 1 

He prays that J ° 

g^owTn true y° u > ana f° r those at Laodicea, and for all 9 who have not seen 

my face in the flesh ; that their hearts may be comforted, and 2 

1 Here again is perhaps a reference to the words when he called his sufferings " the suf- 
Gnostic element in the Colossian theosophy. ferings of Christ in his flesh." 

It was Christ himself who suffered death in 5 Literally, from (i. e. since) the ages and the 

the body of his flesh; He was perfect man, generations, meaning, from the remotest times, 

and not (as the Doceta? taught) an angelic with special reference to the times of the 

emanation, who withdrew from the man Jesus Mosaic Dispensation. Compare Rom. xvi. 25, 

before he suffered. and Titus i. 2. 

2 Literally, throughout all the creation under 6 The best MSS. are here divided so as to 
the shy, which is exactly equivalent to throughout leave it doubtful whether the relative belongs 
all the earth. St. Paul of course speaks here to mystery or riches; in either case the sense is 
hyperbolically, meaning the teaching which you the same, the riches are the rich abundance con- 
keardfrom Epaphras is the same which has been tained in the mystery. 

published universally by the Apostles. 7 Jesus is omitted here in th,e best MSS. 

3 St. Paul's sufferings were caused by his Perfect denotes grown to the ripeness of ma- 
zeal on behalf of the Gentile converts. turity. 

4 Compare 2 Cor. i. 5. " The sufferings 8 Alluding to what has just preceded. 

of Christ have come upon me above measure ; " 9 Viz. all Christians. By the plain natural 

and also Acts ix. 4, " Why persecutest thou sense of this passage, the Colossians are classed 
me?" St. Paul doubtless recollected those among those personally unknown to St. Paul. 



756 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXV. 



n. 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 



that they may be knit together in love, and may gain in all its richness 
the full assurance of understanding ; l truly to know the mystery of 
God, 2 wherein are all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge 3 hidden. 

I say this, lest any man should mislead you with enticing and warns 
words. For though I am absent from you in the flesh, yet I tw who™ 

would mis- 
am present with you in the spirit, rejoicing when I behold lead them 

your good order, and the firmness of your faith in Christ. As, therefore, 
you first received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him ; having in 
Him your root, and in Him the foundation whereon, you are continu- 
ally 4 built up ; persevering steadfastly in your faith, as you were taught; 
and abounding 5 in thanksgiving. 

Beware 6 lest there be any man who leads you captive 7 by his ty a system of 

* J ^ misnamed 

philosophy, which is a vain deceit, following the tradition of wh!c n °de- 
men, 8 the outward lessons 9 of childhood, not the teaching of Christ, 



For the " they " of verse 2 comprehends and 
binds together the Colossians, and the Laodi- 
ceans, with the " all who," &c. This view is 
confirmed by i. 4 (where Paul had heard of, 
not witnessed, their faith), by i. 7 (where 
Epaphras is described as their founder), and by 
i. 8 (where their love for Paul has been declared 
to him by Epaphras, not personally known by 
himself). 

1 Compare "spiritual understanding " (i. 9). 

2 The reading of the MSS. here is very 
doubtful. The reading we have adopted is 
that of Tischendorfs 2d edition. 

3 St. Paul here alludes, as we see from the 
next verse, to those who (like the Colossian 
false teachers) professed to be in possession of 
a higher Gnosis. In opposition to them, he 
asserts that the depths of Gnosis are to be 
found only in the " Mystery of God," viz. the 
Gospel, or (as he defines it above) " Christ in 
you." 

4 Observe the present tense, and compare 
1 Cor. iii. 10. 

6 " Therein " is omitted here, as in Tischen- 
dorfs text. 

6 The following paraphrase of this part of 
the Epistle is given by Neander : — " How can 
you still fear evil spirits, when the Father him- 
self has delivered you from the kingdom of 
darkness, and transplanted you into the king- 
dom of his dear Son, who has victoriously 
ascended to heaven to share the divine might 



of his Father, with whom he now works in 
man; when, moreover, he by his sufferings 
has united you with the Father, and freed you 
from the dominion of all the powers of dark- 
ness, whom he exhibits (as it were) as captives 
in his triumphal pomp, and shows theii impo- 
tence to harm his kingdom established among 
men 1 How can you still let the doubts and 
fears of your conscience bring you into slavery 
to superstition, when Christ has nailed to his 
cross and blotted out the record of guilt whicn 
testified agains* you in your conscience, ana 
has assured to you the forgiveness of all your 
sins 1 Again, how can you fear to be polluted 
by outward things, how can you suffer your- 
selves to be in captivity to outward ordinances, 
when you have died with Christ to all earthly 
things, and are risen with Christ, and live 
(according to your true, inward life) with 
Christ in heaven ? Your faith must be fixed 
on things above, where Christ is, at the right 
hand of God. Your life is hid with Christ in 
God, and belongs no more to earth." 

7 Literally, who drags you away as his spoil. 
The peculiar form of expression employed 
(similar to " there are some that trouble you," 
Gal. i. 7) shows that St. Paul alludes to some 
particular individual at Colossae, who professed 
to teach a " Philosophy." 

8 " The tradition of man " is applied to the 
Eabbinical theology (Mark vii. 8). 

9 " Elements of the world " (cf. Gal. iv. 3), 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 757 

ii. 
Christ. For in Him dwells all the Fulness 1 of the Godhead in bodily 9 

form, and in Him 2 you have your fulness ; for He is the hoad of all the 10 

Principalities and Powers. In Him, also, you were circumcised with a 11 

circumcision not made by hands, even the offcasting of the 3 whole body of 

the flesh, the circumcision of Christ ; for with Him you were buried in your 12 

baptism, wherein also you were made partakers of His resurrection, 

through the faith wrought in you by God, who raised Him from the 

dead ; and you also, when you were dead in the transgressions and un- 13 

circumcision of your flesh, God raised to share His life. For He forgave 14 

ns 4 all our transgressions, and blotted out the Writing against us which 

opposed us with its decrees, 5 having taken it out of our way, and nailed 

it to the cross. And He disarmed the Principalities and the Powers 6 15 

[which fought against Him], and put them to ©pen shame, leading them 

captive in the triumph of Christ. 7 

and unites Therefore, suffer not any man to condemn you for what you 16 

anceswith eat or drink, 8 nor in respect of feast-days, or new moons, 9 or 

angel-worship 

and ascetism. sa bbaths ; for these are a shadow of things to come, but the 17 
body is Christ's. Let no man succeed in his wish 10 to defraud you of 18 
your prize, persuading you to self-humiliation, 11 and worship of the angels, 12 

referring to the Jewish ordinances, as "a joined together, 1 Chron. xxiii. 31. Compare 

shadow of things to come" (v. 17). also Gal. iv. 10. 

1 See note on i. 19. 10 Let no man, though he wishes it; this seems 

2 i. e. by union with Him alone, you can the most natural explanation of this difficult 
partake of the Pleroma of the Godhead, and expression ; it is that adopted by Theodoret 
not (as the Gnostics taught) by initiation into and Theopbylact. We observe again the ref- 
an esoteric system of theosophy, whereby men erence to some individual false teacher, 
might attain to closer connection with some n From the combination of this with 
of the "Principalities and Powers" of the "chastening of the body," in verse 23, it seems 
angelic hierarchy. to mean an exaggerated self-humiliation, like 

3 The casting-off, not (as in outward cir- that which has often been joined with ascetic 
cumcision) of a part, but of the whole body practices, and has shown itself by the devotee 
of the flesh, the whole carnal nature. Of the wearing rags, exposing himself to insult, 
sins in the T R. is an interpolation. living by beggary, &c. 

4 " Us " is the reading of the best MSS. 12 Mr. Hartley mentions a fact in the later 

5 The parallel passage (Eph. ii. 15) is more Christian history of Colossce which is at least 
explicit, " the law of enacted ordinances." curious when considered in connection with 

6 Cf. Eph. vi. 12 ; and see Neander's St. Paul's warning concerning angels, and the 
paraphrase quoted above. statement of Herodotus regarding the river 

7 " In Him," i. e. " Christ," the subject Lycus. The modern Greeks have a legend to 
being " God." For the metaphor, compare this effect : — " An overwhelming inundation 
2 Cor. ii. 14. threatened to destroy the Christian population 

8 Compare Rom. xiv. 1-17. of that city. They were fleeing before it in 

9 The same three Mosaic observances are the utmost consternation, and imploring supe- 



758 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXV. 



II. 

intruding l rashly into things which he has not seen, puffed up by his 

19 fleshly mind, and not holding fast the Head, from whom 2 the whole body, 
by the joints which bind it, draws full supplies 3 for all its needs, and is 
knit together, and increases in godly growth. 

20 If, then, 4 when you died with Christ, you put away the childish lessons 
of outward things, why, as though you still lived in outward things, do 

21 you submit yourselves to decrees (" hold 5 not, taste not, touch not" — 

22 forbidding the use of things which are all made to be consumed in the 

23 using) 6 founded on the precepts and doctrines of men? For these pre- 
cepts, though they have a show of wisdom, in a self-chosen worship, and 
in humiliation, and chastening of the body, are of no value to check 7 the 
indulgence of fleshly passions. 

iii. 1 If, then, 8 you were made partakers of Christ's resurrection, Exhortation to 

heavenward 

seek those things which are above, where Christ abides, 9 seated affection8 - 
2 on the right hand of God. Set your heart on things above, not on things 
3, 4 earthly ; for ye are dead, 10 and your life is hid with Christ in God. When 
Christ, who is our life, shall be made manifest, then shall ye also be made 
manifest u with Him in glory. 



rior succor for their deliverance. At this criti- 
cal moment, the Archangel Michael descended 
from heaven, opened the chasm in the earth to 
which they still point, and at this opening the 
waters of the inundation were swallowed up 
and the multitude was saved/' (Res. in Greece, 
p. 52.) A church in honor of the archangel 
was built at the entrance of the chasm. A 
council held at the neighboring town of Lao- 
dicea, in the 4th century, condemned this 
Angel worship ; and Theodoret speaks of it 
as existing in the same region. 

1 We join vainly (rashly) with what pre- 
cedes. 

2 From whom, not from which, as in A. V. 

3 Literally, furnished with all things necessary 
to its support. 

4 The reference is to verse 12. The literal 
translation is, if you died with Christ, putting 
away, Sfc. 

5 Hold is distinguished from touch, the for- 
mer conveying (according to its original sense) 
the notion of close contact and retention, the 
latter of only momentary contact ; compare 
1 Cor. vii. 1, and also John xx. 17, where the 
words should probably be translated " hold 
me not/' or " clinsr not to me." 



6 This appears to be the best view of this 
very difficult passage, on a comparison with 
1 Cor. vi. 13, and with St. Paul's general use 
of this verb. 

7 Literally this is, in reference to the indul- 
gence of the flesh. The difficulty of this verse 
is well known. The interpretation, which 
leaves the verse a mere statement of the favor- 
able side of this Colossian asceticism, unbal- 
anced by any contrary conclusion, and with 
nothing to answer to " having a show," &c, 
appears very untenable. "We consider " in no 
honor " here to be used as " of no value." 
See Acts xx. 24, Rev. xvii. 4. Since the first 
edition of this word was published, we have 
ascertained that the view above taken of this 
verse was proposed by Archbishop Sumner 
(Practical Expos, in loco), who interprets it, 
" These things are of little honor or value 
against the fulness of the flesh, the motions of 
sin in the members ; " and quotes the LXX. 
in illustration. 8 The reference is to ii. 12. 

9 Stronger than " is seated." 

10 Literally, you have died; for the aorist 
must here be used for a perfect, since it is 
coupled with a perfect following. 

11 So also in Rom. viii. 19 the coming of 



CHAP. XXV. 



EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 



759 



Against 
Heathen im 
purity and 
other vices. 



Give, therefore, unto death your earthly members ; fornica- 
tion, uncleanness, 1 shameful appetites, unnatural desires, and 
the lust of concupiscence, 2 which is idolatry. For these things 
bring the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience ; among whom 
you also walked in former times, when you lived therein ; but now, with 
us, 3 you likewise must renounce them all. Anger, passion, and 



Exhortation 



111. 



Chris tian the mance nuist be cast away, evil-speaking and reviling put out 
aint8 C various of your mouth. Lie not one to another, but 4 put off the old 9 

perfections. 

man with his deeds, and put on the new 5 man, who grows 10 
continually to a more perfect knowledge and likeness of his Creator. 6 
Wherein there is not "Greek and Jew," "circumcision and uncircum- 11 
cision," " barbarian," " Scythian," " bondsman," " freeman ; " but Christ 
is all, and in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and beloved, put 12 
on tenderness of heart, kindness, self-humiliation, 7 gentleness, long-suffer- 
ing ; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any thinks him- 13 
self aggrieved by his neighbor ; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 
And over all the rest put on the robe 8 of love, which binds together and 14 
completes the whole. 9 Let the peace of Christ 10 rule in your hearts, tc 15 
which also you were called in one body : and be thankful one n tc another. 



Christ in glory is identified with the manifesta- 
tion of the sons of God. St. Paul declares, 
that the real nature and glory of Christ's 
people (which is now hidden) will be mani- 
fested to all mankind when Christ shall come 
again, and force the world to recognize Him, 
by an open display of His majesty. The 
Authorized Version, though so beautiful in 
this passage that it is impossible to deviate 
from it without regret, yet does not adequate- 
ly represent the original. 

1 Viz. of word as well as deed. 

2 Lust of concupiscence, whence the before- 
named special sins spring, as branches from 
the root. For the meaning of the original 
word, see note on 1 Cor. v. 11. Lust is called 
idolatry, either because impurity was so closely 
connected with the Heathen idol-worship, or 
because it alienates the heart from God. 

8 You also, — you as well as other Christians. 
There should be a comma after v. 7, and a full 
stop in the middle of v. 8. Then the exhorta- 
tion beginning anger, &c, follows abruptly, a 



repetition of renounce being understood from 
the sense. 

4 " Put off." The participle is equivalent 
to the imperative. Compare "put on," v. 12. 

5 For this use of new compare Heb. xii. 24. 

6 Literally, who is continually renewed [pres- 
ent participle] to the attainment of a true knowl- 
edge according to the likeness of his Creator. 

7 It is remarkable that the very same quali- 
ty which is condemned in the false teachers is 
here enjoined ; showing that it was not their 
self-humiliation which was condemned, but 
their exaggerated way of showing it, and the 
false system on which it was ingrafted. 

8 Above all in the sense of over all. See 
Eph. vi. 16. 

9 Literally, which is the bond of completeness. 

10 The great majority of MSS. read Christ. 

11 This is most naturally understood of 
gratitude towards one another, especially as the 
context treats of their love towards their 
brethren ; for ingratitude destroys mutual- 
love. 



760 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxv. 

iii. 

16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Teach and admonish one 

another in all wisdom. 1 

Let your singing be of psalms, and hymns, and spiritual Festive meet- 
songs, 2 sung in thanksgiving, with your heart, unto 3 God. be celebrated. 

17 And whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, giving thanks to God our Father through Him. 

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as it is fit in Exhortation 

'. T , to the fulfil- 

tne Lord. ment of the 

duties of do- 

19 Husbands, love your wives, and deal not harshly with them. mestic life - 

20 Children, obey your parents in all things ; for this is acceptable in the 
Lord. 4 

21 Fathers, vex not your children, lest their spirit should be broken. 

22 Bondsmen, obey in all things your earthly masters ; not in 
eye-service, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fear- masters - 

23 ing the Lord. 5 And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord, 

24 and not for men ; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the re- 
ward of the inheritance ; for you are the bondsmen of Christ, our Lord 

25 and Master. 6 But he who wrongs another will be requited for the wrong 
which he has done, and [in that judgment] there is no respect of 
persons. 7 

iv. i Masters, deal rightly and justly with your bondsmen, knowing that you 
also have a Master in heaven. 

2 Persevere in prayer, and join thanksgiving with your watch- He askg for 

3 fulness therein ; and pray for me likewise, that God would 

open to me a door of entrance 8 for His Word, that I may declare the 

1 The punctuation here adopted connects man merry ? Let him sing psalms." For the 
" in all wisdom " with what follows. The " Thanksgiving " see 1 Cor. x. 30, where the 
participles are used imperatively, as in Rom. same word is used. 

xii. 9-16. 3 God is the reading of the hest MSS. 

2 The reading adopted is Teschendorf s, a 4 " Acceptable in the Lord " is the ^reading 
:Stop being put after the preceding. St. Paul of the MSS. 

appears to intend (as in Eph. v. 18, 19, which 6 " The Lord " is the reading of the MSS. 

throws light on the present passage) to con- 6 The correlative meanings of Lord (Mas- 

trast the songs which the Christians were to *er) and Servant (Slave) give a force to this in 

employ at their meetings with those impure Greek, which cannot be fully expressed in 

or bacchanalian strains which they formerly English. 

sang at their heathen revels. It should be 7 i. e. slaves and masters are equal at 

remembered that singing always formed a part Christ's judgment-seat. 

■ of the entertainment at the banquets of the 8 Compare 2 Cor. ii. 12. 
'Greeks. Compare also James v. 13, " Is any 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. T61 

iv. 

mystery of Christ, 1 which is the very cause of my imprisonment : pray 4 

for me that I may declare it openly, as I ought to speak. 

Conduct Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards those without the 5 

towards un- » -r 

b«)iever 8 . Church, 2 and forestall opportunity. Let your speech be always 6 
gracious, with a seasoning of salt, 4 understanding how to give to every 
man a fitting answer. 
Mission of All that concerns me will be made known to you by Tychi- 7 

Tychicus and 

onesimus. cus, my beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow-bonds- 
man in the Lord, whom I have sent to you for this very end, that he 8 
might learn your state, and comfort your hearts ; with Onesimus, the 9 
faithful and beloved brother, your fellow-countryman ; they will tell you 
all which has happened here. 
Greetings Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, salutes you, and Marcus, 10 

from Chris- ',.-«,-» . 

tiansmRome. the cousin 5 of Barnabas, concerning whom you received in- 
structions (if he come to you, receive him), and Jesus surnamed Justus. 11 
Of the circumcision 6 these only are my fellow-laborers for the kingdom 
of God, who have been a comfort to me. 

Epaphras your fellow-countryman salutes you ; a bonsdman of Christ, 12 
who is ever contending on your behalf in his prayers, that in ripeness of 
understanding, and full assurance of belief, 7 you may abide steadfast in all 
the will of God ; for I bear him witness that he is filled with zeal 8 for 13 
you, and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 

Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, salute you. 14 

Messages to Salute the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, with the 15 
Lao°d 8 Sn and Church at his house. And when this letter has been read 16 

Christians. 

among you, provide that it be read also in the Church of the 
Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to 17 
Archippus, " Take heed to the ministration which thou hast received in 
the Lord's service, that thou fulfil it." 

1 See above, i. 27. 6 We adopt the punctuation of Lachmann 

2 Compare 1 Thess. iv. 12 and 1 Cor. v. 12. and Meyer. Literally, these, who are of the cir- 
8 This is the literal translation. Like the cumcision, are alone fellow-ivorlcers ; i. e. alone 

English forestall, the verb means to buy up an among those of the circumcision ; for other 

article out of the market, in order to make the fellow- workers are mentioned below. 

largest possible profit from it. 7 We adopt Lachmann and Tischendorfs 

4 i, e. free from insipidity. It would be well reading. For the meaning of the word, see 
if religious speakers and writers had always Rom. iv. 21. 

kept this precept in mind. s j^ w j t } 1 some MSS., we read toil here, it 

5 The original word has the meaning of will not materially alter the sense. 
cousin (not nephew) both in classical and Helle- 
nistic Greek. 



762 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxv 

iv. 
18 The salutation of rne, Paul, with my own hand, Remember Autograph 

i . i /-i , . o salutation and 

my chains. 1 (irace be with you. benediction. 

We have seen that the above Epistle to flie Colossians, and that to 
Philemon, were conveyed by Tychicus and Onesimus, who travelled 
together from Rome to Asia Minor. But these two were not the only 
letters with which Tychicus was charged. We know that he carried a 
third letter also ; but it is not equally certain to whom it was addressed. 
This third letter was that which is now entitled the Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians ; 3 concerning the destination of which (disputed as it is) perhaps 
the least disputable fact is, that it was not addressed to the Church of 
Ephesus. 4 

This point is established by strong evidence, both internal and exter- 
nal. To begin with the former, we remark, First, that it would be inex- 
plicable that St. Paul, when he wrote to the Ephesians, amongst whom 
he had spent so long a time, and to whom he was bound by ties of such 
close affection (Acts xx.jL7, <fcc), should not have a single message of 
personal greeting to send. Yet none such are found in this Epistle. 
Secondly, He could not have described the Ephesians as a Church whose 
conversion he knew only by report (i. 15). Thirdly, He could not speak 
to them, as only knowing himself (the founder of their Church) to be an 
Apostle by hearsay (iii. 2), so as to need credentials to accredit him with 
them (iii. 4). Fourthly, He could not describe the Ephesians as so ex- 
clusively Gentiles (ii. 11, iv. 17), and so recently converted (v. 8, i. 13, 
ii. 13). 

This internal evidence is confirmed by the following external evidence 
also. 

(1.) St. Basil distinctly asserts, that the early writers whom he had 
consulted declared that the manuscripts of this Epistle in their time did 
not contain the name of Ephesus, but left out altogether the name of the 
Church to which the Epistle was addressed. He adds, that the most 
ancient manuscripts which he had himself seen gave the same testimony. 
This assertion of Basil's is confirmed by Jerome, Epiphanius, and Ter- 
tullian. 5 

1 "We have before remarked that the right recently-discovered Sinaitic MS. is a strong 
hand, with which he wrote these words, was confirmation of the view here expressed. — H.j 
fastened by a chain to the left hand of the 5 Tertullian accuses Marcion of adding the 
6oldier who was on guard over him. title " To the Laodiceans," but not of altering 

2 The Amen (as usual) was added by the the salutation; whence it is clear that the 
copyists, and is absent from the best MSS. MSS. used by Tertullian did not contain the 

3 See Eph. vi. 21, 22. words "in Ephesus." It is scarcely necessary 

4 [This statement has been blamed, as ex- here to notice the apocryphal Epistola ad Lao- 
treme ; and perhaps it is too strong : but the dicenses, which only exists in Latin MSS. It 
omission of the words "in Ephesus " from the is a mere cento compiled from the Epistles to 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 763 

(2.) The most ancient manuscript now known to exist, namely, that of 
the Vatican Library, fully bears out Basil's words ; for in its text it does 
not contain the words " in Ephesus " at all ; and they are only added in 
its margin by a much later hand. 1 

(3.) We know, from the testimony of Marcion, that this Epistle was 
entitled in his collection " the Epistle to the Laodiceans." And his 
authority on this point is entitled to greater weight from the fact that he 
was himself a native of the district where we should expect the earlier 
copies of the Epistle to exist. 2 

The above arguments have convinced the ablest modern critics that 
this Epistle was not addressed to the Ephesians. But there has not been 
by any means the same approach to unanimity on the question who 
were its intended readers. In the most ancient manuscripts of it (as we 
have said) no Church is mentioned by name, except in those consulted 
by Marcion, according to which it was addressed to the Laodiceans. 
Now the internal evidence above mentioned proves that the Epistle was 
addressed to some particular church or churches, who were to receive 
intelligence of St. Paul through Tychicus, and that it was not a treatise 
addressed to the whole Christian world; and the form of the salutation 
shows that the name of some place 3 must originally have been inserted in 
it. Again : the very passages in the Epistle which have been above 
referred to, as proving that it could not have been directed to the Ephe- 
sians, agree perfectly with the hypothesis that it was addressed to the 
Laodiceans. Lastly, we know from the Epistle to the Colossians, that 
St. Paul did write a letter to Laodicea (Col. iv. 16) about the same time 
with that to Colossas. 4 On these grounds, then, it appears the safest 

the Galatians and Philippians ; and was evi- translated " to God's people who are also 

dently a forgery of a very late date, originat- faithful in Christ Jesus ; " hut this would 

ing from the wish to represent the epistle, men- make the Epistle addressed (like the 2d of 

tioned Col. iv. 16, as not lost. Peter) to the whole Christian world ; which 

1 [See remark, p. 762, n. 4, on the Sinaitic is inconsistent with its contents, as above re- 
MS. — h.] marked. 

2 Many critics object to receive Marcion's 4 De Wette argues that the letter to Lao- 
evidence, on the ground that he often made dicea, mentioned Col. iv. 16, must have been 
arbitrary alterations in the text of the New written some time before that to Colossae, 
Testament. But this he did on doctrinal and not sent by the same messenger, because 
grounds, which could not induce him to alter St. Paul in the Colossian Epistle sends greet- 
the title of an epistle. ings to Laodicea (Col. iv. 15), which he would 

8 Compare the salutations at Rom. i. 7 ; have sent directly if he had written to Laodi- 

2 Cor. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1 ; the analogy of which cea at the same time. But there is not much 

renders it impossible to suppose " those who weight in this objection, for it was agreeable 

are" used emphatically ("those who are really to St. Paul's manner to charge one part of 

Saints"), as some commentators mentioned the church to salute the other; see Rom. xvi. 

by Jerome took it. It is true that this (the 3, where he says "salute ye," not " I salute." 

oldest known form of the text) might be Moreover it seems most probable that Col. iv. 



764 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxv 

course to assume (with Paley, in the Horce Paulince) that the testimony 
of Marcion (uncontradicted by any other positive evidence) is correct, 
and that Laodicea was one at least of the Churches to which this Epistle 
was addressed. And, consequently, as we know not the name of any 
other Church to which it was written, that of Laodicea should be in- 
serted in the place which the most ancient manuscripts leave vacant. 

Still, it must be obvious, that this does not remove all the difficulties of 
the question. For, first, it will be asked, how came the name of Laodicea 
(if originally inserted) to have slipped out of these ancient manuscripts ? 
and again, how came it that the majority of more recent manuscripts 
inserted the name of Ephesus ? These perplexing questions are in some 
measure answered by the hypothesis originated by Archbishop Usher, 
that this Epistle was a circular letter addressed not to one only, but to 
several Churches, in the same way as the Epistle to the Galatians was 
addressed to all the Churches in Galatia, and those to Corinth were 
addressed to the Christians " in the whole province of Achaia." * On this 
view, Tychicus would have carried several copies of it, differently super- 
scribed, one for Laodicea, another, perhaps, for Hierapolis, another for 
Philadelphia, and so on. Hence the early copyists, perplexed by this 
diversity in their copies, might many of them be led to omit the words in 
which the variation consisted ; and thus the state of the earliest known 
text 2 of the Epistle would be explained. Afterwards, however, as copies 
of the Epistle became spread over the world, all imported from Ephesus 
(the commercial capital of the district where the Epistle was originally 
circulated), it would be called (in default of any other name) the Epistle 
from Ephesus, and the manuscripts of it would be so entitled ; and thence 
the next step, of inserting the name of Ephesus into the text, in a place 
where some local designation was plainly wanted, would be a very easy 
one. And this designation of the Epistle would the more readily prevail, 
from the natural feeling that St. Paul must have written 3 some Epistle 
to so great a Church of his own founding as Ephesus. 



16-18 was a postscript, added to the Epistle lossian, and was sent to Colossas on this very 

after the Epistle to Laodicea was written. It occasion. See also Horce Paulince, (in loco). 
is difficult to imagine that the "letter from 1 See 2 Cor. i. 1, and p. 485. 

Laodicea" (Col. iv. 16) could have been re- 2 That of the Codex Vaticanus, above 

ceived much before that to the Colossians, described as agreeing with the most ancient 

from the manner in which it is mentioned, and MSS. seen by Basil. 

the frequent intercourse which must have oc- 8 We cannot doubt that St. Paul did write 

curred between such neighboring churches. many epistles which are now lost. He him- 

The hypothesis of Wieseler, that the Laodi- self mentions one such to the Corinthians (see 

cean Epistle was that to Philemon, is quite page 421 ) ; and it is a mysterious dispensation 

arbitrary, and appears irreconcilable with the of Providence that his Epistles to the two 

fact that Onesimus is expressly called a Co- great metropolitan churches of Antioch and 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 765 

Thus the most plausible account of the origin of this Epistle seems to 
be as follows. Tychicus was about to take his departure from Rome for 
Asia Minor. St. Paul had already written 1 his Epistle to the Colossians 
at the request of Epaphras, who had informed him of their danger. But 
Tychicus was about to visit other places, which, though not requiring the 
same warning with Colossae, yet abounded in Christian converts. Most 
of these had been Heathens, and their hearts might be cheered and 
strengthened by words addressed directly to themselves from the great 
Apostle of the Gentiles, whose fac^ they had never seen, but whose name 
they had learned to reverence, and whose sufferings had endeared him 
to their love. These scattered Churches (one of which was Laodicea) 2 
had very much in common, and would all be benefited by the same 
instruction and exhortation. Since it was not necessary to meet the 
individual case of any one of them, as distinct from the rest, St. Paul 
wrote the same letter to them all, but sent to each a separate copy au- 
thenticated by the precious stamp of his own autograph benediction. 
And the contents of this circular epistle naturally bore a strong resem- 
blance to those of the letter which he had just concluded to the Colos- 
sians, because the thoughts which filled his heart at the time would ne- 
cessarily find utterance in similar language, and because the circum- 
stances of these Churches were in themselves very similar to those of the 
Colossian Church, except that they were not infected with the peculiar 
errors which had crept in at Colossae. 3 The Epistle which he thus wrote 
consists of two parts : first, a doctrinal, and, secondly, a hortatory portion. 
The first part contains a summary, yery indirectly conveyed (chiefly in 
the form of thanksgiving) , of the Christian doctrines taught by St. Paul, 
and is especially remarkable for the great prominence given to the aboli- 
tion of the Mosaic Law. The hortatory part, which has been so dear to 
Christians of every age and country, enjoins unity (especially between 



Ephesus, with which he was himself so pecu- added as a postscript ; unless Ave suppose that 

liarly connected, should not have been pre- St. Paul there refers to " the letter from Laodi- 

served to us. cea " before it was actually written (as intend- 

1 It is here assumed that the Epistle to the ing to write it, and send it by the same mes- 

Colossians was written before that (so called) senger), which he might very well have done. 
to the Ephesians. This appears probable 2 It has been objected to the circular hy- 

from a close examination of the parallel pas- pothesis, that the Epistle, if meant as a circular, 

sages in the two Epistles ; the passages in would have been addressed " to those who are 

Ephesians bear marks of being expapded from in Asia." But to this it may be replied, that 

those in Colossians ; and the passages in Co- on our hypothesis the Epistle was not addressed 

lossians could not be so well explained on the to all the churches in Proconsular Asia, and 

converse hypothesis, that they were a conden- that it icas addressed to some churches not in 

sation of those in Ephesians. We have re- that province. 

marked, however, in a previous note, that we 8 On this part of the subject, see Ap pen- 
must assume the reference in Colossians to dix II. 
the other epistle (Col. iv. 16) to have been 



766 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXY. 



Jewish and Gentile Christians), the renunciation of Heathen vices, and 
the practice of Christian purity. It lays down rules (the same as those 
in the Epistle to Colossae, only in an expanded form) for the performance 
of the duties of domestic life, and urges these new converts, in the midst 
of the perils which surrounded them, to continue steadfast in watchfulness 
and prayer. Such is the substance, and such was most probably the his- 
tory, of the following Epistle : — 

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 1 

i. 1 PAUL, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, To Salutation. 
the saints 2 who are [in laodicea] , 3 and who have faith in christ 
Jesus. 

2 Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

3 Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who Thanksgiving 

' for redemp- 

has given us 4 in Christ all spiritual blessings in the heavens. 5 Socage of 



1 In the above introductory remarks it is 
assumed that this Epistle was contemporary 
with that to the Colossians, which is stated in 
the Epistle itself (vi. 21 ; compare Col. iv. 
7). Its date, therefore, is fixed by the argu- 
ments in p. 752. We may here shortly notice 
the arguments which have been advanced by 
some German critics for rejecting the Epistle 
altogether as a forgery. Their objections 
against its authenticity are principally the fol- 
lowing. First, the difficulties respecting its 
destination, which have been already noticed. 
Secondly, The want of originality in its matter, 
the substance of its contents being found also 
in the Colossians, or othei's of St. Paul's Epis- 
tles. This phenomenon has been accounted 
for above (p. 765), and is well explained by 
Paley (Horce Paulince). Thirdly, Certain 
portions of the doctrinal contents are thought 
to indicate a later origin, e. g. the Demonology 
(ii. 2, and vi. 12). Fourthly, Some portions 
of the style are considered un-Pauline. Fifth- 
1)', Several words are used in a sense different 
from that which they bear in St. Paul's other 
writings. These three last classes of difficul- 
ties we cannot pretend fully to explain, nor is 
this the place for their discussion ; but as a 
general answer to them we may remark : 
First, That if we had a fuller knowledge of 
the persons to whom, and especially of the 



amanuensis by whom, the letter was written, 
they would probably vanish. Secondly, That 
no objector has yet suggested a satisfactory 
explanation of the origin of the Epistle, if it 
were a foi-gery ; no motive for forgery can be 
detected in it ; it contains no attack on post- 
apostolic forms of heresy, no indication of a 
later development of church government. 
The very want of originality alleged against 
it would not leave any motive for its forgery. 
Thirdly, It was unanimously received as St. 
Paul's Epistle by the early church, and is 
quoted by Polycarp and Irenaeus ; and, as ap- 
pears by the lately discovered work of Hippoly- 
tus against heresies (which has appeared since 
this was first published), it is also quoted 
most distinctly by Valentinus. (about 120 
a.d.), who cites Eph. hi. 14, 16, 17, and 18, 
verbatim. 

2 For the translation here, see note on 
1 Cor. i. 2. 

3 See the preceding remarks, p. 763. 

4 " Us " (here) includes both the writer and 
{apparently) the other Apostles; while "you 
likewise " (v. 13) addresses the readers as dis- 
tinguished from the writer. 

5 Literally, in the heavenly places. This ex- 
pression is peculiar to the present Epistle, in 
which it occurs five times. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 767 

i. 
?y 8 te h ry i8 ^ven ^ven as ^ e cnose us m Him, before the foundation of the 4 
totheApos wor ^ 5 tuat we s i 10U i(i be holy and spotless in His sight. For 5 
in His love x He predestined us to be adopted among His children through 
Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, that we might 6 
praise and glorify His grace, wherewith He favored 2 us in His beloved. 
For in Him we have our redemption through His blood, even the forgive- 
ness of our sins, in the richness of His grace, 3 which He bestowed upon 
us above measure ; and He made known 4 to us, in the fulness of wisdom 8 
and understanding, the mystery of His will, according to His good pleas- 9 
ure, which He had purposed in Himself to fulfil, that it should be 10 
dispensed 5 in the fulness of time ; 6 to make all things one 7 in Christ as 
head, yea, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him ; in whom 11 
we also receive the portion of our lot, 8 having been predestined thereto 
according to His purpose, whose working makes all fulfil the counsel of 
His own will ; that unto His praise and glory 9 we might live, who have 12 
hoped in Christ before 10 you. 
Thanks for And you, likewise, have hoped in Him, since you heard the 13 

their conver- J 7 r J 

Jr°aye? n for message of the truth, the Glad-tidings of your salvation ; and 
enment. lg you believed in Him, and received His seal, the holy Spirit 
of promise ; who is an n earnest of our inheritance, given to 12 redeem that 14 
which He hath purchased, 13 to the praise of His glory. 

1 We join " in love " with v. 5. 6 Literally, for a dispensation [of it] which 

2 The verbal connection would be more belongs to the fulness of time. 

literally given thus: His favor wherewith He 7 Literally, to unite all things under one head, 

favored us. in union with Christ : so Chrysostom explains 

3 Comma at the end of verse 7, colon in it. For the doctrine compare 1 Cor. xv. 24. 
the middle of v. 8, and no stop at the end of 8 Literally, were portioned with our lot. 

v. 8, taking the verb transitively. 9 The original may be considered as a 

4 This is referred to in iii. 3. Compare Hebraism; literally, that we should be for the 
" made known to us the mystery, &c," with glory-praise of Him ; compare verse 6. 

" made known to me the mystery," which 10 This might mean, as some take it, to look 

proves "us" here to correspond with "me" forward with hope: but the other meaning 

there. appears most obvious, and best suits the con- 

5 Dispensation. According to most inter- text. Compare " went before to ship," Acts 
preters this expression is used in this Epistle xx. 13. 

in the sense of adjustment, or preparation; but u Compare Rom. viii. 23; and note on 

as the meaning it bears elsewhere in St. Paul's 1 Cor. i. 22. 

writings (viz. the office of a steward in dispens- 12 Not until (A. V.). 

ino his master's goods: see I Cor. ix. 17, and 13 Used in the same sense here as "the 

cf. Col. i. 25) gives a very intelligible sense to church which He purchased" (Acts xx. 28). 

the passages in this Epistle, it seems needless The metaphor is, that the gift of the Holy 

to depart from it. The meaning of the pres- Spirit was an earnest (that is, a part payment in 

ent passage is best illustrated by iii. 2, 3. advance) of the price required for the full de- 



768 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxy. 

i. 

15 Wherefore I, also, since I heard of your faith in our Lord Jesus, and 

16 your love to all the saints, give thanks for you without ceasing, and make 

17 mention of you in my prayers, beseeching the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of glory, to give you a spirit of wisdom and of in- 

18 sight, in the knowledge of Himself; the eyes of your understanding 1 
being filled with light, that you may know what is the hope of His call- 

19 ing, and how rich is the glory of His inheritance among the saints, and 
how surpassing is the power which He has shown toward us who believe ; 

20 [for He has dealt with us] in the strength of that might where- office and 

dignity of 

with He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the Christ. 

21 dead ; and set Him on His own right hand in the heavens, far above 
every 2 Principality and Power, and Might, and Domination, and every 
name which is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is 

22 to come. And " Jp£ put nil iljiltp VlXlbtX Jpb fkt," 3 and gave Him 

23 to be sovereign head of the Church, which is His body ; the 4 Fulness of 
ii. 1 Him who fills all things everywhere with Himself. And you, They had 

° * J J ' been awa- 

likewise, He raised from death 5 to life, when you were dead in HeTthe^ism 

2 transgressions and sins ; wherein once you walked according gface^ 

to the course of this 6 world, and obeyed the Ruler of the Powers of the 
Air, 7 even the Spirit who is now working in the children of disobedience ; 

3 amongst whom we also, in times past, lived, all of us, in fleshy lusts, 
fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of our imagination, and were by 

4 nature children of wrath, no less than others. 8 But God, who is rich in 

5 mercy, because of the. great love wherewith He loved us, even when 
we were dead in sin, called us to share the life of Christ (by grace you 

liverance of those who had been slaves of sin, of Christ, that is, the full manifestation of His 

but now were purchased for the service of being, because penetrated by His life, and 

God. living only in Him. It should be observed 

1 The majority of MSS. read "heart," that the Church is here spoken of so far forth 
which would give the less usual sense, the eyes as it corresponds to its ideal. 

of your heart. 5 The sentence (in the original) is left un- 

2 See Col. i. 16, and note. finished in the rapidity of dictation : but the 

3 Ps. viii. 6 (LXX.), quoted in the same verb is easily supplied for the context. 
Messianic sense, 1 Cor. xv. 27, and Heb. ii. 8. 6 Compare 2 Cor. iv. 4, 1 Cor. i. 20, &c. 
Compare also Ps. ex. 1. 7 In the Rabbinical theology evil spirits 

4 We see here again the same allusion to were designated as the " Powers of the Air." 
the technical use of the word Pleroma by false St. Paul is here again probably alluding to 
teachers as in Col. ii. 9, 10. St. Paul there the language of those teachers against whem 
asserts, that not the angelic hierarchy, but he wrote to the Colossians. 

Christ himself, is the true fulness of the God- 8 Literally, the rest of mankind, \. e. unbeliev 

head ; and here that the Church is the fulness ers. Compare 1 Thess. iv. 13. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 769 

ii. 
are saved) ; and in l Christ Jesus He raised us up with Him from the 6 

dead, and seated us with Him in the heavens ; that, in the ages which 7 
are coming, 2 He might manifest the surpassing riches of His grace, show- 
ing"' kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved, 8 
through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; not 9 
won by works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workman- 10 
ship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared ? 
that we should walk therein, 
andincorpo- Wherefore remember that you, who once were reckoned 11 

rated into 

God's Israel, among carnal Gentiles, who are called the Un circumcision 
by that which calls itself the Circumcision (a circumcision of the flesh, 4 
made by the hands of man) — that in those times you were shut out from 12 
Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the 
covenants 5 of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the 
world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye, who were once far off, have been 13 
The Law brought near through the blood of Christ. For He is our 14 

which divided 

jews from peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the 7 

Gentiles L ' 

abolished. wa ]]_ w hj c h parted us; for, in His 8 flesh, He destroyed the 15 
ground of our enmity, the law of enacted ordinances ; that so, making 16 
peace between us, out of both He might create 9 in himself one new man; 
and that, by His cross, He might reconcile both, in one body, unto God, 17 
having slain their enmity thereby. And when He came, He published 
the Glad-tidings of peace to you that were far off, and to them that were 
near. For through Him we both have power to approach the Father in the 18 
fellowship 10 of one Spirit. Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and 19 

1 The meaning is, that Christians share in 7 The allusion is evidently to that " balus- 
their Lord's glorification, and dwell with Him trade of stone " described by Josephus, which 
in heaven, in so far as they are united with separated the Court of the Gentiles from the 
Him. holier portion of the Temple, and which it 

2 Viz. the time of Christ's perfect triumph was death for a Gentile to pass. See Ch. 
over evil, always contemplated in the New XXI. p. 630. 

Testament as near at hand. s 1. e . by His death, as explained by the 

3 i. e. God, by the laws of His Providence, parallel passage, Col. i. 22. 

has prepared opportunities of doing good for 9 Christians are created in Christ (see above, 

every Christian. v. 10), t. e. their union with Christ is the es- 

4 Meaning a circumcision of the flesh, not of sential condition of their Christian existence. 
the spirit, — made by man's hands, not by God's. 10 "In one spirit." It is sometimes im- 

5 Covenants of the promise. Compare Gal. possible to translate such expressions accu- 
iii. 16, and Rom. ix. 4. rately, except by a periphrasis. 

6 Both, viz. Jews and Gentiles. 

49 



111. 



770 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxv. 

ii. 

sojourners, but fellow-citizens of the saints, and members of They are bum 

into the tem- 

20 God's household. You are built upon the foundation of the P leof Qod - 
Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone ; 

21 in whom all the building, fitly framed together, grows into a temple 

22 hallowed by the : indwelling of the Lord. And in Him, not others only, 2 
but you also, are built up together, to make a house wherein God may 
dwell by the 3 presence of His Spirit. 

1 Wherefore I, Paul, who, for maintaining the cause of you The mystery 

of universal 

2 Gentiles, am the prisoner of Jesus Christ 4 — for 5 I suppose cSmed b? r °* 
that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace, which oneVfoVit! 8 " 

3 was given me for you ; and how, by revelation, was 6 made known to me 

4 the mystery (as I have already shortly 7 written to you ; so that, when 
you read, you may perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ), 

5 which, in the generations of old, was not made known to the sons of men, 
as it has now been revealed by the indwelling 8 of the Spirit, to His holy 

6 Apostles and Prophets ; to wit, that the Gentiles are heirs of the same 
inheritance, and members of the same body, and partakers of the 9 same 
promise in Christ, by means of the Glad-tidings. 

7 And of this Glad-tidings I was made a ministering servant, according 
to the gift of the grace of God, which was given me in the full measure 

8 of His mighty working ; to me, I say, who am less than the least of all the 
saints, this grace was given, to bear among the Gentiles the Glad-tidings 

9 of the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring light to all, that they 
might behold what is the stewardship 10 of the mystery which, from the 

10 ages of old, has been hid in God, the maker of all things ; n that now, 

11 by the Church, 12 the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to 

1 u Holy in the Lord." See the preceding 6 In the MSS. the verb is passive, 
note. 7 The reference is to chap. i. 9, 10. 

2 You as well as others. s See notes on verses 18 and 21 above. 

3 Compare 1 Cor. iii. 16; and see note 1. 9 " His " is omitted by the best -MSS. 
"In the spirit" might, however, be taken 10 The best MSS. have stewardship, not fel- 
(with Okhausen and others) merely as an lowship. See note on i. 10. St. Paul displayed 
antithesis to "in the flesh." the nature of his " stewardship " by the man- 

4 The sentence is abruptly broken off here, ner in which he discharged its duties. Corn- 
but carried on again at v. 13. The whole pas- pare 1 Cor. ix. 17, and 2 Cor. iv. and v. 

sage bears evident marks of the rapidity of n "By Jesus Christ" is not in the best 

dictation. MSS. 

5 Literally, if, as I suppose you have heard of 12 i. e. by the union of all mankind in the 
the office of dispensing (sec note on i. 10) the Church. That which calls forth the expres- 
grace of God which iocs given me for you. sions of rapturous admiration here, and in the 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 771 

iii. 
the Principalities and Powers in the heavens, according to His eternal 

purpose, which He wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord ; in whom we can 12 

approach without fear to God, in trustful confidence, through faith in 

Him. 

He prays for Wherefore I pray that I may not faint under my sufferings 13 

them, that for you, which are your glory. For this cause I bend my 14 

they may be J ' J & J J 

strengthened ^ nees before the Father, 1 whose children 2 all are called in 15 

heaven and in earth, beseeching Him, that, in the richness of His glory, 16 

enlightened -^ e wou ^ a grant you strength by the entrance of His Spirit into 

your inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that having 17 

your root and your foundation in love, you may be enabled, with all the 18 

saints, to comprehend the breadth and length, and depth and height 

thereof ; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 3 that 19 

you may be filled therewith, even to the measure of 4 the fulness of God. 

Doxoiogy. Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly, above 20 

all that we ask or think, in the power of his might which works within 

us, — unto Him, in Christ Jesus, be glory in the Church, even to all the 21 

generations of the age of ages. Amen. 

iv. 
Exhortation I? therefore, the Lord's prisoner, exhort you to walk worthy \ 

Different gifts of the calling where with you were called; with all lowli- 2 

and offices 

must combine ne ss, 5 and gentleness, and long-suffering, forbearing one 

to bulla up 5 O 5 o O' o 

the church. ail0 th er i n love, striving to maintain the unity of the Spirit, 3 

bound together with the bond of peace. You are one body and one 4 

spirit, even as you were called to share one common hope ; you have 5 

one Lord, you have one faith, you have one baptism ; you have one God 6 
and Father of all, who is over all, and works through all, and dwells in 

all. 6 But each one of us received the gift of grace which he possesses 7 
according to the measure 7 wherein it was given by Christ. Wherefore 

similar passage in "Romans (xi. 33), in the might he literally rendered from ichom every 

divine plan of including all mankind in a fatherhood in heaven and earth is named; i. e. 

universal redemption. the very name of fatherhood refers us back to 

1 The words, "of our Lord Jesus Christ," God as the father of all. The A. V. is incor- 
are not in the best MSS. rect, and would require the definite article. 

2 The sense depends on a paronomasia, the 3 Again we observe an apparent allusion to 
word for "family" (A. V.) meaning a race de- the technical employment of the words Gnosis 
scended from a common ancestor. Compare Luke and Pleroma. 4 Unto, not ivith (A. V.). 
ii. 4. If fatherhood had this meaning in 5 See note on Col. iii. 12. 

English (as it might have had, according to 6 You omitted in best MSS. 

the analogy of "a brotherhood"), the verse 7 This verse is parallel to Rom. xii. 6, 



772 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxv. 



IV. 



8 it is 1 written : " Wfym |$Le burnt u% oit {rigjjr, J|,e letr rapfibiig rap- 

9 ixbtf aixir gate gifts nnta mm" Now that word "jp^ timt ny" what 

10 saith it, but that He first came down to the earth below ? Yea, He who 
came down is the same who is gone up, far above all the heavens, that He 

11 might fill all things. 2 And He gave some to be apostles, 3 and some prophets, 

12 and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting 
of the saints, to labor 4 in their appointed service, to build up the body 

13 of Christ ; till we all attain the same 5 faith and knowledge of the Son of 
God, and reach the stature of manhood, 6 and be of ripe age to receive 

14 the fulness of Christ ; 7 that we should no longer be children, tossed to 
and fro, and blown round by every shifting current of teaching, tricked 
by the sleight of men, and led astray into the snares 8 of the cunning ; 

15 but that we should live in truth and love, and should grow up in every 

16 part 9 to the measure of His- 10 growth, who is our head, even Christ. Prom 
whom n the whole body (being knit together, and compacted by all its 
joints) derives its continued growth in the working of His bounty, which 
supplies its needs, according to the measure of each several part, that it 
may build itself up in love. 

17 This I say, therefore, and adjure you in the Lord, to live no Exhortation 

J ' ' J J ' totherejec- 

longer like other (gentiles, whose minds are filled with folly, Heathen vice 

18 whose understanding is darkened, who are estranged from the rJuewaL ^ 
life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, through the 

19 blindness of their hearts; who, being past feeling, have given themselves 

" having gifts differing according to the grace 6 Literally, a man of mature age. 

which God has given us." The whole context 7 See again note on iii. 19. 

of the two passages also throws light on hoth. 8 Literally, cunningly toward the snares of 

1 Literally, it says, i. e. the Scripture says. misleading error. 

The quotation is from Ps. Ixviii. 18, but slight- 9 " In every part." See following verse. 

ly altered, so as to correspond neither with the 10 To grow into Him is to grow to the standard 

Hebrew nor with the Septuagint. Our two of His growth. 

authorized versions of the Psalms have here de- u Literally rendered, this is from whom all 

parted from the original, in order to follow the the body {being knit together and compacted by 

present passage; probably on the supposition every joint) , according to the working of his boun- 

that St. Paul quoted from some older reading. teous providing in the measure of each several part, 

2 Again we remark an allusion to the doc- continues the growth of the body. Compare the 
trine of the Pleroma. Compare i. 23. parallel passage, Col. ii. 19, from whom the 

3 0n this classification of church offices, whole body, by the joints which bind it, draws full 
seep. 381. supplies for its needs, and is knit together and 

4 The word does not mean " the ministry " increases in godly growth. A child derives its 
(A. V.). life from its father, and grows up to the stand- 

5 Literally, the oneness of the faith and of the ard of its father's growth. 
knowledge. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). 773 

iv. 
over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness in lust. 1 But you have 20 

not so learned . Christ ; if, indeed, you have heard His voice, and been 21 \ 
taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus ; to forsake your former life, and 22 
put off the old man, whose way is 2 destruction, following the desires 
which deceive ; and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put 23 
on the new man, created after God's likeness, in the righteousness and 24 
Against holiness of the Truth. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak 25 

several speci- 
fied vices, every man truth with his neighbor ; for we are members one 

of another. " |U gc attjjrjr, atttr BXXX nat" 3 Let not the sun go down 26 ; 27 

upon your wrath, nor give away to the Devil. Let the robber 4 rob no 28 

more, but rather let him labor, working to good purpose with his hands, 

that he may have somewhat to share with the needy. From your mouth 29 

let no filthy words come forth, but such as may build up 5 the Church 

according to its need, and give a blessing to the hearers. And grieve 30 

not the Holy Spirit of God, who was given to seal you 6 for the day of 

redemption. Let all bitterness, and passion, and anger, and clamor, and 31 

evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice ; and be 7 kind one 32 

to X chrisSke to an <>ther, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God 

anliove? 88 in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be followers of God's v. 1 

example, as the children of His love. And walk in love, as Christ also 2 

loved us, and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice unto God, 

for " ait atom ai shmtrtess." 8 

puruylnd" But, as Dents the saints, let not fornication or any kind of 3 



1 For this see note on 1 Cor. v. 11 ; and church " or something equivalent), >hat it may 
compare chap. v. 3. give a blessing to the hearers. 

2 Not "corrupt" (A. V.), but going on in 6 The tense is mistranslated in A. V. 
the way of ruin. Literally, in whom you were sealed. The mean- 

3 Ps. iv. 4 (LXX.). • ing is rendered evident by i. 13, 14. It ts the 

4 Him that steals (present). The A. V. constant doctrine of St. Paul that the gift of 
would require the aorist. It should be remem- the Holy Spirit is a seal or mark of Christ's 
bered that the stealers (klephts) of the N. T. redeemed, which was given them at their 
were not what we should now call thieves (as conversion and reception into the Church, as a 
the word is generally rendered in A. V.), but foretaste of their full redemption. Compare 
bandits ; and there is nothing strange in find- Horn. via. 23. 

ing such persons numerous in the provincial 7 Literally, " become ye." This word is 

towns among the mountains of Asia Minor. sometimes used as simply equivalent to " be 

See p. 145. ye." Compare v. 17. 

6 Literally such as is good for needful build- 8 Gen. viii. 21 (LXX.): see Phil. iv. 18, 

ing up ("building" always implies "the where it is also quoted. 



774 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXV. 



V. 

4 uncleaimess or lust 1 be so much as named among you ; nor other sins of 

Heathen dark- 

iilthiness, nor buffoonery, nor ribald jesting, for such speech ness ' 

5 beseems you not, but rather thanksgiving. Yea, this you know ; for you 
have learned that no fornicator, or impure or lustful man, who is nothing 
better than an 2 idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ 

6 and God. Let no man mislead you by empty 3 words ; for these are the 
deeds 4 which bring the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 

7, 8 Be not ye, therefore, partakers with them ; for you once were darkness, 

9 but now are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ; for the fruits 

10 of light 5 are in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth. Examine well 



which must b( 
rebuked .by 
the example 
and watchful- 
ness of Chris- 
tians. 



11 what is acceptable to the Lord, and have no fellowship with 
the unfruitful works of darkness, yea, rather expose their foul- 

12 ness. 6 For, concerning the secret deeds of the Heathen, 7 it is 

13 shameful even to speak ; yet all these things, when exposed, 

14 are made manifest by the shining of the light ; for whatsoever is made 
manifest becomes light. 8 Wherefore it is written, 9 ^ixruh^ tJj0U Igat 

sUcpest, attir uxm from % btatr, anir (Efrrist sjrall gfrine itpon 



1 It has been before remarked that this 
passage is conclusive as to the use of this par- 
ticular Greek word by St. Paul ; for what 
intelligible sense is there in saying that " cov- 
etousness" must not be so much as named? 
See note on 1 Cor. v. 11. It was there 
remarked that the use of concupiscence in 
English is an analogous case ; it might be 
added that the word lust itself is likewise used 
in both senses ; e. g. " the lust of gold." 

[Since our First Edition, we are glad to see 
that this old view of the Pauline usage of 
the word has been adopted by Prof. Jowett 
and Prof. Stanley, in their notes on Rom. i. 
29, and 1 Cor. v. 11, respectively, and by Dean 
Trench in his Synonymes.] 

2 See note on Col. iii. 5. 

3 Namely, reasonings to prove the sins of 
-impurity innocent. See 1 Cor. vi. 12-20, and 
the note. 

4 Viz., the sins of impurity. Compare 
Horn. i. 24-27. 

5 Light, not Spirit, is the reading of the 
best MSS. 



6 The verb means to lay bare the real charac- 
ter of a thing by exposing it to open scrutiny. 

7 " What is done by them," i.e. the Heathen. 

8 Such appears to be the meaning of this 
difficult verse, viz., that, when the light falls 
on any object, the object itself reflects the 
rays ; implying that moral evil will be recog- 
nized as evil by the conscience, if it is shown 
in its true colors by being brought into con- 
trast with the laws of pure morality. The 
preceding " is made manifest " does not allow 
us to translate the same foim immediately 
following as active (as A. V.). 

9 See note on iv. 8. 

10 There is no verse exactly corresponding 
with this in the 0. T. But Isaiah lx. 1 is 
perhaps referred to. We must remember, 
however, that there is no proof that St. Paul 
intends (either here or 1 Cor. ii. 9) to quote 
the Old Testament. Some have supposed that 
he is quoting a Christian hymn ; others, a 
saying of our Lord (as at Acts xx. 35.) 



chap.xsv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAXS (SO CALLED). 775 

V. 

See, then, that you walk 1 without stumbling, not in folly, but in 15 
wisdom, forestalling 2 opportunity, because the times are evil. Therefore, 16,17 
be not without understanding, but learn to know what the will of the 
Lord is. 
restive meet- Be not drunk with wine, like those 3 who live riotously ; but 18 

ings, how to 

be celebrated. \) Q filled with the indwelling of the Spirit, when you speak one 
to another. 4 Let your singing be of psalms and hymns and spiritual 19 
songs ; and make melody with the music of your hearts, to the Lord. 5 
And at all times, for all things which befall you, give thanks to our God 20 
and Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Duties of Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. 6 21 

wives and 

husbands. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as unto the Lord ; 22 

for the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the Church, 7 23 

His body, which He saves. 8 But, 9 as the Church submits itself to Christ, 24 
so let the wives submit themselves to their husbands in all things. 

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and 25 

gave Himself for it, that, having purified it by the water wherein it is 26 

washed, 10 He might hallow it by the indwelling of the word of God ; that 27 

1 iJean Ellicott's translation, " See then by the best MSS. ; an omission to which 
how ye walk with exactness," is literally accu- Jerome testifies. The transition of participial 
rate, two ugh scarcely intelligible to an English into imperative clauses is according to the 
reader. analogy of the similar hortatory passage, 

2 See Col. iv. 5, and note. Eom. xii. 8 to 19. 

3 Literally, in doing which is riotous living. 7 This statement occurs 1 Cor. ii. 3 almost 

4 SYe put a full stop after to one another verbatim. 

(hert), as Col. iii. 16. 8 The literal English is,Ae is the deliverer of 

5 Throughout the whole passage there is a his body ; and an analogy is implied to the con- 
contrast implied between the Heathen and the jugal relation, in which the husband maintains 
Christian practice, q. d. When you meet, let and cherishes the wife. 

your enjoyment consist, not in fulness of wine, hut 9 The conjunction cannot be translated 

fulness of the Spirit ; let your songs be, not the " therefore" (A. V.). 

drinking-songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and 10 "The water" (not simply "water"); 

hymns: and their accompaniment, not the music literally, by the later of the water, equivalent to 

of the lyre, but the melody of the heart ; while you later of regeneration (Titus iii. 5). The follow- 

sing them to the praise, not of Bacchus or Venus, iug in the word is exceedingly difficult. Chrys- 

but of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eor the construe- ostom and the patristic commentators general- 

tion and punctuation, see Col. iii. 16. ly explain it of tbe formula of baptism; De 

6 Christ is the reading of the best MSS. Wette takes the same view. But see St. Paul's 
That this comprehends all the special relations use of the same expression elsewhere, Rom. x. 
of subjection which follow (and should be 8, x. 17, also Eph. vi. 17 ; and moreover, as 
joined with what follows) is shown by the Winer and Meyer have remarked, the junction 
omission of submit yourselves (in the next verse) of " in the word " with the verb better suits 



776 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxv. 



V. 



28 He might Himself 1 present unto Himself 2 the Church in stainless glory, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy 
and unblemished. In like manner, husbands ought to love their wives as 
they love their own bodies ; for he that loves his wife does but love him- 

29 self: and a man never hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes 
30,31 it, as Christ 3 also the Church ; for we are members of His body. 4 " Jftfr 

tjris tuns* sljalt u mun leata Ijb fa%r attir jus m0%r, attir sjmll 

32 tlmht xxnta Ijb foife, aixir %g tkor sfjaii bz am fbslj/' 5 This 

33 mystery is great, but I 6 speak of Christ and of the Church. Neverthe- 
less, let every one of you individually 7 so love his wife even as himself, 
and let the wife see that she reverence her husband. 

vi. 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. Duties of cmi- 

2 " Jf 0nOT tljg fafljtr antr tljg ntcrijxer," 8 which is the first parent 

3 commandment with 9 promise : " Cfjaf if Xtmv ht foxll iuiflj fylt t axtbr 

tlpu sljali life long n$an % mxilj" 10 

4 And ye, fathers, vex not your children ; but bring them up in such 
training and correction as befits the servants of the Lord. 11 

5 Bondsmen, obey your earthly masters with anxiety and self- Duties of 

6 distrust, 12 in singleness of heart, as unto Christ ; not with eye- masters, 
service, as men-pleasers, but as bondsmen of Christ, doing the will of 

7 God from the soul. With good will fulfilling your service, as to the Lord 

8 our master, 13 and not to men. For you know that whatever good any man 
does, the same shall he receive from the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 



the Greek. On this view, the meaning is that 6 The pronoun is emphatic : but I, while I 

the Church, having been purified by the waters quote these words out of the Scriptures, use them 

of baptism, is hallowed by the revelation of in a higher sense. 

the mind of God imparted to it, whether 7 In your individual capacity, contrasted 

mediately or immediately. Compare Heb. with the previous collective view of the mem- 

iv. 12, 13. bers of the Church as the bride of Christ. 

1 The best MSS. read thus. 8 Ex. xx. 12, and Deut. v. 16 (LXX.). 

E The Church is compared to a bride, as 9 Literally, in a promise. The command 

2 Cor. xi. 2. being (as it were) set in a promise. 

3 The best MSS. read Christ. 10 Ex. xx. 12, and Deut. y. 16 (LXX. not 

4 The words " of his flesh and of his bones " exactly verbatim). 

are not found in the MSS. of highest authority u The word lord implies the idea of set- 

(A. and B.). They may have easily been vants. 

introduced from the Septuagint, where they 12 " With fear and trembling " has ibis 

occur immediately before the following quota- meaning in St. Paul's language. Compare 

tion, viz. at Gen. ii. 23. 1 Cor. ii. 3. 



5 Gen. ii. 24 (LXX.). . 13 See note on Col. iii. 25. 



chap. xxv. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (SO CALLED). Til 

vi. 
And ye, masters, do in like manner by them, and abstain from threats; 9 

knowing that your own 1 Master is in heaven, and that with Him is no 

respect of persons. 

Exhortation Finally, my brethren, let your hearts be strengthened in the 10 

§K*an nth! Lord, 2 and in the conquering power of His might. Put on the 11 

armor. 

whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm 
against the wiles of the Devil. For the adversaries with whom we wrestle 12 
are not flesh and blood, but they are 3 the Principalities, the Powers, and 
the Sovereigns of this 4 present darkness, the spirits of evil in the 
heavens. Wherefore, take up with you to the battle 5 the whole armor 13 
of God, that you may be able to withstand them in the evil day, and, 
having 6 overthrown them all, to stand unshaken. Stand, therefore, girt 14 
with the belt of truth, and wearing the breastplate of righteousness, and 15 
shod as ready messengers of the Glad-tidings of peace : and take? up to 16 
cover you 7 the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all 
the fiery darts of the Evil One. Take, likewise, the helmet of salvation, 8 17 
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 9 
To pray for Continue to pray at every season with all earnestness of sup- 18 

others and for ,.,. . n • • -i • -ii in-i-i-n 

Paul. plication in the Spirit; and to this end be watchful with all 

perseverance in prayer for all the saints ; and for me, that utterance may 19 
be given me, to open my mouth and make known with boldness the 20 
mystery of. the Glad-tidings, for which I am an ambassador in fetters. 10 
Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Tychicns the But that you, as well as u others, may be informed of my 21 
concerns, and how I fare, Tychicus, my 12 beloved brother, and 

1 Some of the best MSS. read "both their against hostile weapons by his knowledge of 

and your," which brings out still more forcibly the salvation won for him by Christ. 
the equality of slaves and masters in the sight 9 For the meaning of " word of God." see 

of Christ. note on chap. v. 26. It is here represented as 

2 This is the literal meaning. the only offensive weapon of Christian warfare. 

3 Compare Col. ii. 15, and the note; also The Roman pilum (Joh. xix. 34) is not men 
John xii. 31. tioned. For a commentary on this military 

4 " This world " is omitted in the best MSS. imagery, and the circumstances which natural- 

5 " Take up," literally. ly suggested it, see the beginning of the next 

6 Not " done " (A. V.), but " overthrown." chapter. 

7 To cover all. If it meant in addition to all 10 See Paley's observations (Horce Paulince, 
(Ellicott), it would suiely have come last in in loco), and our preceding remarks on Custo- 
the list. dia Militaris. n " You also." 

? The head of the Christian is defended 12 See the parallel passage, Col. iv. 7. 



778 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXV. 



VL 



22 faithful servant in the Lord, will make all known to you. And I have 
sent him to you for this very end, that you may learn what concerns me, 
and that he may comfort your hearts. 

23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our ConeIuding 
Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in * sincerity. 5 



benediction. 



1 The difficulty of the concluding words is 
well known : the phrase might also be trans- 
lated in immortality, with the meaning whose 
love endures immortally. Olshausen supposes 
the expression elliptical, for " that they may 



have life in immortality ; " but this can scarce- 
ly be justified. 

2 "Amen/' as usual, ia omitted in the best 
MSS. 



4 


—"■ ■ , rr '."■ 










* r 


I: 










• 1st: 



Ground-Plan of the Basilica of Pompeii. 
(From Gell's Pompeii.) 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



The Praetorium and the Palatine. — Arrival of Epaphroditus. — Political Events at Rome. — 
Octavia and Poppsea. — St. Paul writes the Epistle to the Philippians. — He makes Converts 
in the Imperial Household. 

THE close of the Epistle to which our attention has just been turned 
contains a remarkable example of the forcible imagery of St. Paul. 1 
Considered simply in itself, this description of the Christian's armor 
is one of the most striking passages in the Sacred Volume. But if we 
view it in connection with the circumstances with which the Apostle was 
surrounded, we find a new and living emphasis in his enumeration of all 
the parts of the heavenly panoply, 2 — the belt of sincerity and truth, with 
which the loins 3 are girded for the spiritual war, — the breastplate of 
that righteousness, 4 the inseparable links whereof are faith and love, 5 — 
the strong sandals, 6 with which the feet of Christ's soldiers are made 
ready, 7 not for such errands of death and despair as those on which the 
Praetorian soldiers were daily sent, but for the universal message of 
the Gospel of peace, — the large shield 8 of confident trust, 9 wherewith the 
whole man is protected, 10 and whereon the fiery arrows u of the Wicked 

1 Eph. vi. 14-17. context, but strong and heavy sandals. See 

2 " The whole armor of God." For au- the anecdote of the death of the centurion 
thentic information regarding the actual Julian in the Temple at Jerusalem. Joseph. 
Roman armor of the time, we may refer to War, vi. 1, 8. 

Piranesi's fine illustrations of the columns of 7 " Shod as ready messengers," &c. 

Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. There are also 8 The " shield " here is the large oblong or 

many useful engravings in Dr. Smith's Die- oval Roman shield — the scutum, not the clipeus 

tionary of Antiquities. — specimens of which may be seen in Piranesi. 

8 " Your loins girt about with truth." The See especially the pedestal of Trajan's column, 

belt or zona passed round the lower part of the 9 " The shield of faith." 

body, below the " breastplate," and is to be 10 Observe " over all," which is not clearly 

distinguished from the balteus, which went over translated in the Authorized Version, 

the shoulder. n Part of the artillery in an ancient siege 

4 " Wearing the breastplate of righteous- consisted of darts and heavier missiles, in the 
ness." The " breastplate " was a cuirass or heads of which were inflammable materials, 
corselet, reaching nearly to the loins. Diodorus Siculus, in his account of one of the 

5 In the parallel passage (1 Thess. v. 8), the sieges of Rhodes, uses the very expression 
breastplate is described as " the breastplate of here employed by the Apostle. The Latin 
faith and love." names for these missiles were falaricoz and 

6 The Roman caligoz were not greaves, malleoli. Liv. xxi. 8 ; Cic. Cat. i. 13. 
which in fact would not harmonize with the 

779 



780 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvi. 

One fall harmless and dead, — the close-fitting helmet, 1 with which the 
hope of salvation 2 invests the head of the believer, — and finally the 
sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, 3 which, when wielded by the Great 
Captain of our Salvation, turned the Tempter in the wilderness to flight, 
while in the hands of His chosen Apostle (with whose memory the sword 
seems inseparably associated) 4 it became the means of establishing Chris- 
tianity on the earth. 

All this imagery becomes doubly forcible if we remember that when 
St. Paul wrote the words he was chained to a soldier, and in the close 
neighborhood of military sights and sounds. The appearance of the 
Praetorian guards was daily familiar to him; — as his " chains " on the 
other hand (so he tells us in the succeeding Epistle) became " well 
known throughout the whole Prcetorium." (Phil. i. 13.) A difference 
of opinion has existed as to the precise meaning of the word in this pas- 
sage. Some have identified it, as in the Authorized Version, with the 
" house of Caesar" on the Palatine: 5 more commonly it has been sup- 
posed to mean that permanent camp of the Praetorian guards, which 
Tiberius established on the north of the city, outside the walls. 6 As 
regards the former opinion, it is true that the word came to be used, 
almost as we use the word " palace," for royal residences generally, or 
for any residences of a princely splendor, 7 and that thus we read, in other 
parts of the New Testament, of the Praetorium of Pilate at Jerusalem 8 
and the Prastorium of Herod at Caesarea. 9 Yet we never find the word 
employed for the Imperial house at Rome : and we believe the truer view 
to be that which has been recently advocated, 10 namely, that it denotes 
here, not the palace itself, but the quarters of that part of the Imperial 
guards which was in immediate attendance upon the Emperor. Such a 
military establishment is mentioned in the fullest account which we pos- 
sess of the first residence of Augustus on the Palatine : n and it is in har- 

1 One of these compact Roman helmets, Paul, and that a statue of the Apostle, bear- 
preserved in England, at Goodrich Court, is ing the sword, is on the summit. 

engraved in Dr. Smith's Dictionary. (See under 5 With Phil. i. 13 we should compare iv. 

Galea). 22 in the Authorized Version. 

2 With " helmet of salvation " (Eph. vi. & See above, in the description of Rome, 
17) we should compare "as a helmet the hope and compare the map. 

of salvation" (1 Thess. v. 8). 7 We find the word used in Suetonius for 

3 See note on the passage. the Imperial castles out of Rome. Elsewhere 

4 It is the emblem of his martyrdom : and it is applied to the palaces of foreign princes, 
we can hardly help associating it also with this and even private persons. 

passage. The small short sword of the Ro- 8 See above, p. 634. 

mans was worn like a dagger on the right side. 9 See above, p. 659, n. 4. 

Specimens may be seen in Piranesi. Tbose 10 In Wieseler's note, p. 403. 

readers wbo have been in Rome will remember n " The Imperial residence is called Palo- 

that Pope Sixtus V. dedicated the column of tium . . . because the Emperor dwelt on 

Aurelius (ab omni impietate purgatam) to St. Mount Palatine, and there he had his military 



«hap. xxvi. THE PALATINE. 781 

mony with the general ideas on which the monarchy was founded. The 
Emperor was praetor 1 or commander-in-chief of the troops, and it was 
natural that his immediate guard should be in a prcetorium near him. 
It might, indeed, be argued that this military establishment on the Pala- 
tine would cease to be necessary when the Prastorian camp was estab- 
lished : but the purpose of that establishment was to concentrate near the 
city those cohorts which had previously been dispersed in other parts of 
Italy : a local body-guard near the palace would not cease to be neces- 
sary : and Josephus, in his account of the imprisonment of Agrippa, 2 
speaks of a " camp " in connection with the " royal house." Such we 
conceive to have been the barrack immediately alluded to by St. Paul : 
though the connection of these smaller quarters with the general camp 
was such that he would naturally become known to " all the rest " 3 of 
the guards, as well as those who might for the time be connected with 
the Imperial household. 

What has just been said of the word " praetorium " applied still more 
extensively to the word " palatium." Originally denoting the hill on 
which the twin-brothers were left by the retreating river, it grew to be, 
and it still remains, the symbol of Imperial power. Augustus was born 
on the Palatine ; 4 and he fixed his official residence there when the Civil 
Wars were terminated. Thus it may be truly said, that, " after the 
Capitol and the Forum, no locality in the ancient city claims so much of 
our interest as the Palatine hill, — at once the birthplace of the infant 
city, and the abode of her rulers during the days of her greatest 
splendor, — where the red-thatched cottage of Romulus was still pre- 
served in the midst of the gorgeous structures of Caligula and Nero." 5 
About the close of the Republic, this hill was the residence of many 
distinguished citizens, such as Crassus, Cicero, Catiline, Clodius, and 
Antony. Augustus himself simply bought the house of Hortensius, and 
lived there in modest state. 6 But the new era was begun for the 
Palatine, when the first Emperor, soon after the battle of Actium, raised 
the temple of Apollo, with its celebrated Greek and Latin libraries, 7 on 
the side near the Forum. Tiberius erected a new palace, or an addition 



force (Prcetorium) . . . hence it comes that 4 Suet. Aug. 5. 

wherever the Emperor is living it is called 5 Bunbury in the Classical Museum, vol. v. 

Palatium." Dio Cass. liii. 16. p. 229. We learn from Plutarch and Diony- 

1 See what has been said (pp. 129, 130) in sius that this "wooden hut thatched with 
reference to the term proproztor in the prov- reeds, which was preserved as a memorial of 
inces. the simple habitation of the Shepherd-king," 

2 Joseph. Ant. xviii. 6. He uses arparonedov was on the side of the hill tc tvards the Circus, 
for the prcetorium, and (3aaiXsLov for the pala- p. 232. 

tium. Compare what is said of Drusus, Suet. 6 Suet. Aug. 72. 

Tib. 54. 3 Ibid. * Hor. Ep. i. iii. 17. Suet. Aug. 29. 



782 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvi. 

to the old one, on the opposite side of the hill, immediately above the 
Circus Maximus. 1 It remained for subsequent Emperors to cover the 
whole area of the hill with structures connected with the palace. 
Caligula extended the Imperial buildings by a bridge (as fantastic as that 
at Baiae), 2 which joined the Palatine with the Capitol. Nero made a 
similar extension in the direction of the Esquiline : and this is the point 
at which we must arrest our series of historical notices ; for the burning 
of Rome and the erection of the Golden House intervened between the 
first and second imprisonments of the Apostle Paul. The fire, more- 
over, which is so closely associated with the first sufferings of the Church, 
has made it impossible to identify any of the existing ruins on the 
Palatine with buildings that were standing when the Apostle was among 
the Praetorian guards. Nor indeed is it possible to assign the ruins to 
their proper epochs. All is now confusion on the hill of Romulus and 
Augustus. Palace after palace succeeded, till the Empire was lost in the 
mist of the Middle Ages. As we explore the subterraneous chambers, 
where classical paintings are still visible on the plaster, or look out 
through broken arches over the Campagna and its aqueducts, the mind 
is filled with blending recollections, not merely of a long line of Roman 
Caesars, but of Ravenna and Constantinople, Charlemagne and Rienzi. 
This royal part of the Western Babylon has almost shared the fate of the 
city of the Euphrates. The Palatine contains gardens and vineyards, 3 
and half-cultivated spaces of ground, where the acanthus-weed grows in 
wild luxuriance : but its population has shrunk to one small convent ; 4 
and the unhealthy air seems to brood like a curse over the scene of 
Nero's tyranny and crime. 

St. Paul was at Rome precisely at that time when the Palatine was 
the most conspicuous spot on the earth, not merely for crime, but for 
splendor and power. This was the centre of all the movements of the 
Empire. 5 Here were heard the causes of all Roman citizens who had 
appealed to Caesar. 6 Hence were issued the orders to the governors of 
provinces, and to the legions on the frontier. From the " Golden Mile- 
stone " (Milliarium Aureum) 7 below the palace, the roads radiated in 
all directions to the remotest verge of civilization. The official messages 
of the Emperor were communicated along them by means of posts 

1 The position of the "Domus Tiberiana " 4 The Franciscan convent of St. Bonaven- 
is determined by the notices of it in the account tura, facing the Forum. & Tac. Hist. iii. 70. 
of the murder of Galba. 6 See the account of St. Paul's trial in the 

2 See above, p. 724. next chapter. 

3 The Farnese Gardens and the Villa Mills 7 The Milliarium Aureum (afterwards called 
(formerly Villa Spada) are well known to the Umbilicus Romce) is believed to have been 
travellers. Some of the finest arches are in discovered at the base of the Capitol, near the 
the Vigna del Collegio Inglese. Temples of Saturn and Concord. 



chap. xxvi. EPAPHRODITUS. 783 

established by the government : 1 but these roads afforded also the means 
of transmitting the letters of private citizens, whether sent by means of 
tabellarii? or by the voluntary aid of accidental travellers. To such 
communications between the metropolis and the provinces others were 
now added of a kind hitherto unknown in the world, — not different 
indeed in outward appearance 3 from common letters, — but containing 
commands more powerful in their effects than the despatches of Nero, — 
touching more closely the private relations of life than all the correspond- 
ence of Seneca 4 or Pliny, — and proclaiming, in the very form of their 
salutations, the perpetual union of the Jew, the Greek, and the Roman. 5 
It seems probable that the three letters which we have last read were 
despatched from Borne when St. Paul had been resident there about a 
year, 6 that is, in the spring of the year 62 a.d. After the departure of 
Tychicus and Onesimus, the Apostle's prison was cheered by the arrival 
of Epaphroditus, who bore a contribution from the Christians of Philippi. 
We have before seen instances 7 of the noble liberality of that Church, 
and now once more we find them ministering to the necessities of their 
beloved teacher. Epaphroditus, apparently a leading presbyter among 
the Philippians, had brought on himself, by the fatigues or perils of his 
journey, a dangerous illness. St. Paul speaks of him with touching 
affection. He calls him his " brother, and companion in labor, and fel- 

1 So far as related to government de- without some allusion to the so-called corre- 
spatches, Augustus established posts similar to spondence between him and St. Paul : but a 
those of King Ahasuerus. Compare Suet. mere allusion is not enough for so vapid and 
Aug. 49 with Esther viii. 13, 14. meaningless a forgery. These Epistles (with 

2 See Becker's Gallus, p. 250 (Eng. Trans.). that which is called the Ep. to the Laodiceans, 

3 In p. 357, a general reference was made described p. 762, note 5) will be found in Jones 
to the interest connected even with the writing on the Canon (vol. ii.). 

materials employed by St. Paul. There is lit- 5 We allude to the combination of the Ori- 

tle doubt that these were reed-pens, Egyptian ental "peace" with the Greek "grace" or 

paper, and black ink. All these are mentioned "joy" in the opening salutations of all St. 

by St. John {paper and ink, 2 Joh. 12; ink and Paul's Epistles. We may compare Horace's 

pen, 3 Joh. 13) ; and St. Paul himself, in a " Celso gaudere," &c, Ep. i. viii., with the 

passage where there is a blended allusion to opening of the letter of Lysias to Felix, Acts 

inscriptions on stone and to letter-writing (2 xxiii. 26. 

Cor. iii. 3), speaks of ink. Representations of 6 The state of things described in the 4th 

ancient inkstands found at Pompeii, with reed- chapter of Colossians, the conversion of 

pens, may be seen in Dr. Smith's Dictionary, Onesimus and his usefulness to St. Paul 

under Atramentum. Allusion has been made (Philem. 11-13), imply the continuance of St. 

in a previous page to the paper-trade of Egypt. Paul's ministry at Rome during a period 

Parchment (2 Tim. iv. 13) was of course used which can hardly have been less than a year, 

for the secondary MSS. in which the Epistles Nor would St. Paul, at the beginning of his 

were preserved. Letters were written in the imprisonment, have written as he does (Philem. 

large or uncial character, though of course the 22) of his captivity as verging towards its ter- 

handwriting of different persons would vary. mination. 
See Gal. vi. 11. 7 See the account of the Macedonian col- 

4 We must not pass by the name of Seneca lection, p. 480. 



784 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvi. 

low-soldier " (ii. 25) ; declares that " his labor in the cause of Christ 
had brought him near to death " (ii. 30), and that he had " hazarded his 
life " in order to s< pply the means of communication between the 
Philippians and himself. And, when speaking of his recovery, he says, 
" God had compassion on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that 
I might not have sorrow upon sorrow." (ii. 27.) We must suppose, 
from these expressions, that Epaphroditus had exposed himself to some 
unusual risk in his journey. Perhaps his health was already feeble when 
he set out, so that he showed self-devotion in encountering fatigues which 
were certain to injure him. 

Meanwhile St. Paul continued to preach, and his converts to multiply. 
We shall find that when he wrote to the Philippians, either towards 
the close of this year, or at the beginning of the next, great effects had 
already been produced ; and that the Church of Rome was not only 
enlarged, but encouraged to act with greater boldness upon the surround- 
ing masses of Heathenism, 1 by the successful energy of the apostolic 
prisoner. Yet the political occurrences of the year might well have 
alarmed him for his safety, and counselled a more timid course. We 
have seen that prisoners in St. Paul's position were under the charge of 
the Praetorian Prefect ; and in this year occurred the death of the virtu- 
ous Burrus, 2 under whose authority his imprisonment had been so 
unusually mild. Upon this event the prefecture was put into com- 
mission, and bestowed on Fenius Rufus and Sofonius Tigellinus. The 
former was respectable, 3 but wanting in force of character, and quite 
unable to cope with his colleague, who was already notorious for that 
energetic wickedness which has since made his name proverbial. St. 
Paul's Christian friends in Rome must have trembled to think of him as 
subject to the caprice of this most detestable of Nero's satellites. It does 
not seem, however, that his situation was altered for the worse ; possibly 
he was never brought under the special notice of Tigellinus, who was too 
intent on court intrigues, at this period, to attend to so trifling a matter 
as the concerns of a Jewish prisoner. 

Another circumstance occurred about the same time, which seeio<ed to 
threaten still graver mischief to the cause of Paul. This was the mar- 
riage of Nero to his adulterous mistress Poppaea, who had become a 
proselyte to Judaism. This infamous woman, not content with inducing 



1 Phil. i. 12-14. riod Nero's public administration became grad- 

2 Tac. Ann. xiv. 51. The death of Burrus ually worse and worse, till at length his infa- 
was an important epoch in Nero's reign. my rivalled that of his private life. 

Tacitus tells us in the following chapter that 3 Fenius Eufus was afterwards executed for 

it broke the power of Seneca and established his share in Piso's conspiracy (Tac. Ann. xv. 66, 

the influence of Tigellinus ; and from this pe- 68), in which he showed lamentable imbecility. 



chap. xxvi. ST. PAUL'S EELEASE DOUBTFUL. 785 

her paramour to divorce his young wife Octavia, had demanded and 
obtained the death of her rival ; and had gloated over the head of the 
murdered victim, 1 which was forwarded from Pandataria to Rome for her 
inspection. Her power seemed now to have reached its zenith, but rose 
still higher at the beginning of the following year, upon the birth of a 
daughter, when temples were erected to her and her infant, 2 and divine 
honors paid them. We know from Josephus 3 that she exerted her influ- 
ence over Nero in favor of the Jews, and that she patronized their emis- 
saries at Rome ; and assuredly no scruples of humanity would prevent 
her from seconding their demand for the punishment of their most 
detested antagonist. 

These changed circumstances fully account for the anticipations of 
an unfavorable issue to his trial, which we shall find St. Paul now ex- 
pressing ; 4 and which contrast remarkably with the confident expectation 
of release entertained by him when he wrote the letter 5 to Philemon. 
When we come to discuss the trial of St. Paul, we shall see reason to 
believe that the providence of God did in fact avert this danger ; but at 
present all things seemed to wear a most threatening aspect. Perhaps 
the death of Pallas 6 (which also happened this year) may be considered, 
on the other hand, as removing an unfavorable influence ; for, as the 
brother of Felix, he would have been willing to soften the Jewish accusers 
of that profligate governor, by co-operating with their designs against 
St. Paul. But his power had ceased to be formidable, either for good or 
evil, some time before his death. 

Meanwhile Epaphroditus was fully recovered from his sickness, and 
able once more to travel ; and he willingly prepared to comply with St. 
Paul's request that he would return to Philippi. We are told that he 
was " filled with longing " to see his friends again, and the more so when 
he heard that great anxiety had been caused among them by the news of 
his sickness. 7 Probably he occupied an influential post in the Philippian 
Church, and St. Paul was unwilling to detain him any longer from his 
duties there. He took the occasion of his return to send a letter of 
grateful acknowledgment to his Philippian converts. 

It has been often remarked that this Epistle contains less of censure 
and more of praise than any other of St. Paul's extant letters. It gives 

1 Tac. Ann. xiv. 64. Temple. They sent ambassadors to Rome, who 

2 Tac. Ann. xv. 23, The temples to Pop- succeeded by Poppsea's intercession in carrying 
paea are mentioned in a fragment of Dio. their point. 4 Phil. ii. 17, and iii. 11. 

8 Josephus, Antiq. xx. 8, 11, speaks of 5 Philem. 22, 23. 

Nero as " granting favors to the Jews, to 6 Pallas was put to death by poison soon 

please Poppoea, who was a religious woman. " after the marriage of Poppsea, and in the same 

This was on the occasion of the wall which the year. Tac. Ann. xiv. 65. 
Jews built to intercept Agrippa's view of the 7 Phil. ii. 26. 



786 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvx. 

us a very high idea of the Christian state of the Philippians, as shown by 
the firmness of their faith under persecution, 1 their constant obedience 
and attachment to St. Paul, 2 and the liberality which distinguished them 
above all other Churches. 3 They were also free from doctrinal errors, 
and no schism had as yet been created among them by the Judaizing party. 
They are warned, however, against these active propagandists, who were 
probably busy in their neighborhood, or (at least) might at any time 
appear among them. The only blemish recorded as existing in the 
Church of Philippi is, that certain of its members were deficient in lowli- 
ness of mind, and were thus led into disputes and altercations with their 
brethren. Two women of consideration amongst the converts, Euodia 
and Syntyche by name, had been especially guilty of this fault ; and 
their variance was the more to be regretted because they had both 
labored earnestly for the propagation of the faith. St. Paul exhorts the 
Church, with great solemnity and earnestness, 4 to let these disgraceful 
bickerings cease, and to be all " of one soul and one mind." He also 
gives them very full particulars about his own condition, and the spread 
of the Gospel at Rome. He writes in a tone of most affectionate remem- 
brance, and, while anticipating the speedily-approaching crisis of his fate, 
he expresses his faith, hope, and joy with peculiar fervency. 



THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 5 
i. 1 PAUL and Timotheus, bondsmen of Jesus Christ, To all Salutation. 

THE SAINTS 6 IN CHRIST JESUS WHO ARE AT PHILIPPI, WITH THE BISHOPS 7 
AND DEACONS. 8 

1 Phil. i. 28, 29. (3.) It was written towards the conclusion of 

2 Phil. ii. 12. s Phil. iv. 15. this first imprisonment, because (a) he expects 

4 Phil. ii. 1, 2, and iv. 2. the immediate decision of his cause; (b) 

5 The following are the grounds of the Enough time had elapsed for the Philippians 
date assigned to this Epistle : — to hear of his imprisonment, send Epaphrodi- 

(1.) It was written during an imprisonment tus to him, hear of Epaphroditus's arrival and 

at Rome, because (a) the Prcetorium (i. 13) sickness, and send back word to Rome of their 

was at Rome ; (b) So was the Emperor's distress (ii. 26). 

household (iv. 22) ; (c) He expects the imme- (4.) It was written after Colossians and 

diate decision of his cause (i. 19, ii. 24), which Philemon; both for the preceding reason, and 

could only have been given at Rome. because Luke was no longer at Rome, as he 

(2.) It was written during the first imprison- was when those were written; otherwise he 

mcnt at Rome, because (a) the mention of the would have saluted a Church in which he had 

PrEetorium agrees with the fact, that, during labored, and would have " cared in earnest for 

his first imprisonment, he was in the custody their concerns " (see ii. 20). 
of the Praetorian Prefect ; (b) His situation 6 For Saints, see note on 1 Cor. i. 2. 

described (i. 12-14) agrees with his situation 7 Bishops. This term was at this early 

in the first two years of his imprisonment period applied to all the presbyters : see p. 378. 
'Acts xxviii. 30, 31). 8 Deacons : see p. 379. It is singular that 



chap xxvi. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPICS. 787 

i. 
Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from our Lord 2 

Jesus Christ. 

1 1 thank my God upon every remembrance of you (contin- 3 

prlye? 8 d for ually in all my prayers making my supplication for you all 2 4 

with joy), for your fellowship in forwarding 3 the Glad-tidings, 5 

from the first day until now. And I am confident accordingly, 4 that He 6 

who has begun a good work in you will perfect it, even until the day of 

Jesus Christ. And it is just that I should be thus mindful 5 of you all, 7 

because you have me in your hearts, and, both in my imprisonment and 

in my defence and confirmation 6 of the Glad-tidings, you all share in the 

grace 7 bestowed upon me. God is my witness how I long after you all, 8 

in the tender affection of Christ Jesus. 

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in true 9 

knowledge, and in all understanding, teaching you to distinguish good 8 

from evil ; that you may be pure, and may walk without 9 stumbling until 10 

the day of Christ ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are 11 

by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. 

intelligence I would have you know, brethren, that the things which 12 

of his condi- 
tion at Rome, have befallen me have tended rather to the furtherance than 

hinderance of the Glad-tidings. So that my chains have become well 13 

known in the name of Christ, throughout the whole Prsetorium, 10 and to 

all the rest. 11 And thus most 12 of the brethren in the Lord, rendered con- 14 

the presbyters and deacons should be men- and also on the Philippians, was the power of 

tioned separately in the address of this Epis- confirming the Gospel by their sufferings : the 

tie only. It has been suggested that they corresponding verb is used in v. 29. 

had collected and forwarded the contribution 8 Compare Rom. ii. 18. 

sent by Epaphroditus. 9 " Without offence " seems used here in- 

1 Observe " Paul and Timotheus " fol- transitively ; at 1 Cor. x. 32, the same word is 
lowed immediately by "I," in confirmation of active. 

the remarks in the note on 1 Thess. i. 2. 10 Proztorium. Eor the explanation of this, 

2 The constant repetition of " all " in con- see above, p. 780. We have seen that St. 
nection with " you " in this Epistle is remarka- Paul was committed to the custody of the 
ble. It seems as if St. Paul implied that he Prcefectus Prcetorio, and guarded by different 
(at least) would not recognize any divisions Praetorian soldiers, who relieved one another, 
among them. See above. Hence his condition would be soon known 

3 Not " in the Gospel " (A. V.). throughout the Praetorian quarters. 

4 Accordingly : compare 2 Cor. ii. 3, and u This expression is very obscure ; it may 
Gal. ii. 10. mean either to the Proztorian soldiers who guard 

6 Mindful, frc. This refers to the preced- me, and to all the rest of those who visit me ; or 

ing mention of his prayers for them. to all the rest of the Proztorian Guards. The 

6 St. Paul defended his doctrine by his latter view gives the best sense, 
words, and confirmed it by his life. 12 " Most," not " many " (A. V.). 

7 The grace or gift bestowed on St. Paul, 



788 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. £ATJL. chap. xxvr. 

i. 

fident by my chains, are very much emboldened to speak the Word fear- 

15 lessly. Some, indeed, proclaim Christ l even out of envy and contention ; 2 

16 but some, also, out 3 of good will. These do it from love, 4 knowing that I 

17 am appointed to defend the Glad-tidings ; but those announce Christ from 
a spirit of intrigue, 5 not sincerely, thinking to stir 6 up persecution against 

18 me in my imprisonment. What then ? nevertheless, every way, whether 
in pretence or in truth, Christ is announced ; and herein I rejoice now, 

19 yea, and I shall rejoice hereafter. For I know that " i\t%t ijjmjJS 7 
sljall fell Oni to mg Salba&n/' 8 through your prayers, and through 

20 the supply of all my needs 9 by the Spirit of Jesus Christ; according to 
my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall in no wise be put to 
shame, 10 but that with all boldness, as at all other times, so now also, 
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. 

21,22 For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. But whether this life u in the 
flesh shall be the fruit of my labor, and what I should choose, I know 

23 not. But 12 between the two I am in perplexity ; having the desire to 

24 depart and be with Christ, which is far better ; yet to remain in the flesh 

25 is more needful, for your sake. And in this confidence I know that I 

1 " Christ " lias the article, which perhaps 9 The words literally applied would mean 
may indicate that they were Jews, who pro- the supplying of all needs [of the chorus] by the 
elaimed Jesus as the Messiah. The verb in Choregus. So the words here mean the supply- 
v. 15 denotes to proclaim (as a herald) ; that in ing of all needs [of the Christian] by the Spirit. 
v. 17, to declare tidings of (as a messenger). Compare Eph. iy. 16, and Col. ii. 19. 

2 These were probably Judaizers. 10 St. Paul was confident that his faith and 
8 We can by no means assent to Professor hope would not fail him in the day of trial. 

Jowett's proposal to translate the preposition Compare Rom. v. 5, "our hope cannot shame 
here " amid." See his note on Gal. iv. 13. us." He was looking forward to his final 

4 The order of verses 16 and 17 (as given hearing, as we have already seen, page 785. 

in the best MSS.) is transposed in the Re- u We punctuate this very difficult verse so 

ceived Text. that the meaning is literally, but whether this 

5 See note on Rom. ii. 8. life in the flesh (compare this mortal, 1 Cor. xv. 

6 Such is the reading of the best MSS. 54, and my present life in the flesh, Gal. ii. 20) 
The Judaizers probably, by professing to be my labor's fruit, and what I shall choose, I 
teach the true version of Christianity, and know not. The A. V. assumes an ellipsis, and 
accusing Paul of teaching a false and anti- gives no intelligible meaning to fruit of my 
national doctrine, excited odium against him labor. On the other hand, De Wette's trans- 
among the Christians of Jewish birth at lation, if life in the flesh, — if this be my labor's 
Rome. fruit, what I shall choose I know not, causes 

7 These things, viz. the sufferings resulting a redundancy, and is otherwise objectionable, 
from the conduct of these Judaizers. Beza's translation, " an vero vivere in carne 

8 The words ai'e quoted verbatim from mihiopcrce prctium sit, et quid eligam ignoro," 
Job xiii. 16 (LXX.). Yet perhaps St. Paul comes nearest to that which we adopt. 

did not so much deliberately quote them, as 12 The MSS. read "but." and not "for/' 

use an expression which floated in his memory. here. 



chap, xxvi.' EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 789 

l. 

shall remain, 1 and shall continue with you all, to your furtherance and 
joy in faith ; that you may have more abundant cause for your boasting 2 26 
in Christ Jesus on my account, by my presence again among you. 
Exhortations Only live 3 worthy of the Glad-tidings of Christ, that 27 

to steadfast 

endurance, whether I come and see you, or be absent, I may hear con- 
concord, and ' J 

lowliness. cerning you, that you stand firmly in one spirit, contending 28 
together with one mind for the faith of the Glad-tidings, and nowise 
terrified by its enemies ; 4 for their enmity is to them an evidence of per- 
dition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has 29 
been given, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to 
suffer for His sake ; having the same conflict which once you saw 5 in me, 30 
and which now you hear that I endure. . 

If, then, you can be entreated 6 in Christ, if you can be persuaded, by 1 
love, if you have any fellowship in the Spirit, if you have any tenderness 
or compassion, I pray you make my joy full, 7 be of one accord, filled with 2 
the same love, of one soul, of one mind. Do nothing in a spirit of in- 3 
trigue 8 or vanity, but in lowliness of mind let each account others above 
himself. Seek not your private ends alone, but let every man seek like- 4 
wise his neighbor's good. 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; who, being 5, 6 
in the form of God, thought it not robbery 9 to be equal with God, but 7 
stripped 10 Himself [of His glory] and took upon Him the form of a 

1 Shall remain, i. e. alive. sion ; from which, therefore, we have not 

2 " Whose boasting is in Christ/' Com- thought it right to deviate. The majority of 
pare iii. 3. modern interpreters, however, take it as mean- 

3 See note on iii. 20. ing to reckon a thing as a booty, to look on a thing 

4 Compare " many adversaries," — 1 Cor. as a robber would look on spoil. It is a con- 
xvi. 9. siderable (though not a fatal) objection to this 

5 They had seen him sent to prison, Acts view, that it makes a word denoting the act of 
xvi. 23. seizing identical with one denoting the thing 

6 The first word means to entreat, see Matt. seized. The Authorized Version is free from 
xviii. 32 ; the second, to urge by persuasion or this objection ; but it is liable to the charge of 
entreaty, see 1 Thess. ii. 11. rendering the connection with the following 

7 The extreme earnestness of this exhorta- verse less natural than the other interpretation, 
tion to unity shows that the Philippians were If the latter be correct, the translation would 
guilty of dissension ; perhaps Euodia and be, He thought not equality with God a thing to 
Syntyche, whose opposition to each other is be seized upon; i. e. though, essentially, even while 
mentioned iv. 2, had partisans who shared on earth, He teas in the form of God, yet He did 
their quarrel. not think fit to claim equality with God intil He 

8 See above, i. 17. had accomplished His mission. 

9 This very difficult expression admits of 10 Literally, emptied Himself. 
the translation adopted in the Authorized Ver- 



790 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXVL 



11, 



8 slave, 1 being changed 2 into the likeness of man. And having appeared 
in the guise of men, He abased Himself and showed obedience, 3 even 

9 unto death, yea, death upon the cross. Wherefore God also exalted Him 
above measure, and gave Him the 4 name which is above every name; 

10 that in the name of Jesus " zblXQ litUS £lj0ttllr bxjfo/' 5 of all who dwell 

11 in heaven, in earth, or under the earth, and every tongue should confess 
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed me, not as in my 
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own 

13 salvation with fear and trembling ; 6 for it is God who works in you both 

14 will and deed. Do all things for the sake of good will, 7 without murmur- 

15 ings and disputings, that you may be blameless and guileless, the sons of 
God without rebuke, in the midst of " U tvaakfit KV& tyZXhtXU %m£XU- 
ticnr/' 8 among whom ye shine like stars 9 in the world ; holding fast the 

16 Word of Life ; that you may give me ground of boasting, even to the day 
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, nor labored in vain. 



1 The likeness of man was the form of a 
slave to Him, contrasted with the form of God 
which essentially belonged to Him. 

2 Literally, having become in the likeness, 
which in English is expressed by being changed 
into the likeness. 

3 He " showed obedience " to the laws of 
human society, to His parents, and to the civil 
magistrate; and carried that self-humiliating 
obedience even to the point of submitting to 
death, when He might have summoned 
" twelve legions of angels" to His rescue. 

4 The best MSS. have "the name." 

5 Isaiah xlv. 23 (LXX.), quoted Rom. xiv. 
11. It is strange that this verse should often 
have been quoted as commanding the practice 
of bowing the head at the name of Jesus ; a 
practice most proper in itself, but not here 
referred to : what it really prescribes is kneeling 
in adoration of Him. 

6 We have already remarked that with 
anxiety and self distrust is a nearer representa- 
tion of this Pauline phrase than the literal 
English, as appears by the use of the same 
phrase 1 Cor. ii. 3 ; 2 Cor. vii. 15; Eph. vi. 5. 
The "fear" is a fear of failure, the "trem- 
bling " an eager anxiety. 

7 This phrase has perplexed the interpreters, 



because they have all joined it with the preced- 
ing words. "VVe put a stop after the preceding 
verb, and take the noun in the same sense as 
at i. 15 above, and Luke ii. 14. It is strange 
that so clear and simple a construction, in- 
volving no alteration in the text, should not 
have been before suggested. 

Since the above was first published, it has 
been objected that the position of the Greek 
article negatives the above rendering ; because 
the insertion of the article (where it is gener- 
ally omitted) between a preposition and an 
abstract noun, gives to the latter a reflective 
sense; so that the phrase would mean "your 
good will," not good will in the abstract. 
This grammatical statement is not universally 
true; but even if the objection were valid, it 
would not negative the construction proposed, 
nor materially alter the meaning. The trans- 
lation would then stand : — "Do all things for 
the sake of maintaining your mutual good will." 

[It seems very doubtful whether this view is 
tenable : and the ordinary rendering gives a 
very forcible sense. — h.] 

8 Deut. xxxii. 5 (LXX.). The preceding 
" without rebuke " calls up a corresponding 
word in the Greek context of the LXX. 

9 Compare Gen. i. 14 (LXX). 



chap. xxvi. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 791 

ii 

st. Paul's ex- But l though my blood 2 be poured forth upon the minis tra- 17 

pectations and " 

intentions. tion of the sacrifice of your faith, I rejoice for myself, and re- 
joice with you all ; and do ye likewise rejoice, both for yourselves and 18 
with me. But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus to you 3 19 
shortly, that I also may be cheered, by learning your state ; for I have no 20 
other like-minded with me, who would care in earnest for your concerns ; 
for all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. But you know 4 the 21,22 
trials which have proved his worth, and that, as a son with a father, he 
has shared my servitude, to proclaim the Glad-tidings. Him, then, I 23 
hope to send without delay, as soon as I see how it will go with me ; but 24 
I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. 
Return of Epaphroditus, who is my brother and companion in labor and 25 

fellow-soldier, and your messenger to minister 5 to my wants, I 
have thought it needful to send to you. For he was filled with long- *2& 
ing for you all, and with sadness, because you had heard that he was 
sick. And, indeed, he had a sickness which brought him almost to death, 27 
but God had compassion on him ; and not on him only, but on me, that 
I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have been 6 the more 28 
anxious to send him, that you may have the joy of seeing him again, and 
that I may have one sorrow the less. Receive him, therefore, in the 29 
Lord, with all gladness, and hold such men in honor ; because his labor 30 
in the cause of Christ brought him near to death ; for he hazarded 7 his 
life that he might supply all which you could not do, 8 in ministering to me. ... 
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. 1 

Warning To repeat the same 9 warnings is not wearisome to me, and 

against Juda- 

izers, and it is safe for you. Beware of the Dogs, 10 beware of the Evil 2 

1 This but seems to connect what follows 7 This is the meaning of the reading of the 
with i. 25, 26. best MSS. 

2 Literally, I be poured forth. The meta- 8 The same expression is used of the mes- 
phor is probably from the Jewish drink-offer- sengers of the Corinthian Church. 1 Cor. 
ings (Numb, xxviii. 7) rather than from the xvi. 17. The ^nghsh reader must not under- 
Heathen libations. The Heathen converts stand the A. V. " lack of set-vice " to convey a 
are spoken of as a sacrifice offered up by St. reproach. From this verse we learn that the 
Paul as the ministering priest, in Rom. xv. 16. illness of Epaphroditus was caused by some 

3 The Greek construction is the same as in casualty of his journey, or perhaps by over- 
1 Cor. iv. 17. fatigue. 

4 Timotheus had labored among them at 9 Literally, to write the same things to you. 
the first. See Acts xvi. St. Paxil must here refer either to some pre\i- 

6 Minister. We have the corresponding ous Epistle to the Philippians (now lost), or 

abstract noun in v. 30. to his former conversations with them. 

6 The aorist used from the position of the 10 The Judaizers are here described by three' 

reader, according to classical usage. epithets : " the dogs," because of their un- 



792 THE LITE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvi. 

iii. 

3 Workmen, beware of the Concision. For we are the Circum- exhortation to 

' perseverance 

cision, who worship God 1 with the spirit, whose boasting 2 is l^race" 8 " 

4 in Christ Jesus, and whose confidence is not in the flesh. Although I 
might have confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks that 

5 he has ground of confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised 
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew 

6 of the Hebrews ; as to the Law, a Pharisee ; as to zeal, a persecutor of 

7 the Church ; as to the righteousness of the Law, unblamable. But what 

8 once was gain to me, that I have counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, 
and I count all things but loss, because all are nothing-worth in com- 
parison 3 with the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have 
suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung that I may 

9 gain Christ, and be found in Him ; not having my own righteousness of 
the Law, but the righteousness of faith in Christ, the righteousness which 

1 God bestows on Faith ; 4 that I may know Him, and the power of His 
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, sharing the likeness of 

11 His death ; if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the 
dead. 

12 Not that I have already won, 5 or am already perfect; but I press 
onward, if indeed I might lay hold on that for which Christ also laid 

13 hold on me. 6 Brethren, I count not myself to have laid hold thereon ; 
but this one thing I do — forgetting that which is behind, and reaching 7 

14 forth to that which is before, I press onward towards the mark, for the 
prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. 

cleanness (of which that animal was the type ; the knowledge of Christ, i. e. because the Icnowl- 

compare 2 Pet. ii. 22) ; " the evil workmen" edge of Christ surpasses all things else. 
(not equivalent to " evil workers "), for the 4 Of God (i. e. which He bestows) on condi- 

same reason that they are called "deceitful tion of faith. Compare Acts iii. 16. 
workmen " in 2 Cor. xi. 13 ; and " the coneis- 5 " Won," i. e. " the prize " (v. 14). Com- 

ion," to distinguish them from the true cir- pare 1 Cor. ix. 24, " So run that ye may 

-eumcision, the spiritual Israel. win." It is unfortunate that in A. V. this is 

1 We retain " God " here, with the Textus translated by the same verb attain, which is 
"Keceptus, and a minority of MSS., because used for another verb in the preceding verse, 
•of the analogy of Rom. i. 9 (see note there). so as to make it seem to refer to that. 

The true Christians are here described by con- 6 Q ur Lq^ h af | "laid hold on" Paul, in 

trast with the Judaizcrs, whose worship was the order to bring him to the attainment of " the 

carnal worship of the Temple, whose boasting prize of God's heavenly calling." "Jesus" is 

was in the law, and whose confidence was in omitted by the best MSS. 
■the circumcision of their flesh. 7 The image is that of the runner in a foot- 

2 Apparently alluding to Jer. ix. 24, " Tie race, whose body is bent forwards in the direc- 
•that boastcth let him boast in the Lord," which is tion towards which he runs. See beginning 
•quoted 1 Cor. i. 31 and 2 Cor. x. 7. of Ch. XX. 

3 Literally, because of the supereminence qf 



chap. xxvi. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAKS. 793 

iii. 
Let us all, then, who are ripe 1 in understanding, be thus minded ; and 15 

if in any thing you are otherwise minded, that also shall be revealed to 

you by God [in due time]. Nevertheless, let us walk according to that 16 

which we have attained. 2 

Brethren, be imitators of me with one consent, and mark those who 17 

walk according to my example. For many walk, of whom I told you 18 

often in times 3 past, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the 

enemies 4 of the cross of Christ ; whose end is destruction, whose God is 19 

their belly, 5 and whose glory is in their shame ; whose mind is set on 

earthly things. For my 6 life 7 abides in heaven ; from whence also I look 20,2. 

for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall change my vile 8 body 22 

into the likeness of His glorious body ; according to the working whereby 

He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. Therefore, my iv. 1 

brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast 

in the Lord, my dearly beloved. 

I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, 9 to be of one mind 2 

rau n stbe e m tne Lord. Yea, and I beseech thee also, my true yoke- 3 

fellow, 10 to help them [to be reconciled] ; for they strove ear- 



reconciled. 



1 The translation in A. V. (here and in v. the most fervent sympathy, and which they 
12) by the same word makes St. Paul seem to have most undoubtingly appropriated, are 
contradict himself. " Perfect " is the antithesis those very passages where St. Paul uses the 
of " babe." Compare 1 Cor. xiv. 20. " singular : " as, for example, " for me," Gal. 

2 The precept is the same given Rom. xiv. ii. 20. 

5. The words " think the same thing " are 7 This noun must not be translated citizen- 

omitted in the best MSS. ship (as hag been proposed), which would be a 

8 Literally, I used to tell you. different word (cf. Acts xxii. 28). The corre- 

4 For the construction, compare 1 John ii. sponding verb means to perform the functions 

25. The persons meant were men who led of civil life, and is used simply for to live; see 

licentious lives (like the Corinthian freethink- Acts xxiii. 1, and Phil. i. 27. Hence the noun 

ers), and they are called "enemies of the cross" means the tenor of life. It should be also 

because the cross was the symbol of mortifica- observed that the verb here means more than 

tion. simply " is," though it is difficult here to ex- 

6 Cf. Rom. xvi. 18. press the shade of difference in English. 

6 On St. Paul's use of "we" see note on 8 Literally, the body of my humiliation. 

1 Thess. i. 3. An objection has been made to 9 These were two women (the pronoun is 

translating it in the singular in this passage, feminine in v. 3, which is mistranslated in 

on the ground that this seems to limit St. A. V.) who were at variance. 
Paul's expression of Christian hope and faith 10 We have no means of knowing who was 

to himself; but a very little consideration will the person thus addressed. Apparently some 

suffice to show the futility of such an objection. eminent Christian at Philippi, to whom the 

Where St. Paul speaks of his hopes and faith Epistle was to be presented in the first instance. 

as a Christian, his words are necessarily appli- The old hypothesis (mentioned by Chrysos- 

cable to other Christians as well as to himself. torn), that the word is a proper name, is not 

And, in fact, some of the passages to which without plausibility ; " who art Syzygus in 

Christians in general have ever turned with name and in fact," as a commentator says. 



T94 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvi. 

iv. 

nestly in the work of the Glad-tidings with me, together with Clemens ! 

and my other fellow-laborers, whose names are in the Book 2 of Life. 

4 Rejoice in the Lord at all times. Again will 3 1 say, rejoice. Exhortation to 

rejoice in trib- 

5 Let your forbearance be known to all men. The 4 Lord is at uiation andto 

^ love and iol- 

6 hand. Let no care trouble you, but in all things, by prayer low g° odliefl8 - 
and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to 

7 God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall 

8 keep 5 your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, what- 
soever is true, whatsoever is venerable, whatsoever is just, whatsoever is 
pure, whatsoever is endearing, whatsoever is of good report, — if there 
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, — be such your treasures. 6 

9 That which you were taught and learned, and which you heard and saw 
in me, — be that your practice. So shall the God of peace be with you. 

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly when I found that now, after Liberality of 

the Philippian 

so long a time, your care for me ■ had borne fruit again ; 7 church. 

11 though your care indeed never failed, but you lacked opportunity. Not 
that I speak as if I were in want ; for 1 8 have learned, in whatsoever 

12 state I am, to be content. I can bear either abasement or abundance. 
In all things, and amongst all men, I have been taught the secret, 9 to be 

13 full or to be hungry, to want or to abound. I can do all things in Him 10 

14 who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well, in contributing 

15 to the help of my affliction. And you know yourselves, Philippians, that, 
in the beginning of the Glad-tidings, after I had left Macedonia, 11 no 
Church communicated with me on account of giving and receiving, but 

16 you alone. For even while I was [still] in Thessalonica, 12 you sent once 



1 We learn from Origen (Comm. on John i. 3 The verb is future. He refers to iii. 1. 
29) that this Clemens (commonly called Clem- 4 They are exhorted to be joyful under 
ent) was the same who was afterwards Bishop persecution, and show gentleness to their 
of Rome, and who wrote the Epistles to the persecutors, because the Lord's coming would 
Corinthians which we have before referred to soon deliver them from all their afflictions, 
(p. 541). Eusebius quotes the following state- Compare note on 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 

ment concerning him from Irenams : " In the 5 Literally, garrison. 

third place after the Apostles the episcopal 6 Literally, reckon these things in account. 

office was held by Clemens, who also saw the Compare 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 

blessed Apostles, and lived with them." — Hist. 7 The literal meaning is to put forth fresh 

Eccl. v. 6. It appears from the present pas- shoots. 8 This "I" is emphatic. 

sage that he had formerly labored successfully 9 Literally, " I have been initiated." 

at Philippi. 10 " Christ " is omitted in the best MSS. 

2 Compare " Book of the living," Ps. lxix. For " strengthen," cf. Rom. iv. 20. 

28 (LXX.), and also Luke x. 20, and Heb. u Compare 2 Cor. xi. 9, and p. 338. 

xii. 23. 12 See p 284. 



chap. xxvi. CONVERTS IN THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD. 795 

iv 
and again to relieve my need. Not that I seek your gifts, but I seek 17 

the fruit which accrues therefrom to your account. But I have all which 18 

I require, and more than I require. I am fully supplied, having received 

from Epaphroditus your gifts, " KXt OftQX 0f &bmtxi£8%," 1 an acceptable 

sacrifice well pleasing to God. And your own needs 2 shall be all 19 

supplied by my God, in the fulness of His glorious riches in Christ 

Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory unto the ages of ages. 20 

Amen. 

Salutations. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are 21 

with me 3 salute you, 

All the saints here salute you, especially those who belong to the 22 

house of Caesar. 4 

w°<§ct&n ^ ie g race of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits. 5 23 

The above Epistle gives us an unusual amount of information concern- 
ing the personal situation of its writer, which we have already endeav- 
ored to incorporate into our narrative. But nothing in it is more 
suggestive than St. Paul's allusion to the Praetorian guards, and to the 
converts he had gained in the household of Nero. He tells us (as we 
have just read) that throughout the Praetorian quarters he was well 
known as a prisoner for the cause of Christ, 6 and he sends special saluta- 
tions to the Philippian Church from the Christians in the Imperial house- 
hold. 7 These notices bring before us very vividly the moral contrasts by 
which the Apostle was surrounded. The soldier to whom he was chained, 
to-day might have been in Nero's body-guard yesterday ; his comrade 
who next relieved guard upon the prisoner might have been one of the 
executioners of Octavia, and might have carried her head to Poppaea a 
few weeks before. Such were the ordinary employments of the fierce 
and blood-stained veterans who were daily present, like wolves in the 
midst of sheep, at the meetings of the Christian brotherhood. If there 

1 Gen. viii. 21 (LXX.). Compare also is used by Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5, 8). If St. 
Levit. i. 9, and Eph. v. 2. Paul was at this time confined in the neigh- 

2 The your is emphatic. borhood of the Praetorian quarters attached to 

3 This brethren with me, distinguished from the palace, we can more readily account for the 
all the saints in the next verse, seems to denote conversion of some of those who lived in the 
St. Paul's special attendants, such as Aristar- buildings immediately contiguous. 

chus, Epaphras, Demas, Timotheus, &c. Cf. 5 The majority of uncial MSS. read " spir- 

Gal. i. 2. it," and omit the " amen." 

4 These members of the Imperial household 6 Phil. i. 1 . 
were probably slaves ; so the same expression 7 Phil. iv. 22 



796 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvi. 

were any of these soldiers not utterly hardened by a life of cruelty, their 
hearts must surely have been touched by the character of their prisoner, 
brought as they were into so close a contact with him. They must have 
been at least astonished to see a man, under such circumstances, so 
utterly careless of selfish interests, and devoting himself with an energy 
so unaccountable to the teaching of others. Strange indeed to their 
ears, fresh from the brutality of a Roman barrack, must have been the 
sound of Christian exhortation, of prayers, and of hymns ; stranger still, 
perhaps, the tender love which bound the converts to their teacher and to 
one another, and showed itself in every look and tone. 

But if the agents of Nero's tyranny seem out of place in such a scene, 
still more repugnant to the assembled worshippers must have been the 
instruments of his pleasures, the ministers of his lust. Yet some even 
among these, the depraved servants of the palace, were redeemed from 
their degradation by the Spirit of Christ, which spoke to them in the 
words of Paul. How deep their degradation was we know from 
authentic records. We are not left to conjecture the services required 
from the attendants of Nero. The ancient historians have polluted their 
pages l with details of infamy which no writer in the languages of Chris- 
tendom may dare to repeat. Thus the very immensity of moral amelio- 
ration wrought operates to disguise its own extent, and hides from 
inexperienced eyes the gulf which separates Heathenism from Chris- 
tianity. Suffice it to say that the courtiers of Nero were the spectators, 
and the members of his household the instruments, of vices so monstrous 
and so unnatural, that they shocked even the men of that generation, 
steeped as it was in every species of obscenity. But we must remember 
that many of those who took part in such abominations were involuntary 
agents, forced by the compulsion of slavery to do their master's bidding. 
And the very depth of vileness in which they were plunged must have 
excited in some of them an indignant disgust and revulsion against vice. 
Under such feelings, if curiosity led them to visit the Apostle's prison, 
they were well qualified to appreciate the purity of its moral atmosphere. 
And there it was that some of these unhappy bondsmen first tasted of 
spiritual freedom, and were prepared to brave with patient heroism the 
tortures under which they soon 2 were destined to expire in the gardens 
of the Vatican. 

History has few stranger contrasts than when it shows us Paul preach- 

1 See Tac. Ann. xv. 37, Dio. lxiii. 13, and in the summer of 64 a. d. ; that is, within less 
especially Suetonius, Nero, 28, 29. than two years of the time when the Epistle 

2 The Neronian persecution, in which such to Philippi was written. See the next chap- 
vast multitudes of Christians perished, occurred ter. 



chap. xxvi. - MODERN INFIDELITY. 797 

ing Christ under the walls of Nero's palace. Thenceforward, there were 
but two religions in the Roman world ; the worship of the Emperor, and 
the worship of the Saviour. The old superstitions had been long worn 
out ; they had lost all hold on educated minds. There remained to 
civilized Heathens no other worship possible but the worship of power ; 
and the incarnation of power which they chose was, very naturally, the 
Sovereign of the world. This, then, was the ultimate result of the noble 
intuitions of Plato, the methodical reasonings of Aristotle, the pure 
morality of Socrates. All had failed for want of external sanction and 
authority. The residuum they left was the philosophy of Epicurus, and 
the religion of Nerolatry. But a new doctrine was already taught in the 
Forum, and believed even on the Palatine. Over against the altars of 
Nero and Poppasa, the voice of a prisoner was daily heard, and daily 
woke in grovelling souls the consciousness of their divine destiny. Men 
listened, and knew that self-sacrifice was better than ease, humiliation 
more exalted than pride, to suffer nobler than to reign. They felt that 
the only religion which satisfied the needs of man was the religion of 
sorrow, the religion of self-devotion, the religion of the cross. 

There are some amongst us now who think that the doctrine which 
Paul preached was a retrograde movement in the course of humanity ; 
there are others, who, with greater plausibility, acknowledge that it was 
useful in its season, but tell us that it is now worn out and obsolete. 
The former are far more consistent than the latter ; for both schools of 
infidelity agree in virtually advising us to return to that effete philosophy 
which had been already tried and found wanting when Christianity was 
winning the first triumphs of its immortal youth. This might well sur- 
prise us, did we not know that the progress of human reason in the 
paths of ethical discovery is merely the progress of a man in a tread- 
mill, doomed forever to retrace his own steps. Had it been otherwise, we 
might have hoped that mankind could not again be duped by an old and 
useless remedy, which was compounded and re-compounded in every 
possible shape and combination two thousand years ago, and at last 
utterly rejected by a nauseated world. Yet for this antiquated anodyne, 
disguised under a new label, many are once more bartering the only true 
medicine that can heal the diseases of the soul. 

For such mistakes there is, indeed, no real cure, except prayer to Him 
who giveth sight to the blind ; but a partial antidote may be supplied by 
the history of the Imperial Commonwealth. The true wants of the 
Apostolic age ca/L best be learned from the Annals of Tacitus. There 
men may still see the picture of that Pome to which Paul preached ; and 
thence they may comprehend the results of civilization without Christi- 



798 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXVI. 



anity, and the impotence of a moral philosophy destitute of supernatural 
attestation. 1 





Coin of Philippi.a 



1 Had Arnold lived to complete his task, 
how nobly would his history of the Empire 
have worked out this great argument! His 
indignant abhorrence of wickedness, and his 



enthusiastic love of moral beauty, made him 
worthy of such a theme. 

2 From the British Museum. 



CHAPTER XXVn. 

Authorities for St. Paul's Subsequent History - His Appeal is heard. — His Acquittal. — He 
goes from Rome to Asia Minor. — Thence to Spain, where he resides Two Years. — He 
returns to x\sia Minor and Macedonia. — Writes the First Epistle to Timotheus. — Visits Crete. 

— Writes the Epistle to Titus. — He winters at Nicopolis. — He is again imprisoned at Rome. 

— Progress of his Trial. — He writes the Second Epistle to Timotheus. — His Condemnation 
and Death. 

WE have already remarked that the light concentrated upon that por- 
tion of St. Paul's life which is related in the latter chapters of the 
Acts makes darker by contrast the obscurity which rests upon the re- 
mainder of his course. The progress of the historian who attempts to 
trace the footsteps of the Apostles beyond the limits of the Scriptural nar- 
rative, must, at best, be hesitating and uncertain. It has been compared 1 
to the descent of one who passes from the clear sunshine which rests upon 
a mountain's top into the mist which wraps its side. But this is an 
inadequate comparison ; for such a wayfarer loses the daylight gradually, 
and experiences no abrupt transition, from the bright prospect and the 
distinctness of the onward path, into darkness and bewilderment. Our 
case should rather be compared with that of the traveller on the Chinese 
frontier, who has just reached a turn in the valley along which his course 
has led him, and has come to a point whence he expected to enjoy the 
view of a new and brilliant landscape ; when he suddenly finds all 
farther prospect cut off by an enormous wall, filling up all the space 
between precipices on either hand, and opposing a blank and insuperable 
barrier to his onward progress. And if a chink here and there should 
allow some glimpses of the rich territory beyond, they are only enough 
to tantalize without gratifying his curiosity. 

Doubtless, however, it was a Providential design which has thus limited 
our knowledge. The wall of separation, which forever cuts off the 
Apostolic age from that which followed it, was built by the hand of God, 
That age of miracles was not to be revealed to us as passing by any 
gradual transition into the common life of the Church : it was intention- 
ally isolated from all succeeding time, that we might learn to appreciate 

1 The comparison occurs somewhere in Arnold's works. 

799 



800 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvh. 

more fully its extraordinary character, and see, by the sharpness of the 
abruptest contrast, the difference between the human and the divine. 

A few faint rays of light, however, have been permitted to penetrate 
beyond the dividing barrier, and of these we must make the best use we 
can ; for it is now our task to trace the history of St. Paul beyond the 
period where the narrative of his fellow-traveller so suddenly terminates. 1 
The only contemporary materials for this purpose are his own letters to 
Titus and Timotheus, and a single sentence of his disciple, Clement of 
Rome ; and during the three centuries which followed we can gather but 
a few scattered and unsatisfactory notices from the writers who have 
handed down to us the traditions of the Church. 

The great question which we have to answer concerns the termination 
of that long imprisonment whose history has occupied the preceding chap- 
ters. St. Luke tells us that Paul remained under military custody in 
Rome for " two whole years " (Acts xxviii. 16 and 30) ; but he does 
not say what followed at the close of that period. Was it ended, we are 
left to ask, by the Apostle's condemnation and death, or by his acquittal 
and liberation ? Although the answer to this question has been a subject 
of dispute in modern times, no doubt was entertained about it by the 
ancient Church. 2 It was universally believed that St. Paul's appeal to 
Caesar terminated successfully ; that he was acquitted of the charges laid 
against him ; and that he spent some years in freedom before he was 
again imprisoned and condemned. The evidence on this subject, though 
(as we have said) not copious, is yet conclusive so far as it goes, and it is 
all one way. 3 

1 Numerous explanations have been at- 2 If the Epistle to the Hebrews was written 

tempted of the sudden and abrupt termination by St. Paul, it proves conclusively that he was 

of the Acts, which breaks off the narrative of liberated from his Roman imprisonment ; for 

St. Paul's appeal to Caesar (up to that point so its writer is in Italy and at liberty. (Heb. xiii. 

minutely detailed) just as we are expecting its 23, 24.) But we are precluded from using this 

conclusion. The most plausible explanations as an argument, in consequence of the doubts 

are — (1) That Theophilus already knew of the concerning the authorship of that Epistle. 

conclusion of the Roman imprisonment ; wheth- See the next chapter. 

er it was ended by St. Paul's death or by his s Since the above was published, the same 

liberation. (2) That St. Luke wrote before the opinion has been expressed yet more strongly 

conclusion of the imprisonment, and carried his by Chevalier Bunsen, whose judgment on such 

narrative up to the point at which he wrote. a point is entitled to the greatest weight. He 

But neither of these theories is fully satisfacto- says, " Some German critics have a peculiar 

ry. We may take this opportunity to remark idiosyncrasy which leads them to disbelieve the 

that the "dwelt" and "received" (Acts xxviii. second captivity of Paul. Yet it appears to 

30) by no means imply (as Wieseler asserts) me very arbitrary to deny a fact for which we 

that a changed state of things had succeeded to have the explicit evidence of Paul's disciple and 

that there described. In writing historically, companion Clemens." — Bunsen's Hippolytus, 

the historical tenses would be used by an an- Second Ed., vol. i. p. 27. 
cient writer, even though (when he wrote) the 
events described by him were still going on. 



chap.xxvh. ST. PAUL'S LIBERATION". 801 

The most important portion of it is supplied by Clement, the disciple of 
St. Paul, mentioned Phil. iv. 3, 1 who was afterwards Bishop of Rome. 
This author, writing from Borne to Corinth, expressly asserts that Paul 
had preached the Gospel " in the east and in the west ; " that " he 
had instructed the whole world [i. e. the Roman Empire, which was com- 
monly so called] in righteousness ; " and that he " had gone to the 
extremity OP the west " before his martyrdom. 2 

Now, in a Roman author, the extremity of the West could mean nothing 
short of Spain, and the expression is often used by Roman writers to 
denote Spain. Here, then, we have the express testimony of St. Paul's 
own disciple that he fulfilled his original intention (mentioned Rom. xv. 
24-28) of visiting the Spanish peninsula ; and consequently that he was 
liberated from his first imprisonment at Rome. 

The next piece of evidence which we possess on the subject is contained 
in the canon of the New Testament, compiled by an unknown Christian 
about the year a. d. 170, which is commonly called " Muratori's Canon. " 
In this document it is said, in the account of the Acts of the Apostles, 
that " Luke relates to Theophilus events of ivhich he was an eye-witness, as 
also, in a separate place (remote) [viz. Luke xxii. 31-33], he evidently 
declares the martyrdom of Peter, but [omits] the journey of Paul from 
Rome to Spain." 3 

In the next place, Eusebius tells us, " after defending himself successfully, 
it is currently reported that the Apostle again went forth to proclaim the 
Gospel, and afterwards came to Rome a second time, and was martyred 
under Nero" 4 

Next we have the statement of Chrysostom, who mentions it as an 
undoubted historical fact, that " St. Paul, after his residence in Rome, 
departed to Spain." 5 

About the same time St. Jerome bears the same testimony, saying that 
"Paid was dismissed by Nero, that he might preach Christ's Crospel in the 
West." 6 

Against this unanimous testimony of the primitive Church there is no 

1 For the identity of St. Paul's disciple der translates one phrase " having been mar- 
Clemens with Clemens Romanus, see the note tyred there," and then argues that the extremity 
on Phil. iv. 3. We may add, that even those of the West cannot mean Spain, because St. Paul 
who doubt this identity acknowledge that was not martyred in Spain ; but his " there " is> 
Clemens Romanus wrote in the first century. a mere interpolation of his own. 

2 Clem. Rom. i. chap. v. We need scarcely 3 For an account of this fragment see- 
remark upon Wieseler's proposal to translate Routh's Reliquiae Sacrce, vol. iv. p. 1-12. 

the words for the extremity of the West (to repfia 4 Hist. Eccl. ii. 22. 

ttjc dvasuc) , the Sovereign of Rome ! That inge- 6 He adds, " whether he went to the East" 

nious writer has been here evidently misled by ern part _of the Empire, we know not." This- 

his desire to wrest the passage (quocunque does not imply a doubt of his return to Rome.- 
modo) into conformity with his theory. Schra- 6 Hieron. Catal. Script. 

51 



W2 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvii. 

external evidence l whatever to oppose. Those who doubt the liberation 
of St. Paul from his imprisonment are obliged to resort to a gratuitous 
hypothesis, or to inconclusive arguments from probability. Thus they 
try to account for the tradition of the Spanish journey by the arbitrary 
supposition that it arose from a wish to represent St. Paul as having ful- 
filled his expressed intentions (Rom. xv. 19) of visiting Spain. Or they 
say that it is improbable Nero would have liberated St. Paul after he had 
fallen under the influence of Poppsea, the Jewish proselyte. Or, lastly, 
they urge, that, if St. Paul had really been liberated, we must have had 
some account of his subsequent labors. The first argument needs no 
answer, being a mere hypothesis. The second, as to the probability of 
the matter, may be met by the remark, that we know far too little of the 
circumstances, and of the motives which weighed with Nero, to judge 
how he would have been likely to act in the case. To the third argu- 
ment we may oppose the fact, that we have no account whatever of St. 
Paul's labors, toils, and sufferings, during several of the most active 
years of his life, and only learn their existence by a casual allusion in a 
letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 24, 25). Moreover, if this argument 
be worth any thing, it would prove that none of the Apostles except 
St. Paul took any part whatever in the propagation of the Gospel after 
the first few years ; since we have no testimony to their subsequent 
labors at all more definite than that which we have above quoted concern- 
ing the work of St. Paul after his liberation. 

But farther, unless we are prepared to dispute the genuineness of the 
Pastoral Epistles, 2 we must admit not only that St. Paul was liberated 
from his Roman imprisonment, but also that he continued his Apostolic 
labors for at least some years afterwards. For it is now admitted by 
nearly all those who are competent to decide on such a question, 3 first, 

1 It has indeed been urged that Origen known history of the Gallican Church, and 

knew nothing of the journey to Spain, be- made by a writer of the fifth century. It has 

cause Eusebius tells us that he speaks of Paul been also argued by Wieseler that Eusebius 

" preaching from Jerusalem to Illyricum," — and Chrysostom were led to the hypothesis of 

a manifest allusion to Rom. xv. 19. It is a second imprisonment by their mistaken view 

strange that those who use this argument of 2 Tim. iv. 20. But it is equally probable 

should not have perceived that they might, that they were led to that view of the passage 

with equal justice, infer that Origen was igno- by their previous belief in the tradition of the 

rant of St. Paul's preaching at Malta. Still second imprisonment. Nor is their view of 

more extraordinary is it to find Wieseler rely- that passage untenable, though we think it 

ing on the testimony of Pope Innocent I., who mistaken. 

asserts (in the true spirit of the Papacy) 2 On the question of the date of the Pasto- 

that " all the churches in Italy, Gaul, Spain, ral Epistles, see Appendix II. 
Africa, Sicily, and the interjacent islands, 3 Dr. Davidson is an exception, and has 

were founded by emissaries of St. Peter or summed up all that can be said on the oppo- 

his successors ; " an assertion manifestly con- site side of the question with his usual ability 

tradicting the Acts of the Apostles, and the and fairness. With regard to Wieseler, see 



<«HAP.xxvn. HIS PEBSONAL HISTORY AETEB LIBERATION. 803 

that the historical facts mentioned in the Epistles to Timotheus and Titus 
cannot be placed in any portion of St. Paul's life before or during his first 
imprisonment in Rome ; and, secondly, that the style in which those 
Epistles are written, and the condition of the Church described in them, 
forbid the supposition of such a date. Consequently, we must acknowl- 
edge (unless we deny the authenticity of the Pastoral Epistles) that after 
St. Paul's Roman imprisonment he was travelling at liberty in Ephesus, 1 
Crete, 2 Macedonia, 3 Miletus, 4 and Nicopolis, 5 and that he was afterwards a 
second time in prison at Rome. 6 

But, when we have said this, we have told nearly all that we know of 
the Apostle's personal history, from his liberation to his death. We can- 
not fix with certainty the length of the time which intervened, nor the 
order in which he visited the different places where he is recorded to have 
labored. The following data, however, we have. In the first place, his 
martrydom is universally said to have occurred 7 in the reign of Nero. 
Secondly, Timotheus was still a young man (i. e. young for the charge 
committed to him) 8 at the time of Paul's second imprisonment at 
Rome. Thirdly, the three Pastoral Epistles were written within a few 
months of one another. 9 Fourthly, their style differs so much from the 
style of the earlier Epistles, that we must suppose as long an interval 
between their date and that of the Epistle to Philippi as is consistent with 
the preceding conditions. 

These reasons concur in leading us to fix the last year of Nero as that 
of St. Paul's martrydom. And this is the very year assigned to it by 
Jerome, and the next to that assigned by Eusebius, the two earliest 
writers who mention the date of St. Paul's death at all. We have already 
seen that St. Paul first arrived in Rome in the spring of A. D. 61 : we 
therefore have, on our hypothesis, an interval of five years between the 
period with which St. Luke concludes (a. d. 63) and the Apostle's mar- 
trydom. 10 And the grounds above mentioned lead us to the conclusion 
that this interval was occupied in the following manner. 

the note in the Appendix, above referred to. 1 1 Tim. i. 3. 

[In an able and candid review of this work, 2 Titus i. 5. 

which appeared in Kitto's Journal of Sacred 8 1 Tim. i. 3. 

Literature, the reviewer has misunderstood our 4 2 Tim. iv. 20. 1 

assertion in the text, on which this is a note. 6 Titus iii. 12. 

He states that we have there asserted that 6 2 Tim. i. 16, 17. 

competent judges are nearly unanimous in 7 g ee t h e references to Tertullian, Eusebius, 

agreeing with our view of the second imprison- Jerome, &c, given below, p. 847, note 1. 

ment. But any one who reads carefully what 8 1 Tim. iii. 2, 2 Tim. ii. 22. 

we have written above will perceive that this 9 See remarks on the date of the Pastoral 

is not what we have said We have only as- Epistles, in Appendix II. 

serted that most competent judges are agreed M The above data show us the necessity of 

in thinking that the Pastoral Epistles cannot be supposing as long an interval as possible 

placed before the first captivity.] between St. Paul's liberation and his second 



804 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvn. 

In the first place, after the long delay, which we have before endeav 
ored to explain, St. Paul's appeal came on for hearing before the 
Emperor. The appeals from the provinces in civil causes were heard, 
not by the Emperor himself, but by his delegates, who were persons of 
consular rank : Augustus had appointed one such delegate to hear 
appeals from each province respectively. 1 But criminal appeals appear 
generally to have been heard by the Emperor in person, 2 assisted by his 
council of Assessors. Tiberius and Claudius had usually sat for this 
purpose in the Forum ; 3 but Nero, after the example of Augustus, 
heard these causes in the Imperial Palace, 4 whose ruins still crown 
the Palatine. Here, at one end of a splendid hall, 5 lined with the 
precious marbles 6 of Egypt and of Lybia, we must imagine the Caesar 
seated, in the midst of his Assessors. These councillors, twenty in num- 
ber, were men of the highest rank and greatest influence. Among them 
were the two consuls, 7 and selected representatives of each of the other 
great magistracies of Rome. 8 The remainder consisted of Senators 
chosen by lot. Over this distinguished bench of judges presided the 
representative of the most powerful monarchy which has ever existed, — 
the absolute ruler of the whole civilized world. But the reverential 
awe which his position naturally suggested was changed into contempt 
and loathing by the character of the Sovereign who now presided over 
that supreme tribunal. For Nero was a man whom even the awful attri- 
bute of " power equal to the gods " 9 could not render august, except in 
title. The fear and horror excited by his omnipotence and his cruelty 
were blended with contempt for his ignoble lust of praise, and his shame- 
imprisonment. Therefore we must assume 6 Those who are acquainted with Eome 
that his appeal was finally decided at the end will remember how the interior of many of 
of the " two years " mentioned in Acts xxviii. the ruined buildings is lined with a coating of 
30, — that is, in the spring of a.d. 63. these precious marbles. 

1 Sueton. Oct. 33; but Geib thinks this 7 Memmius Regulus and Virginius Eufus 
arrangement was not of long duration. were the consuls of the year a.d. 63 (a.tj.c. 

2 " Other matters he himself examined and 816). Under some of the Emperors, the con- 
decided with his assessors, sitting on the tribu- suls were often changed several times during 
nal in the Palatium." (Dio, Iv. 27.) This is the year; but Nero allowed them to hold of- 
said of Augustus. fice for six months. So that these consuls 

3 As to Tiberius, see Dio, lvii. 7 ; and as would still be in office till July. 

to Claudius, Dio, lx. 4. 8 Such, at least, was the constitution of 

4 Tiberius built a tribunal on the Palatine the council of assessors, according to the ordi- 
(Dio, lvii. 7). nance of Augustus, which appears to have 

5 Dio mentions that the ceilings of the remained unaltered. See Dio, liii. 21. Also 
Halls of Justice in the Palatine were painted see Sueton. Tiber. 55, and the passages of Dio 
by Severus to represent the starry sky. The referred to in the notes above. 

old Roman practice was for the magistrate to 9 " Diis sequa potestas " was the attribute 

sit under the open sky, which probably sug- of the Emperors. (Juv. iv.) 
gested this kind of ceiling. Even the Basili- 
cas were not roofed over (as to their central 
nave) till a late period. 



chap.xxvh. THE TRIAL. 805 

less licentiousness. He had not as yet plunged into that extravagance of 
tyranny, which, at a later period, exhausted the patience of his subjects, 
and brought him to destruction. Hitherto his public measures had been 
guided by sage advisers, and his cruelty Jmd injured his own family 
rather than the State. But already, at the age of twenty-five, he had 
murdered his innocent wife and his adopted brother, and had dyed his 
hands in the blood of his mother. Yet even these enormities seem to 
have disgusted the Romans less than his prostitution of the Imperial pur- 
ple, by publicly performing as a musician on the stage and a charioteer 
in the circus. His degrading want of dignity, and insatiable appetite for 
vulgar applause, drew tears from the , councillors and servants of his 
house, who could see him slaughter his nearest relatives without remon- 
s trance. 

Before the tribunal of this blood-stained adulterer, Paul the Apostle 
was now brought in fetters, under the custody of his military guard. We 
may be sure that he who had so often stood undaunted before the dele- 
gates of the Imperial throne did not quail when he was at last confronted 
with their master. His life was not in the hands of Nero : he knew that 
while his Lord had work for him on earth, He would shield him from the 
tyrant's sword ; and, if his work was over, how gladly would he " depart 
and be with Christ, which was far better." 1 To him all the majesty of 
Roman despotism was nothing more than an empty pageant ; the Impe- 
rial demigod himself was but one of " the princes of this world, that 
come to nought." 2 Thus he stood, calm and collected, ready to answer 
the charges of his accusers, and knowing that in the hour of his need it 
should be given him what to speak. 

The prosecutors and their witnesses were now called forward to sup- 
port their accusation : 3 for although the subject-matter for decision was 
contained in the written depositions forwarded from Judsea by Festus, 
yet the Roman law required the personal presence of the accusers and 
the witnesses, whenever it could be obtained. 4 We already know the 
charges 5 brought against the Apostle. He was accused of disturbing 
the Jews in the exercise of their worship, which was secured to them by 

1 See his anticipations of his trial. Phil. 4 As to the accusers, see ahove, p. 688, 

i. 20-25, and Phil. ii. 17. 2 1 Cor. ii. 6. note 8. Written depositions were received at 

3 The order of the proceedings was (1) this period by the Roman Courts, but not 

Speech of the prosecutor; (2) Examination where the personal presence of the witnesses 

and cross-examination of witnesses for the could be obtained. See also Acts xxiv. 19, 

prosecution; (3) Speech of the prisoner; (4) " who ought to have been here present before 

Examination and cross-examination of the thee." 

witnesses for the defence. The introduction 6 See Acts xxiv. 5, 6, and xxv. 7, 8, and 

of cross-examination was an innovation upon pages 660, 661, and 668. 
the old Republican procedure. 



806 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvu. 

law; of desecrating their Temple; and, above all, of violating the public 
peace of the Empire by perpetual agitation, as the ringleader of a new 
and factious sect. This charge ! was the most serious in the view of a 
Roman statesman ; for the crime alleged amounted to majestas, or 
treason against the Commonwealth, and was punishable with death. 

These accusations were supported by the emissaries of the Sanhedrin, 
and probably by the testimony of witnesses from Judaea, Ephesus, Cor- 
inth, and the other scenes of Paul's activity. The foreign accusers, 
however, did not rely on the support of their own unaided eloquence. 
They doubtless hired the rhetoric of some accomplished Roman pleader 
(as they had done even before the provincial tribunal of Felix) to set off 
their cause to the best advantage, and paint the dangerous character of 
their antagonist in the darkest colors. Nor would it have been difficult 
to represent the missionary labors of Paul as dangerous to the security 
of the Roman state, when we remember how ill informed the Roman 
magistrates, who listened, must have been concerning the questions 
really at issue between Paul and his opponents ; and when we consider 
how easily the Jews were excited against the government by any fanati- 
cal leader who appealed to their nationality, and how readily the king- 
dom of the Messiah, which Paul proclaimed, might be misrepresented as 
a temporal monarchy, set up in opposition to the foreign domination of 
Rome. 

We cannot suppose that St. Paul had secured the services of any 
professional advocate to repel such false accusations, 2 and put the truth 
clearly before his Roman judges. We know that he resorted to no such 
method on former occasions of a similar kind. And it seems more con- 
sistent with his character, and his unwavering reliance on his Master's 
promised aid, to suppose that he answered 3 the elaborate harangue of 
the hostile pleader by a plain and simple statement of facts, like that 
which he addressed to Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. He could easily 
prove the falsehood of the charge of sacrilege by the testimony of those 

1 It must be remembered that the old Re- certa lege sortitur; Principum autem et Sena- 
publican system of criminal procedure had tus cognitionibus frequens est." (Quintil. 
undergone a great change before the time of Inst. Orat. in. 10.) 

Nero. Under the old law (the system of 2 It was most usual, at this period, that 

Qucestiones Perpetuce), different charges were both parties should be represented by advo- 

tried in distinct courts, and by different magis- cates; but the parties were allowed to conduct 

trates. In modern language, a criminal indict- their cause themselves, if they preferred doing 

ment could then only contain one count. But so. 

this was altered under the Emperors ; " ut si 3 Probably all St. Paul's judges, on this 
quis sacrilegii simul et homicidii accusetur ; occasion, were familiar with Greek, and there- 
quod nunc in publicis judiciis [i e. those of fore he might address them in his own native 
the Qucestiones Perpetuce, which were still not tongue, without the need of an interpreter, 
entirely obsolete] non accidit, quoniam Praetor 



chap. xxni. THE TRIAL. 807 

who were present in the Temple ; and perhaps the refutation of this 
more definite accusation might incline his judges more readily to attrib- 
ute the vaguer charges to the malice of his opponents. He would then 
proceed to show, that, far from disturbing the exercise of the religio licita 
of Judaism, he himself adhered to that religion, rightly understood. He 
would show, that, far from being a seditious agitator against the state, he 
taught his converts everywhere, to honor the Imperial Government, and 
submit to the ordinances l of the magistrate for conscience' sake. And, 
though he would admit the charge of belonging to the sect of the Naza- 
renes, yet he would remind his opponents that they -themselves acknowl- 
edged the division of their nation into various sects, which were equally 
entitled to the protection of the law ; and that the sect of the Nazarenes 
had a right to the same toleration which was extended to those of the 
Pharisees and the Sadducees. 

TTe know not whether he entered on this occasion into the peculiar 
doctrines of that " sect" to which he belonged ; basing them, as he ever 
did, on the resurrection of the dead ; 2 and reasoning of righteousness, 
temperance, and judgment to come. If so, he had one auditor at least 
who had more need to tremble than even Felix. But doubtless a seared 
conscience, and a universal frivolity of character, rendered Nero proof 
against emotions which for a moment shook the nerves of a less auda- 
cious criminal. 

When the parties on both sides had been heard, 3 and the witnesses all 
examined and cross-examined (a process which perhaps occupied several 
days), 4 the judgment of the court was taken. Each of the assessors gave 
his opinion in writing to the Emperor, who never discussed the judgment 
with his assessors, as had been the practice of better emperors, but, after 
reading their opinions, gave sentence according to his own pleasure, 5 
without reference to the judgment of the majority. On this occasion, it 



1 Compare Rom. xiii. 1-7. * Plin. Epist. ii. 11. "The giving of the 

2 Compare the prominence given to the proofs continued till the third day ; " and again, 
Resurrection in the statement before the San- Ep. iv. 9, " On the following day, Titius, Ho- 
hedrin (Acts xxiii. 6), before Felix (Acts xxiv. mullus, and Pronto pleaded admirably for 
15), before Festus (Acts xxv. 19), and before Bassus : the proofs occupied four days.'* 
Agrippa (Acts xxvi. 8). 5 Suet. Nero, 15. This judgment was not 

3 "We are told by Suetonius, as we have pronounced by Nero till the next day. The 
mentioned before, that Nero heard both parties sentence of a magistrate was always given in 
on each of the counts of the indictment sepa- writing at this period, and generally delivered 
rately, and gave his decision on one count by the magistrate himself. But in the case of 
before he proceeded to the next. (Sueton. the Emperor, he did not read his own sentence, 
Nero, 15.) The proceedings, therefore, which but caused it to be read in his presence by his 
we have described in the text, must have been Quaestor. 

repeated as many times as there were separate 
charges against St. Paul. 



508 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvix. 

might have been expected that he would have pronounced the condem- 
nation of the accused ; for the influence of Poppgea had now l reached 
its culminating point, and she was, as we have said, a Jewish proselyte. 
We can scarcely doubt that the emissaries from Palestine would have 
sought access to so powerful a protectress, and demanded her aid 2 for 
the destruction of a traitor to the Jewish faith ; nor would any scruples 
have prevented her from listening to their request, backed as it probably 
was, according to the Roman usage, by a bribe. If such influence was 
exerted upon Nero, it might have been expected easily to prevail. But we 
know not all the complicated intrigues of the Imperial Court. Perhaps 
some Christian freedman of Narcissus 3 may have counteracted, through 
the interest of that powerful favorite, the devices of St. Paul's antago- 
nists ; or possibly Nero may have been capriciously inclined to act upon 
his own independent view of the law and justice of the case, or to show 
his contempt for what he regarded as the petty squabbles of a super- 
stitious people, by " driving the accusers from his judgment-seat" with 
the same feelings which Gallio had shown on a similar occasion. 

However this may be, the trial resulted in the acquittal of St. Paul. 
He was pronounced guiltless of the charges brought against him, his 
fetters were struck off. and he was liberated from his lengthened captivi- 
ty. And now at last he was free to realize his long-cherished purpose 
of evangelizing the West. But the immediate execution of this design 
was for the present postponed, in order that he might first revisit some 
of his earlier converts, who again needed his presence. 

Immediately on his liberation it may reasonably be supposed that he 
fulfilled the intention which he had lately expressed (Philem. 22, and 
Phil. ii. 24), of travelling eastward through Macedonia, and seeking the 
•churches of Asia Minor, some of which, as yet, had not seen his face in 
the flesh. We have already learnt, from the Epistle to the Colossians, 
how much his influence and authority were required among those Asiatic 
iChurches. We must suppose him, therefore, to have gone from Rome 
Iby the usual route, crossing the Adriatic from Brundusium to Apollonia, 
•or Dyrrhachium, and proceeding by the great Egnatian road through 
Macedonia ; and we can imagine the joy wherewith he was welcomed by 
his beloved children at Philippi, when he thus gratified the expectation 
which he had encouraged them to form. There is no reason to suppose, 
however, that he lingered in Macedonia. It is more likely that he 

1 Poppsea's influence was at its height from 3 This Narcissus must not be confounded 
:the birth to the death of her daughter Claudia, with the more celebrated favorite of Claudius, 
who was born at the beginning of 63, and lived See Dio, lxiv. 3. The Narcissus here men- 
ifour months. tioned had Christian converts in his establish- 

2 See last chapter, p. 785, note 3. ment ; see Rom. xvi. 11, and note. 



chap, xxvii. HE PKOCEEDS TO ASIA AND SPAIN. 809 

hastened on to Ephesus, and made that city once more his centre of 
operations. If, he effected his purpose, 1 he now for the first time visited 
Colossae, Laodicea, and other churches in that region. 

Having accomplished the objects of his visit to Asia Minor, he was at 
length enabled (perhaps in the year following that of his liberation) to un- 
dertake his long-meditated journey to Spain. By what route he went, we 
know not ; he may either have travelled by way of Rome, which had been 
his original intention, or more probably, avoiding the dangers which at 
this period (in the height of the Neronian persecution) would have beset 
him there, he may have gone by sea. There was constant commercial 
intercourse between the East and Massilia (the modern Marseilles) ; and 
Massilia was in daily communication with the Peninsula. We may sup- 
pose him to have reached Spain in the year 64, and to have remained 
there about two years ; which would allow him time to establish the 
germs of Christian Churches among the Jewish proselytes who were to 
be found in all the great cities, from Tarraco to Gades, along the Spanish 
coast. 2 

From Spain St. Paul seems to have returned, in a.d. 66* to Ephesus ; 
and here he found that the predictions which he had long ago uttered to 
the Ephesian presbyters were already receiving their fulfilment. Hereti- 
cal teachers had arisen in the very bosom of the Church, and were lead- 
ing away the believers after themselves. Hymenaeus and Philetus were 
sowing, in a congenial soil, the seed which was destined in another 
century to bear so ripe a crop of error. The East and West were infus- 
ing their several elements of poison into the pure cup of Gospel truth. 
In Asia Minor, as at Alexandria, Hellenic philosophism did not refuse to 
blend with Oriental theosophy ; the Jewish superstitions of the Cabala, 
and the wild speculations of the Persian magi, were combined with the 
Greek craving for an enlightened and esoteric religion. The outward 
forms of superstition were ready for the vulgar multitude ; the interpre- 
tation was confined to the aristocracy of knowledge, the self-styled 
Gnostics (1 Tim. vi. 20) ; and we see the tendencies at work among the 
latter, when we learn that, like their prototypes at Corinth, they denied 
the future resurrection of the dead, and taught that the only true resur- 
rection was that which took place when the soul awoke from the death of 
ignorance to the life of knowledge. 4 We recognize already the germ of 
those heresies which convulsed the Church in the succeeding century ; 
and we may imagine the grief and indignation aroused in the breast of 

1 See Philem. 22. Epistles. See remarks in Appendix II. on their 

2 Seep. 17. date, and the Chronological Table given in 
8 This hypothesis best explains the subse- Appendix III. 

quent transactions recorded in the Pastoral * See p. 394, 



&10 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxvii. 

St. Paul, when he found the extent of the evil, and the number of Chris- 
tian converts already infected by the spreading plague. 

Nevertheless, it is evident from the Epistles to Timotheus and Titus, 
written about this time, that he was prevented by other duties from stay- 
ing in this Oriental region so long as his presence was required. He left 
his disciples to do that, which, had circumstances permitted, he would 
have done himself. He was plainly hurried from one point to another. 
Perhaps also he had lost some of his former energy. This might well be 
the case if we consider all he had endured during thirty years of labor. 
The physical hardships which he had undergone were of themselves 
sufficient to wear out the most robust constitution ; and we know that his 
health was already broken many years before. 1 But in addition to these 
bodily trials, the moral conflicts which he continually encountered could 
not fail to tire down the elasticity of his spirit. The hatred manifested 
*by so large and powerful a section even of the Christian Church ; the 
destruction of so many early friendships ; the faithless desertion of fol- 
lowers ; the crowd of anxieties which pressed upon him daily, and " the 
care of all the Churches," must needs have preyed upon the mental 
energy of any man, but especially of one whose temperament was so 
ardent and impetuous. When approaching the age of seventy, 2 he might 
well be worn out both in body and mind. And this will account for the 
comparative want of vigor and energy which has been attributed to the 
Pastoral Epistles, if there be any such deficiency ; and may perhaps also 
be in part the cause of his opposing those errors by deputy, which we 
might rather have expected him to uproot by his own personal exertions. 

However this may be, he seems not to have remained for any long time 
together at Ephesus, but to have been called away from thence, first to 
Macedonia, 3 and afterwards to Crete ; 4 and immediately on his return 
from thence, he appears finally to have left Ephesus for Rome, by way of 
Corinth. 5 But here we are anticipating our narrative : we must return 
to the first of these hurried journeys, when he departed from Ephesus 
to Macedonia, leaving the care of the Ephesian Church to Timotheus, and 
charging him especially with the duty of counteracting the efforts of 
those heretical teachers whose dangerous character we have described. 

When he arrived in Macedonia, he found that his absence might pos- 
sibly be prolonged beyond what he had expected ; and he probably 
felt that Timotheus might need some more explicit credential from 
himself than a mere verbal commission, to enable him for a longer period 
to exercise that Apostolic authority over the Ephesian Church wherewith 

i See Gal. iv. 13, 14, and 2 Cor. xii. 7-9. » Tim. i. 3. 

2 See p. 59, and compare Philem. 9 and the * Titus i. 5. 

Chronological Table in Appendix III. 6 2 Tim. iv. 20 



chap.xxvh. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 811 

he had invested him. It would also be desirable that Timotheus should 
be able, in his struggle with the heretical teachers, to exhibit document- 
ary proof of St. Paul's agreement with himself, and condemnation of the 
opposing doctrines. Such seem to have been the principal motives which 
led St. Paul to despatch from Macedonia that which is known as " the 
First Epistle to Timothy ; " in which are contained various rules for the 
government of the Ephesian Church, such as would be received with sub- 
mission when thus seen to proceed directly from its Apostolic founder, 
while they would perhaps have been less readily obeyed if seeming to be 
the spontaneous injunctions of the youthful Timotheus. In the same 
manner it abounds with impressive denunciations against the false teach- 
ers at Ephesus, which might command the assent of some who turned a 
deaf ear to the remonstrances of the Apostolic deputy. There are also 
exhortations to Timotheus himself, some of which perhaps were rather 
meant to bear an indirect application to others, at the time, as they have 
ever since furnished a treasury of practical precepts for the Christian 
Church. 

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 1 

i. 

Salutation. PAUL, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by command of God our 1 

Saviour and Christ Jesus 2 our hope, To Timotheus my true son in 3 2 

FAITH. 

Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our 
Lord. 

Timotheus is ^ s t desired thee to remain in Ephesus, 4 when I was setting 3 
ESSfl. out for Macedonia, that thou mightest command certain per- 

sion given 

him to oppose SO ns not to teach 5 falsely, nor to regard fables and endless 6 

the false J ' ° 

teachers. genealogies, which furnish ground for disputation rather than 4 
for the exercising of the stewardship 7 of God in faith. 

Now the end of the commandment is love, proceeding from a pure 5 

heart, and good conscience, and undissembled faith. Which some have 6 

1 Tor the date of this Epistle, see Appen- 5 This Greek word occurs nowhere but in 
dix II. this Epistle. 

2 " Lord " is omitted in the best MSS. 6 See p. 396, and Titus iii. 9. 

3 Not "the faith" (A. V.), which would 7 "Stewardship" (not " edifying " ) is the 
require the definite article. reading of the MSS. Compare 1 Cor. ix. 17. 

4 This sentence is left incomplete. Prob- It would seem from this expression that the 
ably St. Paul meant to complete it by " so I false teachers in Ephesus were among the num- 
still desire thee," or something to that effect ; ber of the presbyters, which would agree with 
but forgot to express this, as he continued to the anticipation expressed in Acts xx. 30. 
dictate the subjects of his charge to Timo- 
theus. 



812 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAP.xxvn. 

i. 

missed, and have turned aside to vain babbling, desiring to be teachers 

7 of the Law, 1 understanding neither what they say nor whereof they 

8 affirm. But we know that the Law is good if a man use it lawfully; 

9 knowing this, that the 2 Law is not made for a 3 righteous man, but for 
the lawless and disobedient, for the impious and sinful, for the unholy 

10 and profane, for parricides 4 and murderers, for fornicators, sodomites, 
slave-dealers, 5 liars, perjurers, and whatsoever else is contrary to sound 

11 doctrine. Such is the glorious Glad-tidings of the blessed God, which 
was committed to my trust. 

12 And I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus The commis- 

t-iitx t • -i 6 * on an< ^ Ca ^" 

our Lord, that He accounted me faithful, and appointed me to ingof Paul. 

13 minister unto His service, who was before a blasphemer and persecutor, 
and doer of outrage ; but I received mercy because I acted ignorantly, 

14 in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord abounded beyond 6 measure, 

15 with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, 7 and 
worthy of all acceptation, " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin- 

16 ners;" of whom I am first. But for this cause I received mercy, that in 
me first Jesus Christ might show forth all His long-suffering, for a pattern 

17 of those who should hereafter believe on Him unto life everlasting. Now 
to the King eternal, 8 immortal, invisible, the only 9 God, be honor and 
glory unto the ages of ages. Amen. 

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timotheus, accord- 

Timotheus is 

19 ing to the former prophecies 10 concerning thee ; that in the | D &f. d t0 
strength thereof thou mayest fight the good fight, holding faith mi88ion - 

1 We must observe that this expression 4 This word in English includes parricides 
may be taken in two ways ; either to denote and matricides, both of which are expressed in 
Judaizers, who insisted on the permanent obli- the original. 

gation of the Mosaic Law (which seems to suit 5 This is the literal translation. 

the context best), or to denote Platonizing ex- 6 Compare Rom. v. 20, " the gift of grace 

pounders of the Law, like Philo, who pro- overflowed beyond." 

fessed to teach the true and deep view of the 7 See note on iii. 16. 

Law. To suppose (with Baur) that a Gnostic 8 This seems the best interpretation of 

like Marcion, who rejected the Law altogether, " king of the ages; " compare Apoc. xi. 15. 

could be called " a teacher of the Law," is (to 9 " Wise " is omitted in the best MSS. 

say the least of it) a very unnatural hy- w These prophecies were probably made at 

pothesis. the time when Timotheus was first called to 

2 The noun in the original is without the the service of Christ. Compare Acts xiii 1, 
article here, as often when thus used. Com- 2, when the will of God for the mission of 
pare Rom. ii. 12, iii. 31, iv. 13, &c. Paul and Barnabas was indicated by the 

8 Compare Gal. v. 18, " If ye are led by Prophets of the Church of Antioch. 
the Spirit, ye are not under the Law," and the 
note on that passage. 



CHAP. xxvn. 



FIEST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 



813 



11. 
1 

2 



and a good conscience, which some have cas* away, and made shipwreck 
concerning the faith. Among whom are Hymenaeus * and Alexander, 20 
vvhom I delivered over unto Satan 2 that they might be taught by 3 pun- 
ishment not to blaspheme. 

Directions for ^ exhort, therefore, that, first of all, 4 supplications, prayers, 
6hip, lc a nd°tne intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men ; for 

behavior of 

men and kings 5 and all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet 
thereat. an( ^ p eacea ble life in all godliness 6 and gravity. For this is 3 

good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who wills that all 4 
men should be saved, and should come to the knowledge 7 of the truth. 
For [over all] there is but 8 one God, and one mediator between God and 5 
men, the man 9 Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all men, to 6 
be testified in due time. And of this testimony I was appointed herald 7 
and apostle (I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not), a teacher of the Gen- 
tiles, in faith and truth. I desire, then, that in every place 10 the men 11 8 
should offer up prayers, lifting up their hands 12 in holiness, putting away 



1 These are probably the same mentioned 
in the second Epistle (2 Tim. ii. 17, and iv. 
14). Baur and De "Wette argue that this pas- 
sage is inconsistent with the hypothesis that 
2 Tim. was written after 1 Tim. ; because Hy- 
menaeus (who in this place is described as 
excommunicated and cut off from the Church) 
appears in 2 Tim. as a false teacher still 
active in the Church. But there is nothing at 
all inconsistent in this ; for example, the inces- 
tuous man at Corinth, who had the very same 
sentence passed on him (1 Cor. v. 5), was 
restored to the Church in a few months, on 
his repentance. De Wette also says, that, in 
2 Tim. ii. 17, Hymenseus appears to be men- 
tioned to Timotheus for the first time; but this 
(we think) will not be the opinion of any one 
who takes an unprejudiced view of that pas- 
sage. 

2 On this expression, see the note on 1 Cor. 
v. 5. 

3 The Greek verb has this meaning. Cf. 
Luke xxiii. 16, and 2 Cor. vi. 9. 

4 " First of all," namely, before the other 
prayers. This explanation, which is Chrysos- 
tom's, seems preferable to that adopted by De 
"Wette, Huther, and others, who take it to 
mean "above all things." It is clear from 



what follows (v. 8) that St. Paul is speaking 
of public prayer, which he here directs to be 
commenced by intercessory prayer. 

5 Here we see a precept directed against the 
seditious temper which prevailed (as we have 
already seen, p. 399) among some of the early 
heretics. Compare Jude 8, and 2 Pet. ii. 9, 
and Rom. xiii. 1. 

6 This term for Christian piety is not used 
by St. Paul, except in the Pastoral Epistles. 
We must refer here to the Appendix in the 
larger editions. See note on Tit. i. 9. It is 
used by St. Peter (2 Pet. i. 6) and by Clemens 
Romanus in the same sense. 

7 For the meaning of this, compare 2 Tim. 
iii. 7, and Rom. x. 2, and 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 

8 This is the same sentiment as Rom. iii. 
29, 30. 

9 The manhood of our Lord is here insisted 
on, because thereon rests His mediation. Com- 
pare Heb. ii. 14, and iv. 15. 

10 Chrysostom thinks that there is a contrast 
between Christian worship, which could be 
offered in every place, and the Jewish sacrifices, 
which could only be offered in the Temple. 

11 The men, not the women, were to officiate. 

12 This was the Jewish attitude in pi aver. 
Cf. Ps. lxiii. 4. 



814 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXVII, 



11. 



9 anger and disputation. Likewise, also, that the women should come ' in 
seemly apparel, and adorn themselves with modesty and self-restraint ; 2 

10 not in braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly garments, but (as befits 

11 women professing godliness) with the ornament of good works. Let 

12 women learn in silence, with entire submission. But I permit not a wo- 
man to teach, nor to claim authority over the man, but to keep silence. 

13,14 (For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived ; 
15 but the woman was deceived, and became a transgressor.) But women 
will be saved 3 by the bearing of children ; if they continue in faith and 
love and holiness, with self-restraint. 

Faithful is the saying*, "If a man-seeks the office of a Bishop* 

J & ' J JJ J i' Directions for 

2 he desires a good work." A Bishop, 5 then, must be free from meSpres- 
reproach, the husband 6 of one wife, sober, self-restrained, 

3 orderly, hospitable, 7 skilled in teaching ; not given to wine or brawls,* 

4 but gentle, peaceable, and liberal ; ruling his own household well, keep- 

5 ing his children in subjection with all gravity — (but if a man knows not 
how to rule his own household, how can he take charge of the Church of 



ui. 
1 



1 After women we must supply pray (as 
Chrysostom does), or something equivalent 
(to take part in the worship, &c.), from the pre- 
ceding context. 

2 It is a peculiarity of the Pastoral Epistles 
to dwell very frequently on this virtue of self- 
restraint. A list of such peculiarities is given 
in the Appendix in the larger editions. 

3 The Greek here cannot mean " in child- 
bearing " (A. V.). The Apostle's meaning 
is, that women are to be kept in the path of 
safety, not by taking upon themselves the 
office of the man (by taking a public part in 
the assemblies of the Church, &c), but by the 
performance of the peculiar functions which 
God has assigned to their sex. 

4 It should not be forgotten that the word 
ETTLGKO'Kog is used in the Pastoral Epistles as 
synonymous with 7rpea(3vrepog. See p. 378, 
and Tit, i. 5, compared with i. 7. 

6 Rightly translated in A. V. "a bishop," 
not " the bishop," in spite of the article. See 
note on Tit. i. 7. 

6 " Husband of one wife." Compare iii. 
12, v. 9, and Tit. i. 6. Many different inter- 
pretations have been given to this precept. It 
has been supposed (1) to prescribe marriage, 



(2) to forbid polygamy, (3) to forbid second 
marriages. The true interpretation seems to 
be as follows: — In the corrupt facility of 
divorce allowed both by the Greek and Roman 
law, it was very common for man and wife to 
separate, and marry other parties, during the 
life of one another. Thus a man might have 
three or four living wives ; or, rather, women 
who had all successively been his wives. An 
example of the operation of a similar code is 
unhappily to be found in our own colony of 
Mauritius : there the French Revolutionary 
law of divorce has been suffered by the Eng- 
lish government to remain unrepealed ; and 
it is not uncommon to meet in society three or 
four women who have all been the wives of the 
same man, and three or four men who have all 
been the husbands of the same woman. "We 
believe it is this kind of successive polygamy, 
rather than simultaneous polygamy, which is 
here spoken of as disqualifying for the Presby- 
terate. So Beza. 

7 " Hospitable." Compare Heb. xiii. 2, and 
v. 10. 

8 The allusion to " filthy lucre " is omhted 
in the best MSS. 



CHAP.xxvn. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 815 

iil. 

God?) — not a novice, lest he be blinded with pride, and fall into the 6 
condemnation of the Devil. Moreover, he ought to have a good reputa- 7 
tion among those who are without the Church ; lest he fall into reproach, 
and into a snare of the Devil. 1 

Likewise, the Deacons must be men of gravity, not double- 8 

Directions for ' ° J ' 

rant P o?°S£- tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of gain, holding 

the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these 9 

also be first tried, and after trial be made Deacons, if they are found 10 

irreproachable. Their wives, 2 likewise, must be women of gravity, not 11 

slanderers, sober and faithful in all things. Let the Deacons be hus- 12 
bands of one wife, fitly ruling their children and their own households. 

For those who have well performed the office of a Deacon gain for them- 13 
selves a good position, 3 and great boldness in the faith of Christ Jesus. 

These things I write to thee, although I hope to come to 14 



di r reS?ns e to e tliee shortly ; l)ut in order that (if I should be delayed) thou 15 



Reason for 

writing the 
directions t 

mayst know how to conduct thyself in the house of God (for 
such is the Church of the living God) 4 as a pillar and main-stay of the 

truth. And, without contradiction, great is the mystery of godliness — 16 
''God 5 was manifested in the flesh, justified 6 in the Spirit; beheld by angels, 

1 See note on 2 Tim. ii. 26. their principles, which was of great advantage 

2 We agree with Huther in thinking the to them afterwards, and to the Church of 
Authorized Version correct here, notwithstand" which they were subsequently to become 
ing the great authority of Chrysostom in an- Presbyters. 

cient, and De Wette and others in modern 4 In this much-disputed passage, we adopt 

times, who interpret " women " here to mean the interpretation given by Gregory of Nyssa. 

"deaconesses." On that view, the verse is most So the passage was understood (as Canon 

unnaturally interpolated in the midst of the Stanley observes) by the Church of Lyons 

discussion concerning the Deacons. [This is (a. d. 177) ; for in their Epistle the same ex- 

hardly so, if we view the Primitive Diaconate pression is applied to Attalus the Martyr. So, 

as consisting of two co-ordinate branches, a also, St. Paul speaks of the chief Apostles at 

diaconate of men and a diaconate of women. Jerusalem as " pillars" (Gal. ii. 9); and so, 

We observe, too, that nothing is said above of in Apoc. iii. 12, we find the Christian who is 

the duties of the wives of the Bishops. Our undaunted by persecution described as " a pil- 

three chief modern commentators in England, lar in the Temple of God." The grammatical 

Alford, Ellicott, and Wordsworth, interpret objection to Gregory's view is untenable ; and 

the verse before us as it was interpreted by a Greek writer of the 4th century may be at 

Chrysostom and Jerome. — h.] least as good a judge on this point as his 

3 This verse is introduced by " for " as modern opponents. 

giving a reason for the previous directions, viz. 5 We retain the Received Text here, con- 

the great importance of having good deacons! sidering, that, when the testimony of the MSS. 

such men, by the fit performance of the office, is so divided, we are justified in retaining the 

gained a high position in the community, and text most familiar to English readers. 

acquired (by constant intercourse with different 6 i. e. justified against gainsayers, as being 

classes of men) a boldness in maintaining what He claimed to be. 



816 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvn. 

iv 

preached among the Gentiles; "believed on in the world, received up in 

glory." 1 

1 Now the Spirit declares expressly, that in after-times some False teachers 

to be ex- 
will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and peiied; their 

2 teachings of demons, speaking 2 lies in hypocrisy, having their mJde^f re- e 

3 conscience seared ; hindering marriage, 3 enjoining abstinence 

from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those 

4 who believe and have 4 knowledge of the truth. For all things created 
by God are good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with 

5 thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the Word of God 5 and prayer. 

6 In thus instructing the brethren, thou wilt be a good servant of Jesus 
Christ, nourishing thyself with the words of the faith and good doctrine 

7 which thou hast followed. Reject the fables of profane and doting teach- 

8 ers, but train thyself 6 for the contests of godliness. For the training of 
the body is profitable for a little ; but godliness is profitable for all 

9 things, having promise of the present life, and of the life to come. Faith- 
10 ful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, — " For to this end we 

endure labor and reproach, because we have set our hope on the living God, 
who is the saviour of alV mankind, specially of the faithful ." 

1 There can be little doubt that this is a 6 We have a specimen of what is meant by 
quotation from some Christian hymn or creed. this verse in the following beautiful " Grace 
Such quotations in the Pastoral Epistles (of before Meat," which was used in the primitive 
which there are five introduced by the same Church : " Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who 
expression, "faithful is the saying") corre- feedest me from my youth, who givest food 
spond with the hypothesis that these Epistles unto all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and 
were among the last written by St. Paul. gladness, that always having all sufficiency we 

2 " Speaking lies " is most naturally taken may abound unto every good work, in Christ 
with " demons ; " but St. Paul, while gram- Jesus our Lord, through whom be glory, hon- 
matically speaking of the demons, is really or, and might unto Thee for ever. Amen/' 
speaking of the false teachers who acted under (Apostolical Constitutions, vii. 49.) The expres- 
their impulse. sion " Word of God " probably implies that 

3 With regard to the nature of the heresies the thanksgiving was commonly made in some 
here spoken of, see pp. 394-397. We observe Scriptural words, taken, for example, out of 
a strong admixture of the Jewish element the Psalms, as are several expressions in the 
(exactly like that which prevailed, as we have above Grace. 

seen, in the Colossian heresies) in the prohibi- 6 It seems, from a comparison of this with 

tion of particular hinds of food ; compare verse the following verse, that the false teachers laid 

4, and Col. ii. 16, and Col. ii. 21, 22. This great stress on a training of the body by ascet- 

shows the very early date of this Epistle, and ic practices. For the metaphorical language, 

contradicts the hypothesis of Baur as to its borrowed from the contests of the Palaestra, 

origin At tne same lime there is also an compare 1 Cor. ix. 27, and p. 5S5. 
Anti-Judaical element, as we have remarked 7 The prominence given to this truth of 

above, p. 397, note 2. the universality of salvation in this Epistle 

4 See note on 1 Tim. ii. 4. (compare ii. 4) seems to imply that it was 



chap. xxvn. FIEST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 817 

iv. 

runes of These things enjoin and teach; let no man despise thy 11 

youth, 1 but make thyself a pattern of the faithful, in word, in 12 

life, in love, 2 in faith, in purity. Until I come, apply thyself to pub- 13 

lie 3 reading, exhortation, and teaching. Neglect not the gift that is in 14 

thee, which was given thee by prophecy 4 with the laying-on of the hands 

of the Presbytery. Let these things be thy care ; give thyself wholly to 15 

them ; that thy improvement may be manifest to all men. Give heed to 16 

thyself and to thy teaching ; continue steadfast therein. 5 For in so doing 

thou shalt save both thyself and thy hearers. 

Rebuke not an aged 6 man, but exhort him as thou wouldst a father; i 

treat young men as brothers ; the aged women as mothers ; the young as 2 

sisters, in all purity. 

widows are Pay due regard 7 to the widows who are friendless in their 3 
to be support- 
ed widowhood. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, 4 

let them learn to show their godliness first 8 towards their own household, 

and to requite their parents ; for this is acceptable 9 in the sight of God. 

The widow who is friendless and desolate in her widowhood sets her hope 5 

on God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day; but q 

she who lives in wantonness is dead while she lives ; and hereof do thou 7 

admonish them, that they may be irreproachable. But if any man pro- 8 

vide not for his own, 10 and especially for his kindred, he has denied the 

faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. 

Qualifications A widow, to be placed upon the u list, must be not less o 

of widows on r r v 

the list. £j iail gjxty years of age, having been the wife of one hus- 

denied by the Ephesian false teachers. So the may most naturally be referred to the preced- 

Gnostics considered salvation as belonging ing these things. 

only to the enlightened few, who, in their 6 Chrysostom has remarked that we must 

system, constituted a kind of spiritual aristoc- not take "elder" here in its official sense; 

racy. See p. 395. compare the following " elder women." 

1 Compare 2 Tim. ii. 22, and the remarks " The widows were from the first supported 
in Appendix II. out of the funds of the Church. See Acts vi. 1. 

2 The words " in spirit " are omitted in the 8 First: i.e. before they pretend to make 
best MSS. professions of godliness in other matters, let 

3 This does not mean reading in the sense them show its fruits towards their own kindred. 
of study, but reading aloud to others ; the books 9 The best MSS. omit " good and." 

so read were (at this period) probably those of 10 His oivn would include his slaves and de- 

the Old Testament, and perhaps the earlier pendants. So Cyprian requires the Christian 

gospels. masters to tend their sick slaves in a pesti- 

4 Compare with this passage 1 Tim. i. 18, lence. 

and the note. n It is a disputed point ichat list is referred 

5 This in them is very perplexing; but it to in this word; whether (1) it means the lint 

52 



818 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxvn. 



V. 

10 band ; l she must be well reported of for good deeds, as one who has 
brought up children, received strangers with hospitality, washed the feet of 
the saints, relieved the distressed, and diligently followed every good Work. 

11 But younger widows reject : for when they have become wanton against 

12 Christ, they desire to marry ; and thereby incur condemnation, because 

13 they have broken their former 2 promise. Moreover, they learn 3 to be 
idle, wandering about from house to house ; and not only idle, but 
tattlers also and busy-bodies, speaking things which ought not to be 

14 spoken. I wish therefore that younger widows should marry, bear chil- 
dren, rule their households, and give no occasion to the adversary for 

15 reproach. For already some of them have gone astray after Satan. 

16 If there are widows dependent on any believer (whether man or 
woman), let those on whom they depend relieve them, and let not the 
Church be burdened with them ; that it may relieve the widows who are 
destitute. 

17 Let the Presbyters who perform their offices well be counted Government 

of the Presby- 

worthy of a twofold honor, 4 especially those 5 who labor in ters. 



of widows to be supported out of the charitable 
fund, or (2) the list of deaconesses (for which 
office the age of sixty seems too old), or (3) 
the body of church-widows mentioned by Tertul- 
lian and by other writers, as a kind of female 
Presbyters, having a distinct ecclesiastical posi- 
tion and duties. The point is discussed by De 
Wette, Huther, and Wiesinger. We are dis- 
posed to take a middle course between the firs-t 
and third hypotheses; by supposing, viz., that 
the list here mentioned was that of all the 
widows who were officially recognized as sup- 
ported by the Church ; but was not confined to 
such persons, but included also richer widows, 
•who were willing to devote themselves to the 
.offices assigned to the pauper widows. It has 
ibeen argued that we cannot suppose that needy 
^widows who did not satisfy the conditions of 
-verse 9 would be excluded from the benefit of 
the fund ; nor need we suppose this ; but since 
.all could scarcely be supported, certain condi- 
tions were prescribed, which must be satisfied 
•before any one could be considered as officially 
■ entitled to a place on the list. From the class 
of widows thus formed, the subsequent "body 
• of widows" would naturally result. There is 
not the slightest ground for supposing that wid- 
.ou"i here means virgins, as Baur has imagined. 



His opinion is well refuted by "Wiesinger and 
De Wette. 

1 For the meaning of this, see note on iii. 2. 

2 The phrase means to break a promise, and 
is so explained by Chrysostom, and by Augus- 
tine. Hence we see that, when a widow was 
received into the number of church-widows, a 
promise was required from her (or virtually 
understood) that she would devote herself for 
life to the employments which these widows 
undertook ; viz. the education of orphans, and 
superintendence of the younger women. There 
is no trace here of the subsequent ascetic disap- 
probation of second marriages, as is evident from 
verse 14, where the younger widows are ex- 
pressly desired to marry again. This also con- 
firms our view of the " wife of one husband." 
See note on iii. 2. 

8 The construction is peculiar, but not un- 
exampled in classical Greek. 

4 Honor here seems (from the next verse) 
to imply the notion of reward. Compare the 
verb honor in verse 3 above. Upon a misinter- 
pretation of this verse was founded the dis- 
gusting practice, which prevailed in the third 
century, of setting a double portion of meat 
before the Presb)ters, in the feasts of love. 

5 Tn pp. 378, 379, we observed that the 



chap.xxvh. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 819 

7. 

speaking and teaching. For the Scripture saith, " %^Q\X sljalf not 18 

xamk % 0* ijjat tobttfj out % corn ; " l and, « z%e faforer *s wor% 

o/Az's Aire." 2 

Against a Presbyter receive no accusation except on the testimony 3 of 19 
two or three witnesses. Rebuke the offenders in the presence of all, 20 
that others also may fear. I adjure thee, before God and 4 Christ Jesus 21 
and the chosen 5 angels, that thou observe these things without prejudice 
against any man, and do nothing out of partiality. 

ordination. Lay hands hastily on no man, nor make thyself 6 a partaker 22 

in the sins committed by another. Keep thyself pure. 
Particular Drink no longer water only, but use a little wine for the 23 

and general 

eautions. SQ ^ G Q f fay stomach, and thy frequent maladies. 

[In thy decisions remember that] the sins of some men are manifest 24 
beforehand, and lead the way to their condemnation ; but the sins of 
others are not seen till afterwards. Likewise, also, the good deeds of 25 
some men are conspicuous ; and those which they conceal cannot be 
kept hidden. 

SavS ° f -ket those who are under the yoke as bondsmen esteem their vi. 1 

masters worthy of all honor, lest reproach be brought upon the name of 
God and His doctrine. And let those whose masters are believers not 2 
despise them because they are brethren, but serve them with the more 
subjection, because they who claim 7 the benefit are believing and 
beloved. Thus teach thou, and exhort. 
febukld a - chers I? an y man teach falsely, 8 and consent not to the sound 3 

offices of presbyter and teacher were united, at prudence, Deut. xix. 5, and appealed to by St. 

the date of the Pastoral Epistles, in the same Paul, 2 Cor. xiii. 1 . 

persons ; which is shown by apt to teach being i Lord is omitted by the best MSS. 

a qualification required in a Presbyter, 1 Tim. 5 By the chosen angels are probably meant 

iii. 2. But though tbis union must in all cases those especially selected by God as His mes- 

have been desirable, we find, from this passage, sengers to the human race, such as Gabriel. 

that there were still some presbyters who were 6 The meaning of the latter part of this 

not teachers, i. e. who did not perform the office verse is, that Timotheus, if he ordained unfit 

of public instruction in the congregation. persons (e. g. friends or relations) out of par- 

This is another strong proof of the early date tiality, would thereby make himself a partici- 

of the Epistle. pator in their sins. 

1 This quotation (Deut. xxv. 4) is applied 7 The A. V. is inconsistent with tbe pres- 
to the same purpose, I Cor. ix. 9 (where the ence of the Greek definite article. The verb 
words are quoted in a reverse order). The here used has the sense of claim in classical 
LXX. agrees with 1 Cor. ix. 9. Greek, though not elsewhere in tbe N. T. 

2 Luke x. 7. 8 The section from verses 3 to 10 is a gen- 

3 This rule is founded on the Mosaic juris- eral warning against the false teachers, as is 



820 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvn. 

vi. 

4 words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the godly doctrine, he ^dr covetou*- 
is blinded with pride, and understands nothing, but is filled with a 
sickly 1 appetite for disputations and contentions about words, whence 

5 arise envy, strife, reproaches, evil suspicions, violent collisions 2 of men 
whose mind is corrupted, and who are destitute of the truth ; who 

6 think that godliness 3 is a gainful trade. 4 But godliness with content- 

7 ment is truly gainful ; for we brought nothing into the world, and it is 

8 certain we can carry nothing out ; but having food and shelter, let us be 

9 therewith content. They who seek for riches fall into temptations and 
snares and many foolish and hurtful desires, which drown men in ruin 

10 and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils ; and 
some, coveting it, have been led astray from the faith, and pierced them- 
selves through with many sorrows. 

11 But thou, man of God, flee these things; and follow ^Kotheus. 
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, 5 meekness. 

12 Fight the good fight 6 of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which thou 7 
wast called, and didst confess the good 8 confession before many wit- 

13 nesses. I charge thee in the presence of God who gives life to all things, 
and Christ Jesus who bore testimony under Pontius Pilate 9 to the good 

14 confession, that thou keep that which thou art commanded, spotlessly 

evident from th$ whole context. It is a mis- 3 The A. V. here reverses the true order, 

take to refer the " false teaching " to some and violates the law of the article, 
(imaginary) teachers who are supposed by some 4 The words "From such withdraw thy- 

to have preached the abolition of slavery. self " are not found here in the best MSS. 
There is no evidence or probability whatever 5 The meaning is, steadfast endurance under 

that such teachers existed ; although it was persecution. 

natural that some of the Christian slaves 6 Here we have another of those metaphors 
themselves should have been tempted to " de- from the Greek games, so frequent with St. 
spise " their believing masters, with whom they Paul. See 2 Tim. iv. 7. 
were now united by so holy a bond of brother- 7 "Also " is omitted by the best MSS. 
hood; a bond which contained in itself the 8 " The (not a) good confession" means 
seeds of liberty for the slave, destined to ripen the confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, 
in due time. It would scarcely have been ne- (Compare Rom. x. 10.) Timotheus had prob- 
cessary to say this, but that a teacher of divinity bably been a confessor of Christ in persecu- 
has lately published a statement that " St. tion, either at Rome or elsewhere ; or it is pos- 
Paul's epistles condemn attempts to abolish sible that the allusion here may be to his bap- 
slavery, as the work of men 'proud, knowing tism. 

nothing' (1 Tim. vi. 2-4)." See Rational God- 9 For this use of "witness" or "testify" 

liness : by R. Williams, D.D., p. 303. with the accusative, compare John iii. 32, 

1 Sickly is the antithesis to sound above. " What he hath seen, that he testifieth." Our 
Similar phraseology is found in Plato. Lord testified before Pontius Pilate that He 

2 The original meaning of the uncom- was the Messiah, 
pounded word (taking the reading of the best 

MSS.) is friction. 



chap, xxvii. ST. PAUL VISITS CRETE. 821 

VI. 

and irreproachably, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ ; which 15 
shall in due time be made manifest by the blessed and only l Potentate, 
the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; who only hath immortality, dwell- 16 
ing in light unapproachable ; whom no man hath seen, nor can see ; to 
whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. 

Duties of the Charge those who are rich in this present world, not to be 17 
high-minded, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in 2 God, who provides 
all tilings richly for our use. Charge them to practise benevolence, to 18 
be rich in good works, to be bountiful and generous, storing up for them- 19 
selves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on 
eternal 3 life. 

a<S?£ us Timotheus, guard 4 the treasure which is committed to 20 

Sminission. IS thy trust, and avoid the profane babblings and antitheses 5 of 
the falsely-named " Knowledge ; " 6 which some professing, have erred 21 
concerning the faith. 

sssssi Grace be with thee - 7 

The expectations which St. Paul expressed in the above letter, of a 
more prolonged absence from Ephesus, could scarcely have been ful- 
filled ; # for soon after 8 we find that he had been in Crete (which seems 
to imply that, on his way thither, he had passed through Ephesus), and 
was now again on his way westwards. We must suppose, then, that he 

1 Only. This seems to allude to the same " babblings " and the " contentions about 
polytheistic notions of incipient Gnosticism words " ascribed to the heretics above, vi. 4) 
which are opposed in Col. i. 16. is to suppose that St. Paul here speaks, not of 

2 "Living " is omitted by the best MSS. the doctrines, but of the dialectical and rhetori- 

3 The majority of MSS. read the true life, cal arts of the false teachers. 

which is equivalent to the Received Text. 6 From this passage we see that the here 

4 The treasure here mentioned is probably tics here opposed by St. Paul laid claim to a 
the pastoral office of superintending the peculiar philosophy, or " Gnosis." Thus they 
Church of Ephesus, which was committed by were Gnostics, at all events in name; how far 
St. Paul to Timotheus. Cf. 2 Tim. i. 14. their doctrines agreed with those of later Gno-s- 

5 " Antitheses." There is not the slight- tics is a further question. "We have befoje 
est ground (as even De Wette allows) for sup- seen that there were those at Corinth (1 Cor. 
posing, with Baur, that this expression is to viii, 1, 10, 11) who were blamed by St. Paul 
be understood of the contraries oppositiones (or for claiming a high degree of "Gnosis;" and 
contrasts between Law and Gospel) of Mar- we have seen him condemn the "philosophy" 
cion. If there be an allusion to any Gnostic of the heretics at Colossas (Col. ii. 8), who 
doctrines at all, it is more probable that it is to appear to bear the closest resemblance to those 
the dualistic opposition between the principles condemned in the Pastoral Epistles. See pp. 
of good and evil in the world, which was an 393-401. 

Oriental element in the philosophy of some of 7 " Amen " is not found in the best MSS. 

the early Gnostics. But the mos»t natural in- 8 See remarks on the date of the Pastoral 

terpretation (considering the junction with Epistles, Appendix II. 



822 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL, chap, xxyii. 

returned shortly from Macedonia to Ephesus, as he hoped, though doubt- 
fully, to be able to do when he wrote to Timotheus. From Ephesus, as 
we have just said, he soon afterwards made an expedition to Crete. It 
can scarcely be supposed that the Christian Churches of Crete were first 
founded during this visit of St. Paul ; on the contrary, many indications 
in the Epistle to Titus show that they had already lasted for a consider- 
able time. But they were troubled by false teachers, and probably had 
never yet been properly organized, having originated, perhaps, in the 
private efforts of individual Christians, who would have been supplied 
with a centre of operations and nucleus of Churches by the numerous 
colonies of Jews established in the island. 1 St. Paul now visited them in 
company with Titus, 2 whom he left in Crete as his representative on his 
departure. He himself was unable to remain long enough to do what 
was needful, either in silencing error, or in selecting fit persons as 
presbyters of the numerous scattered Churches, which would manifestly 
be a work of time. , Probably he confined his efforts to a few of the 
principal places, and empowered Titus to do the rest. Thus, Titus was 
left at Crete in the same position which Timotheus had occupied at 
Ephesus during St. Paul's recent absence ; and there would, consequent- 
ly, be the same advantage in his receiving written directions from St. 
Paul concerning the government and organization of the Church, which 
we have before mentioned in the case of Timotheus. Accordingly, 
shortly after leaving Crete, St. Paul sent a letter to Titus, the outline of 
which would equally serve for that of the preceding Epistle. But 
St. Paul's letter to Titus seems to have been still further called for, to 
meet some strong opposition which that disciple had encountered while 
attempting to carry out his master's directions. This may be inferred 
from the very severe remarks against the Cretans which occur in the 
Epistle, and from the statement, at its commencement, that the very 
object which its writer had in view, in leaving Titus in Crete, was that 
he might appoint Presbyters in the Cretan Churches ; an indication that 

1 Philo mentions Crete as one of the seats word of the Cretans, when they fought against 
of the Jewish dispersion; see p. 17. [For the the Venetians, who came under the standard 
introduction of Christianity into the island in of St. Mark. The Venetians themselves, 
connection with St. Paul, see the art. " Crete " when here, " seem to have transferred to him 
in the Diet, of the Bible. — h.] part of that respect, which, elsewhere, would 

2 For the earlier mention of Titus, see probably have been manifested for Mark alone, 
above, pp. 512, 513. There is some interest in During the celebration of several great fesn« 
mentioning the traditionary recollections of vals of the Church, the response of the Latin 
him which remain in the island of Crete. One clergy of Crete,. after the prayer for the Doge 
Greek legend says that he was the nephew of of Venice, was Sancte Marce, tu nos adjuva ; 
a proconsul of Crete, another that he was de- but, after that for the Duke of Candia, Sancte 
scended from Minos. The cathedral of Me- Tite, tu nos adjuva." Pashley's Travels in Crett. 
galo-Castron on the north of the island was vol. i. pp. 6 and 175. 

dedicated to him. His name was the watch- 



chap. xxvn. 



EPISTLE TO TITUS. 



823 



his claim to exercise this authority had been disputed. This Epistle 
seems to have been despatched from Ephesus at the moment when 
St. Paul was on the eve of departure on a westward journey, which was 
to take him as far as Nicopolis x (in Epirus) before the winter. The fol- 
lowing is a translation of this Epistle : — 



THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 2 

salutation. PAUL, a bondsman of God, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, i 1 

--sent forth 3 to bring God's chosen to faith, and to the 4 knowledge of 
the truth which is according to godliness, 5 with hope of eternal life, 2 
which God, who cannot lie, promised before eternal times 6 (but He 3 
made known His word in due season, in the message 7 committed to my 
trust by the command of God our Saviour), — To Titus, my true son in 4 

OUR COMMON FAITH. 

Grace and peace 8 from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ 
our Saviour. 

This was the [very] cause 9 why I left thee in Crete, that 5 
thou mightest further 10 correct what is deficient, and appoint 
Presbyters in every city, as I gave thee commission. No man 6 
must be appointed a Presbyter, but he who is without re- 
of Presbyters. p roac ] lj ^he husband of one wife, 11 having believing children 
who are not accused of riotous living, nor disobedient ; for a 12 Bishop 7 



Commission 
of Titus to 
regulate the 
Cretan 
Churches. 



Qualifications 



1 See below, p. 827, note 3. 

2 For the date of this Epistle, see Ap- 
pendix II. 

3 The original here is perplexing, but 
seems to admit of no other sense than this, an 
apostle sent forth on an errand of faith. Com- 
pare 2 Tim. i. 1, "an apostle sent forth to 
proclaim the promise of life." The involved 
and parenthetical style of this salutation re- 
minds us of that to the Romans, and is a 
strong evidence of the genuineness of this 
Epistle. 

4 See note on 1 Tim. ii. 4. 

6 Godliness. See note on 1 Tim. ii. 2. 

6 Before eternal times ; meaning, probably, 
in tin old dispensation : cf. Rom. xvi. 25, and 
note on 2 Tim. i. 9. 

7 Literally, proclamation. 

8 The best MSS. omit mercy here. 

9 This commencement seems to indicate (as 
we have above remarked) that, in exercising 



the commission given to him by St. Paul for 
reforming the Cretan Church, Titus had been 
resisted. 

10 Not simply " set in order " (as in A. V.), 
but " set in order farther." 

11 This part of the Presbyter's qualifications 
has been very variously interpreted. See note 
on 1 Tim. iii. 2. 

12 Rightly translated in A. V. " a " (not- 
the) " bishop," because the article is only used: 
generically. So, in English, "the reformer 
must be patient : " equivalent to " a reformer,:" 
&c. "We see here a proof of the early date of 
this Epistle in the synonymous use of kmcuoTzoe 
and TTpe<jj3vTepoc ; the latter word designating 
the rank, the former the duties, of the Presby- 
ter. The best translation here would be the 
term overseer, which is employed in the A. V. 
as a translation of kmoKOKOC^ Acts xx. 28 ; but, 
unfortunately, the term has associations in 
modern English which do not. permit of its. 



824 THE LIFE AKD EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chai «cvd. 

must be free from reproach, as being a steward of God ; not self-willed, 
not easily provoked, not a lover of wine, not given to brawls, not greedy 
i # g of gain ; but hospitable to * strangers, a lover of good men, self-restrained, 2 
9 just, holy, continent ; holding fast the words which are faithful to our 
teaching, that he may be able both to exhort others in the sound 2 doc- 
trine, and to rebuke the gainsayers. 

10 For there are many disobedient babblers and deceivers, Titus must 

oppose the 

specially they of the Circumcision, whose mouths need 3 bit false teachers. 

11 and bridle ; for they subvert whole houses, by teaching evil, for the love 

12 of shameful gain. It was said by one of themselves, a prophet 4 of their 
own, — 

" Always liars and beasts are the Cretans, and inwardly sluggish." 

13 This testimony is true. Wherefore rebuke 5 them sharply, that they 

14 may be sound in faith, and may no more give heed to Jewish fables, 6 and 

15 precepts 7 of men who turn away from the truth. To the pure all 
things are pure ; 8 but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, 

16 but both their understanding and their conscience is polluted. They 
profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being abomi- 
nable and disobedient, and worthless 9 for any good work. 

being thus used here. Compare with this pas- " Jewish " element appears distinctly in the 

sage 1 Tim. iii. 2. Colossian heretics (" Sabbaths/' Col. ii. 16), 

1 Cf. 3 John 5, 6. In the early Church, although it is not seen in the Epistles to Timo- 
Christians travelling from one place to another thy. Comp. iii. 9, and see p. 397. 

were received and forwarded on their journey 8 It would seem from this that the heretics 

by their brethren; this is the " hospitality " attacked taught their followers to abstain from 

so often commended in the N. T. certain acts, or certain kinds of food, as being 

2 The Appendix in the larger editions con- impure. We must not, however, conclude from 
tains a list of words peculiarly used in the this that they were Ascetics. Superstitious 
Pastoral Epistles. Among them are these abstinence from certain material acts is quite 
words. compatible with gross impurity of teaching and 

3 The word literally denotes to put a bit and of practice, as we see in the case of Hindoo 
bridle upon a horse. devotees, and in those impure votaries of Cybele 

4 Epimenides of Crete, a poet who lived in and of Isis mentioned so often in Juvenal and 
the 6th century b. c, is the author quoted. other writers of the same date. The early 
His verses were reckoned oracular, whence the Gnostics, here attacked, belonged apparently 
title " prophet." So by Plato he is called " a to that class who borrowed their theosophy 
divinely-inspired man," and by Plutarch "a from Jewish sources ; and the precepts ofabsti- 
man dear to the gods." nence which they imposed may probably have 

5 Rebuke: this seems to refer to the same been derived from the Mosaic law. Their im- 
word in v. 9. morality is plainly indicated by the following 

6 Fables. See note on 1 Tim. iv. 7. # words. 

7 These precepts were probably those men- 9 Literally, unable to stand the test ; i. e. when 
tioned 1 Tim. iv. 3, and Col. ii. 16-22. The tested by the call of duty, they fail. 



CHAp.xxvn. EPISTLE TO TITUS. 825 

ii. 
Directions to But do thou speak conformably to the sound doctrine. 1 

Titus how he x " 

thSJofdi? Exhqrt the aged men to be sober, grave, self-restrained, sound 2 
^d^exfs. 8 in faith, in love, in steadfastness. Exhort the aged women, 3 
likewise, to let their deportment testify of holiness, not to be slanderers, 
not to be enslaved by drunkenness, but to give good instruction ; that 4 
they may teach discretion to the younger women, leading them to be 
loving wives and loving mothers, self-restrained, chaste, keepers at home, 5 
amiable and obedient to their husbands, lest reproach be brought upon 
the Word of God. In like manner, do thou exhort the young men to 6 
on _ self-restraint. And show thyself in all things a pattern of 7 
duct ' good works; manifesting in thy teaching uncorruptness, 

gravity, 1 soundness of doctrine not to be condemned, that our adversa- 8 
Duties of ries ma y ^ e sname d, having no evil to say against us. 2 Exhort 9 

bondsmen to obey their masters, and to strive to please them 
in all things, without gainsaying ; not purloining, but showing all good 10 
fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all 
General mo- things. For the grace of God has been made manifest, bring- 11 

tives of 

Christianity. m g salvation to all 3 mankind ; teaching us to deny ungodli- 12 
ness and earthly lusts, and to live temperately, justly, and godly in this 
present world ; looking for that blessed hope, 4 the appearing of the glory 13 
of the great God, and our 5 Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave Himself foi 14 
us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify us unto Him- 
self, as a "peculiar purple," 6 zealous of good works. These things 15 
speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. 
Duty towards Remind 7 them to render submission to magistrates and iii. 1 

Government ... ~ 

and towards authorities, to obey the Government, to be ready for every 

unbelievers ^ 7 J J 

generally. g 00( j W0Y \^ t S p ea k ev ii f n0 ma n, to avoid strife, to act 2 

1 The best MSS. omit the word translated withstanding the omission of the article before 
" sincerity " in A. V. " Saviour." We must not be guided entirely 

2 Us (not you) is the reading of the best by the rules of classical Greek in this matter. 
MSS. Comp. 2 Thess. i. 12. 

8 This statement seems intended to contra- 6 This expression is borrowed from the Old 

diet the Gnostic notion that salvation was Testament, Dent. vii. 6, Deut. xiv. 2, and 

given to the enlightened alone. It should be other places. (LXX.) 

observed that the definite article of T. R. ia i St. Paul himself had no doubt insisted on 

omitted by some of the best MSS. the duty of obedience to the civil magistrate 

* Compare the same expectation expressed when he was in Crete. The Jews throughout 

Eom. viii. 18-25. the Empire were much disposed to insubordi- 

6 The A. V. here is probably correct, not- nation at this period. 



826 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvil 

iii. 

3 with forbearance, and to show all meekness to all men. For we our- 
selves also were formerly without understanding, disobedient and led 
astray, enslaved to all kinds of lusts and pleasures, living in malice and 

4 in envy, hateful and hating one another. But when God our Saviour 

5 made manifest His kindness and love of men, He saved us, not through 
the works of righteousness which we had done, but according to His own 
mercy, by the laver * of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy 

6 Spirit, which He richly poured forth upon us, by Jesus Christ our 

7 Saviour ; that, being justified by His grace, we might become heirs, 

8 through 2 hope, of life eternal. Faithful is the saying, 3 and Titus must en- 

force good 

these things I desire thee to affirm, "Let them that have be- works, and 

° resist the false 

9 lieved in God be careful to practise good works." These things teaahers - 
are good and profitable to men : but avoid foolish disputations, 4 and 
genealogies, 5 and strifes and contentions concerning the 6 Law, for they 

10 are profitless and vain. A sectarian, 7 after two admonitions, reject, 

11 knowing that such a man is perverted, and by his sins is self-con- 
demned. 

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus 8 to thee, endeavor to gpecial ^^ 
come to me to Nicopolis ; 9 for there I have determined to t tu 8 S 's°jour- 

mytolsricDpo- 

13 winter. Forward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their li8 - 

14 journey zealously, that they may want for nothing. And let our people 
also 10 learn to practise good works, ministering to the necessities of 
others, that they may not be unfruitful. 

1 The word does not mean " washing " from which our term " heresy " comes is used 
(A. V.), but laver ; i. e. a vessel in which wash- by St. Paul, in his earlier writings, simply for 
ing takes place. a religious sect, sometimes (as Acts xxvi. 5) 

2 Through hope is explained by Rom. viii. without disapprobation, sometimes (as 1 Cor. 
24, 25. xi. 19) m a bad sense; here we find its deriva- 

8 The " saying " referred to is supposed by tive (which occurs here and nowhere else in 
some interpreters to be the statement which the N. T.) already assuming a bad sense, akin 
precedes (from 3 to 7). These writers main- to that which it afterwards bore. It should 
tain that it is ungrammatical to refer " Faith- be also observed that these early heretics 
Jul is the saying " to the following, as is done united moral depravity with erroneous teach- 
in A. V. But this objection is avoided by ing ; their works bore witness against their 
taking " that " as a part of the quotation. The doctrine ; and this explains the subsequent 
usage is similar in Eph. v. 33. " by his sins he is self-condemned." See pp. 

* Disputations: see 1 Tim. vi. 4, and 2 Tim. 397-399. 
ii. 23. ' 8 Cf. Col. iv. 7. 

5 See 1 Tim. i. 4. 9 See p. 827, note 3. 

6 Compare precepts (i. 14), and teachers of 10 i. e. the Cretan Christians were to aid in 
the Laic. 1 Tim. i. 7. furnishing Zenas and Apollos with all that 

7 Sectarian. We have seen that the word they needed. 



CHAP.xxvn. WINTER AT NICOPOLIS. 827 

iii. 
Salutations. All that are with me salute thee. Salute those who love us 15 

in faith. 

S&teSe. Grace be with y° u alL1 

We see from the above letter that Titus was desired to join St. Paul at 
Nicopolis, where the Apostle designed to winter. We learn, from an in- 
cidental notice elsewhere, 2 that the route he pursued was from Ephesus to 
Miletus, where his old companion Trophimus remained behind from sick- 
ness, and 1 hence to Corinth, where he left Erastus, the former treasurer 
of that citr, whom, perhaps, he had expected, or wished, to accompany 
him in his farther progress. The position of Nicopolis 3 would render it 
a good centre for operating upon the surrounding province ; and thence 
St. Paul might make excursions to those Churches of Illyricum which he 
perhaps 4 founded himself at an earlier period. The city which was thus 
chosen as the last scene of the Apostle's labors, before his final imprison- 
ment, is more celebrated for its origin than for its subsequent history. It 
was founded by Augustus, as a permanent memorial of the victory of 
Actium, and stood upon the site of the camp occupied by his land-forces 
before that battle. We learn, from the accounts of modern travellers, 
that the remains upon the spot still attest the extent and importance of 
the " City of Victory." " A long lofty wall spans a desolate plain ; to 
the north of it rises, on a distant hill, the shattered scena of a theatre ; 
and, to the west, the extended though broken line of an aqueduct con- 
nects the distant mountains, from which it tends, with the main subject 
of the picture, the city itself." 5 To people this city, Augustus uprooted 
the neighboring mountaineers from their native homes, dragging them by 
his arbitrary compulsion " from their healthy hills to this low and swampy 
plain." It is satisfactory to think (with the accomplished traveller from 
whom the above description is borrowed) that, " in lieu of the blessings 
of which they were deprived, the Greek colonists of Nicopolis were con- 
soled with one greater than all, when they saw, heard, and talked with 
the Apostle who was debtor to the Greeks." 

It seems most probable, however, that St. Paul was not permitted to 
spend the whole of this winter in security at Nicopolis. The Christians 

1 The "Amen" is omitted in the best 5 See Wordsworth's Greece, pp. 229-232, 
MSS. where a map of Nicopolis will be found, and 

2 2 Tim. iv. 20. an interesting description of the ruins. See 
8 It is here assumed that the Nicopolis, also Leake's Northern Greece, vol. i. p. 178, 

spoken of Titus iii. 12, was the city of that and vol. iii. p. 491 ; and Merivale's Rome, vol. 

name in Epirus. There were other places of iii. pp. 327, 328. In Bowen's Mount Athos 

the same name ; but they were comparatively and Epirus (p. 211), there is also a notice of 

insignificant. its present desolate aspect. 
4 See above, pp. 515 and 579. 



828 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvii. 

were now far more obnoxious to the Roman authorities than formerly. 
They were already distinguished from the Jews, and could no longer 
shelter themselves under the toleration extended to the Mosaic religion. 
So eminent a leader of the proscribed sect was sure to find enemies every- 
where, especially among his fellow-countrymen ; and there is nothing 
improbable in supposing that, upon the testimony of some informer, he 
was arrested l by the magistrates of Nicopolis, and forwarded to Rome 2 for 
trial. The indications which we gather from the Second Epistle to Timo- 
theus render it probable that this arrest took place not later than 3 mid- 
winter, and the authorities may have thought to gratify the Emperor by 
forwarding so important a criminal immediately to Rome. It is true that 
the navigation of the Mediterranean was in those times suspended during 
the winter ; but this rule would apply only to longer voyages, and not to 
the short passage 4 from Apollonia to Brundusium. Hence, it is not un- 
likely that St. Paul may have arrived at Rome some time before spring. 

In this melancholy journey he had but few friends to cheer him. Titus 
had reached Nicopolis, in obedience to his summons ; and there were 
others also, it would seem, in attendance on him ; but they were scattered 
by the terror of his arrest. Demas forsook him, " for love of this present 
world," 5 and departed to Thessalonica ; Crescens 6 went to'Galatia on the 
same occasion. We are unwilling to suppose that Titus could have 
yielded to such unworthy fears, and may be allowed to hope that his 
journey to the neighboring Dalmatia 7 was undertaken by the desire of 
St. Paul. Luke, 8 at any rate, remained faithful, accompanied his master 
once more over the wintry sea, and shared the dangers of his imprison- 
ment at Rome. 

This imprisonment was evidently more severe than it had been five 
years before. Then, though necessarily fettered to his military guard, he 
had been allowed to live in his own lodgings, and had been suffered to 



1 It may be asked, why was he not arrested 3 The reason for supposing this is, that it 
sooner, in Spain or Asia Minor ? The expla- leaves more time for the events which inter- 
nation probably is, that he had not before vened between St. Paul's arrest and his death, 
ventured so near Italy as Nicopolis. which took place (if in Nero's reign) not 

2 The law required that a prisoner should later than June. If he had not been arrested 
be tried by the magistrates within whose juris- till the spring, we must crowd the occurrences 
diction the offence was alleged to have been mentioned in the Second Epistle to Timothy 
committed; therefore, a prisoner accused of into a veiy short space. 

conspiring to set fire to Rome must be tried at 4 Even an army was transported across 

Rome. There can be no doubt that this the Adriatic by Caesar, during the season of 

charge must have formed one part of any the " Mare Clausum," before the battle of 

accusation brought against St. Paul, after 64 Philippi. See also p. 274. 

a.d. Another part (as we have suggested 5 2 Tim. iv. 10. 6 Ibid, 

below) may have been the charge of introdu- 7 Ibid. See above, p. 515. 

cing a religio novaet illicita. 8 2 Tim. iv. 11. 



CHAP.xxvn. SECOND ROMAN IMPRISONMENT. 829 

preach the Gospel to a numerous company who came to hear him. Now 
he is not only chained, but treated " as a malefactor." l His friends, 
indeed, are still suffered to visit him in his confinement ; but we hear 
nothing of his preaching. It is dangerous and difficult 2 to seek his 
prison ; so perilous to show any public sympathy with him, that no Chris- 
tian ventures to stand by him in the court of justice. 3 And, as the final 
stage of his trial approaches, he looks forward to death as his certain 
sentence. 4 

This alteration in the treatment of St. Paul exactly corresponds with 
that which the history of the times would have led us to expect. We 
have concluded that his liberation took place early in a. d. 63 : he was 
therefore far distant from Rome when the first imperial persecution of 
Christianity broke out, in consequence of the great fire in the summer 
of the following year. Then first, as it appears, Christians were recog- 
nized as a distinct body, separate both from Jews and heathens ; and their 
number must have been already very great at Rome to account for the 
public notice attracted towards a sect whose members were, most of them, 
individually so obscure in social position. 5 When the alarm and indig- 
nation of the people were excited by the tremendous ruin of a conflagra- 
tion, which burnt down almost half the city, it answered the purpose of 
Nero (who was accused of causing the fire) to avert the rage of the 
populace from himself to the already hated votaries of a new religion. 
Tacitus 6 describes the success of this expedient, and relates the suffer- 

1 2 Tim. ii. 9. According to the legends the liberal donations of the prince, i.ould efface 
of the Mediaeval Church, St. Paul was im- from the minds of men the prevailing opinion 
prisoned in the Mamertine Prison, together that Rome was set on fire by his own orders, 
with St. Peter ; see the Martyrology of Baro- The infamy of that horrible transaction still 
nius, under March 14. But there is no early adhered to him. In order, if possible, to re- 
authority for this story, which seems irrecon- move the imputation, he determined to trans- 
cilable with the fact that Onesiphorus, Clau- fer the guilt to others. Por this purpose he 
dia, Linus, Pudens, &c, had free access to St. punished, with exquisite torture, a race of men 
Paul during his imprisonment. It seems more detested for their evil practices, by vulgar ap- 
likely [see 2 Tim. i. 16] that he was again pellation commonly called Christians. The 
under military custody, though of a severer name was derived from Christ, who, in the 
nature than that of his former imprisonment. reign of Tiberius, suffered under Pontius 
"We have given a view of the Tullianum, or Pilate, the procurator of Judaea. By that 
dungeon of the Mamertine Prison, in p. 297. event, the sect, of which he was the founder, 
Very full details will be found in Sir. W. received a blow which for a time checked the 
Gell's work on Rome and its neighborhood. growth of a dangerous superstition ; but it re- 

2 2 Tim. i. 1 6. vived soon after, and spread with recruited 

3 2 Tim. iv. 1 6. vigor, not only in Judaea, the soil tbat gave it 

4 2 Tim. iv. 6-8. birth, but even in the city of Rome, the com- 

5 1 Cor. i. 26. mon sink into which every thing infamous and 

6 Tac. Ann. xv. 44. We give the well- abominable flows like a torrent from all quar- 
known passage from a popular translation : — ters of the world. Nero proceeded with his 
" But neither these religious ceremonies, nor usual artifice. He found a set of profligate 



830 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXVII 



ings of the Christian martyrs, who were put to death with circumstances 
of the most aggravated cruelty. Some were crucified ; some disguised 
in the skins of beasts, and hunted to death with dogs ; some were 
wrapped in robes impregnated with inflammable materials, and set on 
fire at night, that they might serve to illuminate the circus of the Vatican 
and the gardens of Nero, where this diabolical monster exhibited the 
agonies of his victims to the public, and gloated over them himself, 
mixing among the spectators in the costume of a charioteer. Brutalized 
as the Romans were by the perpetual spectacle of human combats in the 
amphitheatre, and hardened by popular prejudice against the " atheisti 
cal " sect, yet the tortures of the victims excited even their compassion. 
" A very great multitude," as Tacitus informs us, perished in this man- 
ner ; and it appears from his statement that the mere fact of professing 
Christianity was accounted sufficient * to justify their execution ; the 
whole body of Christians being considered as involved in the crime of 
firing the city. This, however, was in the first excitement which followed 
the fire ; and even then, probably but few among those who perished were 
Roman citizens. 2 Since that time, some years had passed, and now a 



and abandoned wretches, who were induced to 
confess themselves guilty ; and, on the evidence 
of such men, a number of Christians were 
convicted, not, indeed, upon clear evidence of 
their having set the city on fire, but rather on 
account of their sullen hatred of the whole 
Roman race. They were put to death with 
exquisite cruelty, and to their sufferings Nero 
added mockery and derision. Some were cov- 
ered with the skins of wild beasts, and left to 
be devoured by dogs ; others were nailed to 
the cross ; numbers were burnt alive ; and 
many, covered over with inflammable matter, 
were lighted up, when the day declined, to 
serve as torches during the night. For the 
convenience of seeing this tragic spectacle, 
the emperor lent his own gardens. He added 
the sports of the circus, and assisted in person, 
sometimes driving a curricle, and occasionally 
mixing with the rabble in his coachman's dress. 
At length the cruelty of these proceedings 
filled every breast with compassion. Human- 
ity relented in favor of the Christians. The 
manners of that people were, no doubt, of a 
pernicious tendency, and their crimes called for 
the hand of justice ; but it was evident that 
they fell a sacrifice, not for the public good, but 
to glut the rage and cruelty of one man only." 
1 It was criminal, according to the Roman 
law, to introduce into Rome any religio nova et 



illicita. Yet, practically, this law was seldom 
enforced, as we see by the multitude of foreign 
superstitions continually introduced into Rome, 
and the occasional and feeble efforts of the 
Senate or the Emperor to enforce the law. 
Moreover, the punishment of those who of- 
fended against it seems only to have been ex- 
pulsion from the city, unless their offence had 
been accompanied by aggravating circumstan- 
ces. It was not, therefore, under this law 
that the Christians were executed ; and, when 
Suetonius tells us that they were punished as 
professors of a superstitio nova et malefica, we 
must interpret his assertion in accordance 
with the more detailed and accurate statement 
of Tacitus, who expressly says that the vic- 
tims of the Neronian persecution were con- 
demned on the charge of arson. Hence the 
extreme cruelty of their punishment, and espe- 
cially the setting them on fire. 

2 No doubt most of the victims who per- 
ished in the Neronian persecution were for- 
eigners, slaves, or freedmen ; we have already 
seen how large a portion of the Roman Church 
was of Jewish extraction (see p. 543, n. 3). 
It was illegal to subject a Roman citizen to the 
ignominious punishments mentioned by Taci- 
tus ; but probably Nero would not have re- 
garded this privilege in the case of freedmen 
although by their emancipation they had be- 



CHAP.xxvn. HIS FINAL TRIAL. 831 

decent respect would be paid to the forms of law, in dealing with one 
who, like St. Paul, possessed the privilege of citizenship. Yet we can 
quite understand that a leader of so abhorred a sect would be subjected 
to a severe imprisonment. 

We have no means of knowing the precise charge now made against 
the Apostle. He might certainly be regarded as an offender against the 
law which prohibited the propagation of a new and illicit religion (religio 
nova et illicita) among the citizens of Rome. But, at this period, one 
article of accusation against him must have been the more serious charge 
o p having instigated the Roman Christians to their supposed act of 
incendiarism, before his last departure from the capital. It appears that 
" Alexander the brass-founder" (2 Tim. iv. 14) was either one of his 
accusers, or, at least, a witness against him. If this was the same with 
the Jewish 1 Alexander of Ephesus (Acts xix. 33), it would be probable 
that his testimony related to the former charge. But there is no proof 
that these two Alexanders were identical. We may add, that the em- 
ployment of Informer (delator) was now become quite a profession at 
Rome, and that there would be no lack of accusations against an unpopu- 
lar prisoner as soon as his arrest became known. 

Probably no long time elapsed, after St. Paul's arrival, before his cause 
came on for hearing. The accusers, with their witnesses, would be 
already on the spot ; and on this occasion he was not to be tried by the 
Emperor in person, 2 so that another cause of delay, 3 which was often 
interposed by the carelessness or indolence of the Emperor, would be 
removed. The charge now alleged against him probably fell under the 
cognizance of the city Prefect (Praefectus Urbi), whose jurisdiction daily 
encroached, at this period, on that of the ancient magistracies. 4 For we 
must remember, that, since the time of Augustus, a great though silent 
change had taken place in the Roman system of criminal procedure. 
The ancient method, though still the regular and legal system, was 
rapidly becoming obsolete in practice. Under the Republic, a Roman 
citizen could theoretically be tried on a criminal charge only by the 
Sovereign*People ; but the judicial power of the people was delegated, 
by special laws, to certain bodies of Judges, superintended by the 

come Roman citizens. And we know that the 2 Clemens Romanus says that Paul, on 

Jewish population of Rome had, for the most this occasion, was tried " before the presiding 

part, a Servile origin ; see pp. 335, 739. magistrates." Had the Emperor presided, he 

1 An Alexander is also mentioned, 1 Tim. would probably have said " before Caesar." 
i. 20, as a heretic, who had been excommuni- 3 See above, p. 746. 

cated by St. Paul. This is, probably," the ' 4 The authority for this, and for all the 

same person with the Alexander of 2 Tim. iv. points of Roman Law referred to in this chap- 

14 ; and if so, motives of personal malice ter, is given in our larger editions, 
would account for his conduct, 



832 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvu. 

several Praetors. Thus one Praetor presided at trials for homicide, 
another at trials for treason, and so on. 1 But the presiding magistrate 
did not give the sentence : his function was merely to secure the legal 
formality of the proceedings. The judgment was pronounced by the 
Judices, a large body of judges (or rather jurors) chosen (generally by 
lot) from amongst the senators or knights, who gave their vote, by ballot, 
for acquittal or condemnation. But under the Empire this ancient 
system, though not formally abolished, was gradually superseded. The 
Emperors from the first claimed supreme 2 judicial authority, both civil 
and criminal. And this jurisdiction was exercised not only by them- 
selves, but by the delegates whom they appointed. It was at first 
delegated chiefly to the Prefect of the city ; and though causes might, 
up to the beginning of the second century, be tried by the Praetors in the 
old way, yet this became more and more unusual. In the reign of Nero, 
it was even dangerous for an accuser to prosecute an offender in the 
Praetor's instead of the Prefect's court. 3 Thus the trial of criminal 
charges was transferred from a jury of independent Judices to a single 
magistrate appointed by a despot, and controlled only by a Council of 
Assessors, to whom he was not bound to attend. 

Such was the court before which St. Paul was now cited. We have 
an account of the first hearing of the cause from his own pen. He 
writes thus to Timotheus immediately after : — " When I was first heard 
in my defence, no man stood by me, but all forsook me, — I pray that it 
be not laid to their charge. Nevertheless the Lord Jesus stood by me, 
and strengthened my heart ; that by me the proclamation of the Glad- 
tidings might be accomplished in full measure, and that all the Gentiles 
might hear ; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth." We see from 
this statement, that it was dangerous even to appear in public as the 
friend or adviser of the Apostle. No advocate would venture to plead 
his cause, no procurator* to aid him in arranging the evidence, no 
patronus (such as he might have found, perhaps, in the powerful 

1 This was the system of Qucestiones Per- again refer it to the Tribunitian power con- 
duce, ferred upon the Emperor, which was extended 

2 The origin of this jurisdiction is not (as we have seen) so as to give him a supreme 
so clear as that of their appellate jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, and by virtue of which 
which we have explained above Some writers he might perhaps bring before his tribunal any 
hold that the Emperor assumed the supreme cause in the first instance which would ulti- 
judicial power as an incident of his quasi-dic- mately come under his judgment by appeal, 
tatorial authority. Others think that it was 3 Tacitus relates that Valerius Ponticus 
theoretically based upon a revival of that sum- was banished under Nero, because he had 
mary jurisdiction which was formerly (in the brought some accused persons before the Prae- 
earliest ages of the Commonwealth) exercised tor instead of the Prefect. Ann. xiv. 41. 

by the great magistrates whose functions were 4 The procurator performed the functions 

now concentrated in the Emperor. Others of our attorney. 



chap.xxvh. HIS FINAL TRIAL. 833 

uEmilian * house) to appear as his supporter, and to deprecate, 2 accord- 
ing to ancient usage, the severity of the sentence. But he had a more 
powerful intercessor, and a wiser advocate, who could never leave him 
nor forsake him. The Lord Jesus was always near him, but now was 
felt almost visibly present in the hour of his need. 

From the above description we can realize in some measure the 
external features of his last trial. He evidently intimates that he spoke 
before a crowded audience, so that " all the Gentiles might hear ; " and 
this corresponds with the supposition, which historically we should be led 
to make, that he was tried in one of those great basilicas which stood in 
the Forum. Two of the most celebrated of these edifices were called 
the Pauline Basilicas, from the well-known Lucius iEmilius Paulus, who 
had built one of them, and restored the other. It is not improbable that 
the greatest man who ever bore the Pauline name was tried in one of 
these. From specimens which still exist, as well as from the descriptions 
of Vitruvius, we have an accurate knowledge of the character of these 
halls of justice. They were rectangular buildings, consisting of a central 
nave and two aisles, separated from the nave by rows of columns. At 
one end of the nave was the tribune, 3 in the centre of which was placed 
the magistrate's curule chair of ivory, elevated on a platform called the 
tribunal. Here also sat the Council of Assessors, who advised the 
Prefect upon the law, though they had no voice in the judgment. On 
the sides of the tribune were seats for distinguished persons, as well as 
for parties engaged in the proceedings. Fronting the presiding magis- 
trate stood the prisoner, with his accusers and his advocates. The public 
was admitted into the remainder of the nave and aisles (which was railed 
off from the portion devoted to the judicial proceedings) ; and there were 
also galleries along the whole length of the aisles, one for men, the other 
for women. 4 The aisles were roofed over; as was the tribune. The 
nave was originally left open to the sky. The basilicas were buildings 
of great size, so that a vast multitude of spectators was always present 
at any trial which excited public interest. 

1 We have already (p. 138) suggested the XXV. Here the tribune is rectangular; in 
possibility of a connection of clientship between others it was semicircular. 

Paul's family and this noble Roman house. 4 Pliny gives a lively description of the 

2 It was the custom, both in the Greek and scene presented by a basilica at an interesting 
B,oman courts of justice, to allow the friends trial: " A dense ring, many circles deep, sur- 
of the accused to intercede for him, and to rounded the scene of trial. They crowded, 
endeavor by their prayers and tears to move close to the judgment-seat itself, and even in 
the feelings of his judges. This practice was the upper part of the basilica botti men and 
gradually limited under the Imperial regime. women pressed close in the eager desire to see 

3 The features of the basilica will be best (which was easy) and to hear (which was diffi#- 
understood by the ground-plan of that of cult)." Plin. Ep. vi. 33. 

Pompeii, which is given at the end of Ch. 
53 



834 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvh. 

Before such an audience it was that Paul was now called to speak in 
his defence. His earthly friends had deserted him, but his Heavenly 
Friend stood by him. He was strengthened by the power of Christ's 
Spirit, and pleaded the cause not of himself only, but of the Gospel. 
He spoke of Jesus, of His death and His resurrection, so that all the 
Heathen multitude might hear. At the same time, he successfully de- 
fended himself from the first x of the charges brought against him, which 
perhaps accused him of conspiring with the incendiaries of Rome. He 
was delivered from the immediate peril, and saved from the ignominious 
and painful death 2 which might have been his doom had he been con- 
victed on such a charge. 

He was now remanded to prison to wait for the second stage of his 
trial. It seems that he himself expected this not to come on so soon as 
it really did ; or, at any rate, he did not think the final decision would 
be given till the following 3 winter, whereas it actually took place about 
midsummer. Perhaps he judged from the long delay of his former trial ; 
or he may have expected (from the issue of his first hearing) to be again 
acquitted on a second charge, and to be convicted on a third. He cer- 
tainly did not expect a final acquittal, but felt no doubt that the cause 
would ultimately result in his condemnation. We are not left to con- 
jecture the feelings with which he awaited this consummation ; for he 
has himself expressed them in that sublime strain of triumphant hope 
which is familiar to the memory of every Christian, and which has 
nerved the hearts of a thousand martyrs. " I am now ready to be 
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth is 
laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give me in that day." He saw before him, at a little dis- 
tance, the doom of an unrighteous magistrate, and the sword of a blood- 
stained executioner ; but he appealed to the sentence of a juster Judge, 
who would soon change the fetters of the criminal into the wreath of the 

1 The hypothesis of an acquittal on the that under the Imperial system the practice of 

first charge agrees best with the being delivered Ampliatio was discontinued. So also was the 

from the mouth of the lion (2 Tim. iv. 17). We Comperendinatio abolished, by which certain 

have seen that it was Nero's practice (and trials were formerly divided into a prima actio 

therefore, we may suppose, the practice of the and secunda actio, "We cannot therefore agree 

Prefects under Nero) to hear and decide each with Wieseler in supposing this "first defence" 

branch of the accusation separately (Suet Ner. to indicate an Ampliatio or Comperendinatio. 

15, before cited). Had the trial taken place 2 See the account given by Tacitus (above 

under ithe ancient system, we might have sup- quoted) of the punishment of the supposed 

posed an Ampliatio, which took place when the incendiaries. In the case of such a crime, 

judices held the evidence insufficient, and gave probably, even a Koman citizen would not 

the verdict Non liquet, in which case the trial have been exempted from such punishments 

was commenced de novo : but Geib has shown 8 2 Tim. iv. 21 . 



eiiAP.xxvn. HE IS REMANDED TO PRISON. 835 

conqueror ; he looked beyond the transitory present ; the tribunal of 
Nero faded from his sight ; and the vista was closed by th:t judgment- 
seat of Christ. 

Sustained by such a blessed and glorious hope — knowing, a-s he did, 
that nothing in heaven or in earth could separate him from the love of 
Christ — it mattered to him but little if he was destitute of earthly 
sympathy. Yet still, even in these last hours, he clung to the friendships 
of early years ; still the faithful companionship of Luke consoled him in 
the weary hours of constrained inactivity, which, to a temper like his, 
must have made the most painful part of imprisonment. Luke was the 
only one l of his habitual attendants who now remained to minister to 
him : his other companions had left him, probably before his arrival at 
Rome. But one friend from Asia, Onesiphorus, 2 had diligently sought 
him out, and visited him in his prison, undeterred by the fear of danger 
or of shame. And there were others, some of them high in station, who 
came to receive from the chained malefactor blessings infinitely greater 
than all the favors of the Emperor of the world. Among these were 
Linus, afterwards a bishop of the Roman Church ; Pudens, the son of a 
senator ; and Claudia, his bride, perhaps the daughter of a British king. 8 
But however he may have valued these more recent friends, their society 
could not console him for the absence of one far dearer to him : he 
longed with a paternal longing to see once more the face of Timotheus, 
his beloved son. The disciple who had so long ministered to him with 
filial affection might still (he hoped) arrive in time to receive his parting 
words, and be with him in his dying hour. But Timotheus was far dis- 
tant, in Asia Minor, exercising apparently the same function with which 
he had before been temporarily invested. Thither, then, he wrote to him, 
desiring him to come with all speed to Rome, yet feeling how uncertain 
it was whether he might not arrive too late. He was haunted also by 
another fear, far more distressing. Either from his experience of the 
desertion of other friends, or from some signs of timidity which Timo- 
theus 4 himself had shown, he doubted whether he might not shrink from 

1 2 Tim. iv. 11, If we suppose Tychicus British Church. See especially pp. 21-54, 

the bearer of the Second Epistle to Timothy *77-83, and 108-120. 

(2 Tim. iv. 12), he also would have been with 4 We cannot say with certainty where 

St. Paul at Rome till he was despatched to Timotheus was at this time ; as there is no 

Ephesus. 2 2 Tim. i. 16. direct mention of his locality in the Second 

3 For the evidence of these assertions, see Epistle. It would seem, at first sight, proba- 

note on 2 Tim. iv. 21. We may take this ble that he was still at Ephesus, from the salu- 

opportunity of saying that the tradition of tation to Priscilla and Aquila, who appear 

St. Paul's visit to Britain rests on no sufficient to have principally resided there. Still this is 

authority. Probably all that can be said in not decisive, since we know that they were 

its favor will be found in the Tracts of the late occasional residents both at Rome and Corinth, 

Bishop Burgess on the origin of the ancient and Aquila was himself a native of Pontile, 



836 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxvn. 



the perils which would surround him in the city of Nero. He therefore 
urges on him very emphatically the duty of boldness in Christ's cause, 
of steadfastness under persecution, and of taking his share in the suffer- 
ings of the Saints. And, lest he should be prevented from giving him 
his last instructions face to face, he impresses on him, with the earnest- 
ness of a dying man, the various duties of his Ecclesiastical office, and 
especially that of opposing the heresies which now threatened to destroy 
the very essence of Christianity. But no summary of its contents can 
give any notion of the pathetic tenderness and deep solemnity of this 
Epistle. 



SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 1 

PAUL, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, — salutation, 
sent forth 2 to proclaim the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, — 

TO TlMOTHEUS MY BELOVED SON. 

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our 
Lord. 

I thank God (whom I worship, as 3 did my forefathers, with Timothe-us ia 

v r 7 J reminded of 

a pure conscience) whenever 4 I make mention of thee, as I Sstory* and 
do continually, in my prayers night and day. And I long perseverance 



■where he and Timotheus may perhaps have 
been. Again, it is difficult, on the hypothesis 
of Timotheus being at Ephesus, to account for 
2 Tim. iv. 12, " Tychicus I sent to Ephesus," 
which Timotheus need not have been told if 
himself at Ephesus. Also, it appears strange 
that St. Paul should have told Timotheus that 
he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus, if Timo- 
theus was himself at Ephesus, within thirty miles 
of Miletus. Yet both these objections may be 
explained away, as we have shown in the notes 
on 2 Tim. iv. 12, and 2 Tim. iv. 20. The 
message about bringing the articles from Troas 
shows only that Timotheus was in a place 
whence the road to Rome lay through Troas ; 
and this would agree either with Ephesus, or 
Pontus, or any other place in the north or 
north-west of Asia Minor. It is most probable 
that Timotheus was not fixed to any one spot, 
but employed in the general superintendence 
of the Pauline Churches throughout Asia 
Minor. This hypothesis agrees best with his 
designation as an Evangelist (2 Tim. iv. 5), a 
term equivalent to itinerant missionary. 



1 Eor the date of this Epistle, see Appen- 
dix II. 

2 " An Apostle according to the promise 
of life." See note on Tit. i. l\ 

3 Some interpreters have found a difficulty 
here, as though it were inconsistent with St. 
Paul's bitter repentance for the sins he had 
committed in the time of his Judaism. (Cf. 
1 Tim. i. 13.) But there is no inconsistency. 
All that is said here is, that the icorship of God 
was handed down to St. Paul from his fore- 
fathers, or, in other words, that his religion 
was hereditary. This is exactly the view 
taken of the religion of all converted Jews in 
Rom. xi. 23, 24, 28. Compare also " the God 
of my fathers " (Acts xxiv. 14), and " I have 
always lived a conscientious life" (Acts xxiii. 
1). These latter passages remind us that the 
topic was one on which St. Paul had proba- 
bly insisted, in his recent defence; and this 
accounts for its parenthetical introduction 
here. 

4 Literally, as the mention which I make, of 
thee in my prayers is continual. 



chap. xxvn. 



SECOXD EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 



837 



and courage to see thee, remembering thy [parting! tears, that I mav be 

by the hope Li ^ "* 

ufiity mor " filled with joy. For I have been * reminded of thy undis- 5 
sembled faith, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy 
mother Ennice, and (I am persuaded) dwells in thee also. Wherefore I 6 
call thee to remembrance, that thou mayest stir up the gift of God, 
which is in thee by the laying-on of my 2 hands. For God gave us not a 7 
spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power and love and self-restraint. 3 
Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His 8 
prisoner ; but share the affliction 4 of them who publish the Glad-tidings, 
according to the power of God. For He saved us, and called us with a 9 
holy calling, not dealing with us according to our own works, but accord- 
ing to His own purpose and grace, which was bestowed upon us in Christ 
Jesus before eternal times, 5 but is now made manifest by the appearing 10 
of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has put an end to death, and brought 
life and immortality from darkness into light ; by the Glad-tidings, 11 
whereunto I was appointed herald and apostle, and teacher of the Gen- 
tiles. Which also is the cause of these sufferings that I now endure : 12 
nevertheless I am not ashamed ; fori know in whom I have trusted, and 
I am persuaded that He is able to guard the treasure 6 which I have com- 
mitted to Him ? even unto that day. 



1 " Have been reminded." Such is the 
reading of the best MSS. Perhaps a message 
or other incident had reminded St. Paul of 
some proof which Timotheus had given of the 
sincerity of his faith (as Bengel thinks) ; or, 
still more probably, he was reminded of the 
faith of Timotheus by its contrast with the 
cowardice of Demas and others. He mentions 
it here obviously as a motive to encourage him 
to persevere in courageous steadfastness. 

2 The grace of God required for any par- 
ticular office in the early Church was conferred 
after prayer and the laying-on of hands. This 
imposition of hands was repeated whenever 
any one was appointed to a new office or com- 
mission. The reference here may, therefore, 
be to the original " ordination " of Timotheus, 
or to his appointment to the superintendence 
of the Ephesian Church. See p. 382, and 
compare Acts viii. 18, and 1 Tim. iv. 14 ; also 
p. 232, n. 5. 

3 Self-restraint would control the passion 
of fear. 



4 Literally, share affliction for the Glad-tid- 
ings. The dative used as in Phil. i. 27. 

5 "Before eternal times" (which phrase 
also occurs in Titus i. 2) appears to mean the 
period of the Jewish (including the Patriar- 
chal) dispensation. The grace of Christ was 
virtually bestowed on mankind in the Patri- 
archal covenant, though only made manifest in 
the Gospel. 

6 " That which I have committed unto 
Him." It is strange that so acute an inter- 
preter as De "Wette should maintain that this 
expression must necessarily mean the same 
thing as " that which is committed unto thee" 
in verse 14. Supposing St. Paul to have said, 
" God will keep the trust committed to Him ; 
do thou keep the trust committed to thee," it 
would not follow that the same trust was meant 
in each case. Paul had committed himself, 
his soul and body, his true life, to God's keep- 
ing ; this was the treasure which he trusted 
to God's care. On the other hand, the treas- 
ure committed to the charge of Timotheus 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvu. 



l. 



13 Hold fast the pattern of sound 1 words which thou hast Exhortation 

r to fulfil his 

heard from me, in the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. STuSy? 11 

14 That goodly treasure which is committed to thy charge, guard by the 
Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us. 

15 Thou already knowest that I was abandoned 2 by all the conduct of 

certain 

16 Asiatics, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The ^j^ Chri8 " 
Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus ; 3 for he often Rome * 

17 refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, 4 but, when he was in 

18 Rome, sought me out very diligently and found me. The Lord grant 
unto him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day. And all 
his services 5 at Ephesus thou knowest better 6 than I. 

ii 1 Thou therefore, my son, strengthen thy heart 1 with the £eX°n Timo " 

2 grace that is in Christ Jesus. And those things which thou government. 
hast heard from me attested 8 by many witnesses deliver into the keep- 
ing of faithful men, who shall be able to teach others in their turn. 9 

3 Take thy 10 share in suffering, as a good soldier of Jesus He is ex- 

J 07 O hortednotto 

4 Christ. The soldier when n on service abstains from entangling goffering. 01 * 

5 himself in the business of life, that he may please his commander. And 
again, the wrestler does not win the crown unless he wrestles lawfully. 12 

was the ecclesiastical office intrusted to him. 5 " Unto me" is omitted by the best MSS. 

(Compare 1 Tim. vi. 20.) 6 Better, because Timotheus had been more 

1 Sound words. The want of the article constantly resident at Ephesus than St. Paul, 
shows that this expression had become almost 7 Compare Rom. iv. 20, and Eph. vi. 10. 

a technical expression at the date of the Pas- 8 We agree with De Wette, Huther, and 

toral Epistles. Wiesinger as to the construction here, but 

2 This appears to refer to the conduct of cannot agree with them in referring this pas- 
certain Christians belonging to the province sage to Timothy's ordination or baptism, 
of Asia, who deserted St. Paul at Rome when The literal English must be, those things which 
he needed their assistance. " They in Asia " thou hast heard from me by the intervention of 
is used instead of " they of Asia," because many witnesses, which is surely equivalent to 
these persons had probably now returned " by the attestation of many witnesses." In a 
home. similar way, St. Paul appeals to the attestation 

3 An undesigned coincidence should be of other witnesses in 1 Cor. xv. 3-7. 
observed here, which is not noticed by Paley. 9 The " also " seems to have this meaning 
Blessings are invoked on the house of Onesiph- here. 

orus, not on himself; and inverse 18 a hope » " Take thy share in suffering." This is 

is expressed that he may find mercy at the last according to the reading of the best MSS. 
day. This seems to show that Onesiphorus n This is the force of the present participle. 

was dead ; and so, in iv. 19, greetings are ad- Cf. Luke iii. 14. 
dressed, not to himself, but to his house. 12 " Lawfully." See p. 586. The verb 

4 "My chain." Hence we see that St. here used is not confined to wrestling, but 
Paul was, in this second imprisonment, as in includes the other exercises of the athletic 
the first, under Custodia Militaris, and there- contests also' ; but there is no English verb 
fore bound to the soldier who guarded him, by co-extensive with it. With this passage (w. 
a chain. See above, p. 666. 3-6) compare 1 Cor. ix. 7. 



CHAP.xxvn. SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEUS. 839 

ii. 
The husbandman who toils must share the fruits of the ground before 1 6 

the idler. Consider what I say ; for the Lord will 2 give thee under- 7 

standing in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed 3 of 8 

David, is 4 raised from the dead, according to the Glad-tidings which I 

proclaim. Wherein I suffer even unto chains, as a malefactor ; neverthe- 9 

less the Word of God is bound by no chains. Wherefore I endure all 10 

for the sake of the chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which 

is in Christ Jesus, with glory everlasting. Faithful is the saying, "For* 11 

if we have died with Him? we shall also live with Rim ; if we suffer, we 12 

shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us ; if we 

be faithless, yet He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself" 13 

He must Call men to remembrance of these things, and adjure them 14 

oppose the 

ind e tS hew before the Lord not to contend 7 about words, with no profita- 
an^clrcfaiiy ble end, but for the subversion of their hearers. Be diligent 15 

preserve his 

own purity, to present thyself unto God as one proved trustworthy 8 by 
trial, a workman not to be ashamed, declaring the word of truth without 
distortion. 9 But avoid the discussions of profane babblers ; for they will 16,17 
go farther and farther in ungodliness, and their word will eat like a 
cancer. Among whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus ; who concerning 18 
the truth have erred, for they say that the resurrection is past 10 already, 
and overthrow the faith of some. 

1 This is the sense of " first." The Au- 6 Rom. vi. 8, " If we died with Christ, we 
thorized Version, and not its margin, is here believe that we shall also live with Him." 
correct. 7 Compare 1 Tim. vi. 4. 

2 The future, not the optative, is the read- 8 The meaning is, tested and proved worthy 
ing of the best MSS. De Wette and others by trial. Cf. 2 Cor. xiii. 7. 

object to this verse, that it is impossible to 9 The verb used here (not found elsewhere 
suppose that St. Paul would imagine Timo- in the New Testament) means to cut straight. 
theus so dull of apprehension as not to com- So in the LXX. " righteousness cuts straight 
prehend such obvious metaphors. But they paths" (Prov. xi. 5). The metaphor here, 
have missed the sense of the verse, which is being connected with the previous " work- 
not meant to enlighten the understanding of man," appears to be taken from the work of a 
Timotheus as to the meaning of the metaphors, carpenter, 
but as to the personal application of them. i° See p. 39o. In the larger editions a pas- 

3 i. e. though a man in flesh and blood ; sage is there quoted from Tertullian, which 
therefore His resurrection is an encourage- shows that the Gnostics taught that the Resur- 
ment to His followers to be fearless. rection was to be understood of the rising of 

* Perfect, not aorist. the soul from the death of ignorance to the 

5 This is another of those quotations so light of knowledge. There is nothing here 

characteristic of the Pastoral Epistles. It to render doubtful the date of this Epistle, for 

appears to be taken from a Christian hymn. we have already seen that even so early as the 

The Greek may be easily sung to the music First Epistle to Corinth, there were heretic* 

of one of the ancient ecclesiastical chants. who denied the resurrection of the dead. 



840 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. xxvn. 



H. 

19 Nevertheless the firm 1 foundation of God stands unshaken, having this 
seal, " %\t IjJrir ktttiff %nt tljat farm Jpis/' 2 and "Let every one that 

20 nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity ." 3 But in a great house 
there are not 4 only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay ; 

21 and some for honor, others for dishonor. If a man therefore purify him- 
self from these, he shall be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and fitted for 
the Master's use, being prepared for every good work. 

22 Flee the lusts of youth ; 5 and follow righteousness, faith, love, and 

23 peace with' those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart ; but shun the 
disputations of the foolish and ignorant, knowing that they breed strife ; 

24 and the bondsman of the Lord 6 ought not to strive, but to be gentle 

25 towards all, skilful in teaching, patient of wrong, instructing opponents 
with meekness ; if God perchance may give them repentance, that they 

26 may attain the knowledge of the truth, and may escape, restored 7 to 
soberness, out of the snare of the Devil, 8 by whom 9 they have been taken 
captive to do his will. 

iii. 1 Know this, that, in the last 10 days, evil times shall come. Dangerous 



Baur's view — that the Pastoral Epistles were 
written against Marcion — is inconsistent with 
the present passage ; for Marcion did not deny 
the resurrection of the dead, but only the res- 
urrection of the flesh. ( See Tertull. adv. Mar- 
cion. v. 10.) 

1 The Authorized Version here violates the 
law of the article. 

2 Numbers xvi. 5 (LXX. with Lord for 
God). We must not translate the verb "know- 
eth," as in A. V. The context of the passage, 
according to LXX. (which differs from the 
present Hebrew text), is, " Moses spake unto 
Core, saying, . . . The Lord knew them that were 
His, and that were holy, and brought them near 
unto Himself ; and whom He chose unto Him- 
self, He brought near unto Himself." 

3 This quotation is not from the Old Tes- 
tament ; Isaiah lii. 1 1 is near it in sentiment, 
but can scarcely be referred to, because it is 
quoted exactly at 2 Cor. vi. 17. The MSS. 
read Lord instead of the Christ of T. R. 

4 The thought here is the same as that ex- 
pressed in the parable of the fishes and of the 
tares, — viz. that the visible church will never 
be perfect. We are reminded of Rom. ix. 21, 
by the "vessels for dishonor." 

5 Compare 1 Tim. iii. 2, and the remarks 



upon the age of Timotheus in the Essay in 
Appendix II. on the date of these Epistles. 

6 Lord, viz. the Lord Jesus. Compare 
" bondsman of Christ, " 1 Cor. vii. 22. 

7 Restored to soberness." See 1 Cor. xv. 
34. 

8 This expression appears to be used here, 
and in Eph. iv. 27, and Eph. vi. 11, for the 
Devil, who is elsewhere called " Satan " by St. 
Paul. In the Gospels and Acts the two ex- 
pressions are used with nearly equal frequency. 

9 The interpretation of this last clause is 
disputable. The construction is awkward, and 
there is a difficulty in referring the two pro- 
nouns to the same subject ; but De Wette 
shows that this is admissible by a citation 
from Plato. 

10 This phrase (used without the article, as 
having become a familiar expression) generally 
denotes the termination of the Mosaic dispen- 
sation : see Acts ii. 17 ; 1 Pet. i. 5, 20 ; Heb. 
i. 2. Thus the expression generally denotes 
(in the Apostolic age) the time present; but 
here it points to a future immediately at hand, 
which is, however, blended with the present (see 
verses 6, 8), and was, in fact, the end of the 
Apostolic age. Compare 1 John ii. 18, "it is 
the last hour." The long duration of this last 



chap.xxvii. SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHEITS. 841 

iii. 

"IZItdays" For men S ^ ia ^ De se l nsn > covetous, false boasters, 1 haughty, 2 
blasphemous, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without natural S 
affection, ruthless, calumnious, incontinent, merciless, haters of the good, 
treacherous, headlong with passion, blinded with pride, lovers of pleas- 4 
ure rather than lovers of God ; having an outward form of godliness, but 5 
renouncing its power. From such turn away. Of these are they who 6 
creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, laden with sins, led 7 
away by lusts of all kinds, perpetually learning, yet never able- to attain 
the knowledge 2 of the truth. And as Iannes and Iambres 3 resisted 8 
Moses, so do these men resist the truth/ being corrupt in mind, and 
worthless 4 in all that concerns the faith. But they 5 shall not advance 9 
farther, for their folly shall be made openly manifest to all, as was that 
of Iannes and Iambres. 

But thou hast been the follower 6 of my teaching and be- 10 

Exhortation J ° 

fastlnPaui's havior, 7 my resolution, 8 faith, patience, love, and steadfast- 
ness ; my persecutions and sufferings, such as befell me at 11 
Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. 9 [Thou hast seen] what persecutions I 
endured ; and out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all who 12 
determine to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 
But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, deceiv- 13 
ing and being deceived. But do thou continue in that which was taught 14 
thee, and whereof thou wast persuaded ; knowing who were 10 thy teach- 
ers, and remembering that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scrip- 
tures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, by the faith 15 
which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God, and may 16 

period of the world's development was not ungodliness : " but there is no contradiction ; 

revealed to the Apostles ; they expected that for the present passage speaks of outward suc- 

their Lord's return would end it, in their own cess, the former of inward deterioration. Im- 

generation ; and thus His words were fulfilled, postors will usually go on from bad to worse 

that none should foresee the time of His com- (as it is just said below, verse 13), and yet 

ing. (Matt. xxiv. 36.) their success in deceiving others is generally 

1 Several of the classes of sinners here soon ended by detection. 

mentioned occur also Rom. i. 30. 6 This verb cannot be accurately translated 

2 For the meaning of this word (cf. above, " hast fully known " (Authorized Version) ; but 
ii. 25), see Rom. x. 2, and 1 Cor. xiii. 12. its meaning is not very different. Chrysostom 

3 These, as we find in the Targum of explains it, " of these things thou art the wit- 
Jonathan, were the traditional names of the ness." 

Egyptian sorcerers who opposed Moses. ? In this meaning the word is found in 

4 Worthless: see Tit. i. 16, and note. LXX. 8 Compare Acts xi. 23. 

5 It has been thought that this " they shall 9 It has been before remarked how apprc- 
not advance farther " contradicts the assertion priate this reference is. See p. 174. 

in ii. 16, " they will go farther and farther in 10 This is plural in the best MSS. 



842 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvii. 

iii. 

profitably be used for teaching, 1 for confutation, 2 for correction, 8 and for 

17 righteous discipline; 4 that the man of God may be fully prepared, and 

thoroughly furnished for every good work. 
it. 1 1 5 adjure thee before God a»d Jesus Christ, who is about to chlrSfto per- 

judge the living and the dead — I adjure thee by His appear- mSSoi S fS- 

fully, in ex- 

2 ing and His kingdom — proclaim the tidings, be urgent in pectationof 
season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort, with all deathf Paul ' 8 

3 forbearance and perseverance in teaching. For a time will come when 
they will not endure the sound doctrine, but according to their own 
inclinations they will heap up for themselves teachers upon teachers to 

4 please their itching ears. And they will turn away their ears from the 
truth, and turn aside to fables. 

5 But thou in all things be sober, 6 endure affliction, do the work of an 
G evangelist, 7 accomplish thy ministration in full measure. For I am now 

7 ready 8 to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
fought 9 the good fight, I have finished my 10 course, I have kept the faith. 

8 Henceforth is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous u Judge, shall give me in that day ; and not to me only, but 
to all who love His appearing. 

9 Bo thy utmost to come to me speedily ; for Demas has for- 

saken me for love of this present world, and has departed to come ir to d Rome 
1 Thessalonica ; u Crescens is gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalina- 8pee y ' 

1 St. Paul frequently uses the Old Testa- 8 Literally, I am already in the very act of 
ment for teaching, i. e. to enforce or illustrate being poured out as a sacrificial offering. Com- 
his doctrine; e. g. Rom. i. 17. pare Phil. ii. 17. 

2 The numerous quotations from the Old 9 It is impossible to translate this fully in 
Testament, in the Romans and Galatians, are English. It is not strictly correct to render 
mostly examples of its use for confutation. it " I have fought the fight," and seems to 

3 The word means the setting right of that introduce a new metaphor. The noun means 
which is wrong. The Old Testament is applied a contest for a prize, and the metaphor is taken 
for this purpose by St. Paul in 1 Cor. xiv. 21, from the Greek foot-races. / have run the good 
1 Cor. x. 1-10, and, generally, wherever he race would be perhaps more exact. The literal 
applies it to enforce precepts of morality. English is, I have completed the glorious contest. 

4 " Chastisement that is in righteousness." See pp. 585-587 above, and 1 Tim. vi. 12. 
The word used here has the meaning of chas~ 10 Strictly, the course marked out for the race, 
tisement or discipline; compare Heb. xii. 7. This expression occurs only in two other 
Thus the Old Testament is applied in 1 Cor. places in the New Testament, both being in 
v. 13. speeches of St. Paul. 

5 The best MSS. omit therefore and Lord, u "The righteous Judge" contrasted with 
and read "and" instead of "at" in this the unrighteous judge, by whose sentence he 
Terse. 6 Not " watch," as in A. V. was soon to be condemned. 

7 Compare Eph. iv. 11. And seep. 381. w Demas is mentioned as a "fellow-labor- 



chap. xxvn. 



SECOND EPISTLE TO TIM0THEU3. 



843 



IV. 

tia; Luke alone is with me. Take Mark 1 and bring him with thee, for 11,12 
his services 2 are profitable to me ; but Tychicus 3 1 have sent to Ephesus. 

When thou comest, bring with thee the case 4 which I left at Troas 13 
with Carpus, and the books, but especially the parchments. 

Alexander the brass-founder 5 charged 6 me with much evil 14 

Intelligence of ° 

of e p a r ur 3 re68 m h^ declaration ; the Lord shall 7 reward him according to 

his works. Be thou also on thy guard against him, for he 15 
has been a great opponent of my arguments. 8 When I was first heard 16 
in my defence 9 no man stood by me, but all forsook me (I pray that it 
be not laid to their charge). Nevertheless the Lord Jesus 10 stood by me, 17 
and strengthened my heart, 11 that by me the proclamation of the Vi Glad- 
tidings might be accomplished in full measure, and that all the Gentiles 
might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. 13 And the 18 



er " at Eome with St. Paul, Philem. 24 ; and 
joined with Luke, Col. iv. 14. Nothing fur- 
ther is known of him. Crescens is not men- 
tioned elsewhere. In saying here that he was 
deserted by all but Luke, St. Paul speaks of 
his own companions and attendants : he had 
still friends among the Roman Christians who 
visited him (iv. 21), though they were afraid 
to stand by him at his trial. 

1 Mark was in Rome during a part of the 
former imprisonment, Col. iv. 10; Philem. 24. 

2 Not (as in A. V.) " the ministry/' 

8 If we suppose (see above, p. 835, note 4) 
that Timotheus was at Ephesus, we must con- 
clude that Tychicus was the bearer of this 
Epistle, and the aorist, " / send herewith," used 
according to the idiom of classical letter- 
writers. 

4 This word means either a travelling-case 
(for carrying clothes, books, &c), or a travel- 
ling-cloak. The former seems the more proba- 
ble meaning here, from the mention of the boohs. 

8 Brass-founder. Whether this Alexander 
is the same mentioned as put forward by the 
Jews at Ephesus in the theatre (Acts xix. 33), 
and as excommunicated by St. Paul (1 Tim. 
i. 20), we do not know. If these names all 
belong to the same person, he was probably 
of the Judaizing faction. See above, p. 474. 

6 " Charged me with," not "did" (A. V.). 
This verb, though of frequent occurrence in 
the New Testament (in tne sense of exhibit, 
display, manifest), does not elsewhere occur in 
the same construction as here, with an accusa- 



tive of the thing, and a dative of the person. 
The active form of the verb in classical Greek 
has a forensic sense, — viz. to make a declaration 
against; and as the verb is here used in an 
active sense (the active^-wi of it not occurring 
in the New Testament), we may not unnatu- 
rally suppose that it is so used here. At any 
rate, the literal English is, " Alexander mani- 
fested many evil things against me." 

7 The MSS. are divided here between the 
optative and the future ; the latter is adopted 
by Lachmann, and has rather the greatest 
weight of MS. authority in its favor. We 
have, therefore, adopted it in the translation 
in the present edition. Yet it must be ac- 
knowledged that there are obvious reasons why 
the optative (if it was the original reading) 
should have been altered into the future. 

8 The " arguments " here mentioned are 
probably those used by St. Paul in his defence. 

9 On this first defence, see above, p. 834. 
The ancient interpreters, Eusebius, Jerome, 
and others, understood St. Paul here* to refer 
to his acquittal at the end of his first imprison- 
ment at Rome, and his subsequent preaching 
in Spain ; but while we must acknowledge 
that the strength of the expressions accom- 
plished in full measure and all the Gentiles are in 
favor of this view, we think that on the whole 
the context renders it unnatural. 

10 The Lord, viz. Jesus. 

u Cf. Rom. iv. 20, Eph. vi. 10. 

12 The proclamation, i.e. of the Glad-tidings. 

i 8 By the lion's mouth may be only meant the 



844 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PATTL. 



CHAP. xxvn. 



IV. 

19 

20 
21 

22 



Lord shall deliver me from every evil, and shall preserve me unto His 
heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen. 
Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesipho- salutations 

and personal 
TUS. intelligence. 

Erastus l remained at Corinth ; but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus. 
Do thy utmost to come before winter. 

There salute thee Eubulus, and Pudens, and Linus, 2 and Claudia, 3 and 
all the brethren. 
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with concluding 

benedictions. 

you 4 all. 



imminence of the immediate peril ; but it may mean 
that St. Paul, at his first hearing, established 
his right, as a Roman citizen, to be exempted 
from the punishment of exposure to wild 
beasts, which was inflicted during the Neronian 
persecution on so many Christians, On the 
historical inferences drawn from this verse, 
see the preceding remarks. 

1 This verse is an insuperable difficulty to 
those who suppose this Epistle written in the 
first imprisonment at Rome; since it implies 
a recent journey, in which St. Paul had passed 
through Miletus and Corinth. It has been 
also thought inexplicable that Paul should 
mention to Timotheus (who was at Ephesus, 
so near Miletus) the fact that Trophimus was 
left there. But many suppositions might be 
made to account for this. For instance, 
Trophimus may have only staid a short time 
at Miletus, and come on by the first ship after 
his recovery. This was probably the first 
communication from St. Paul to Timotheus 
since they parted ; and there would be nothing 
unnatural even if it mentioned a circumstance 
which Timotheus knew already. For example, 
A. at Calcutta writes to B. in London, " / left 
C. dangerously ill at Southampton," although 
he may be sure that B. has heard of C.'s ill- 
ness long before he can receive the letter. 

2 Linus is probably the same person who 
was afterwards bishop of Rome, and is men- 
tioned by Irenaeus and Eusebius. 

3 Pudens and Claudia. The following facts 
relating to these names are taken from an in- 
genious essay on the subject, entitled "Claudia 
and Pudens, by J. Williams, m. A. (London, 
1848)." 

There are two epigrams of Martial, the 



former of which describes the marriage of a 
distinguished Roman named Pudens to a for- 
eign lady named Claudia, and the latter of 
which tells us that this Claudia was a Briton, 
and gives her the cognomen of Rufina. When 
the latter epigram was written, she had grown- 
up sons and daughters, but herself still re- 
tained the charms of youth. Both these epi- 
grams were written during Martial's residence 
at Rome ; and, therefore, their date must be 
between a.d. 66 and a.d. 100. The former of 
the two epigrams was not published till the 
reign of Domitian, but it may very probably 
have been written many years earlier. Thus 
the Claudia and Pudens of Martial may be 
the same with the Claudia and Pudens who 
are here seen as friends of St. Paul in 
a.d. 68. 

But, further, Tacitus mentions (Agric. 14) 
that certain territories in the south-east of 
Britain were given to a British king Cogidu- 
nus as a reward for his fidelity to Rome : this 
occurred about a.d. 52, while Tiberius Clau- 
dhis Nero, commonly called Claudius, was em- 
peror. 

Again, in 1723, a marble was dug up at x 
Chichester, with an inscription making men- 
tion of a British king bearing the title of Ti- 
berius Claudius Cogidubnus. His daughter 
would, according to Roman usage, have been 
called Claudia. And in the same inscription 
we find the name Pudens. Other details are 
given in our larger editions. See the Quarter- 
ly Review for July, 1858. 

4 You (not thee) is the reading of the 
best MSS., which also omit "amen." In 
English we are compelled to insert all here, ir 
order to show that you is plural. 



chap, xxvii. CONDEMNATION OF ST. PAUL. 845 

We know not whether Timotheus was able to fulfil these last requests 
of the dying Apostle ; it is doubtful whether he reached Rome in time to 
receive his parting commands, and cheer his latest earthly sufferings. 
The only intimation which seems to throw any light on the question is 
the statement in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that Timotheus had been 
liberated from imprisonment in Italy. If, as appears not improbable, 1 
that Epistle was written shortly after St. Paul's death, it would be 
proved not only that the disciple fearlessly obeyed his master's summons, 
but that he actually shared his chains, though he escaped his fate. This, 
also, would lead us to think that he must have arrived before the execu- 
tion of St. Paul, for otherwise there would be no reason to account for 
his being himself arrested in Rome ; since, had he come too late, he 
would naturally have returned to Asia at once, without attracting the 
notice of the authorities. 

We may, therefore, hope that Paul's last earthly wish was fulfilled. 
Yet if Timotheus did indeed arrive before the closing scene, there could 
have been but a very brief interval between his coming and his master's 
death. For the letter which summoned him 2 could not have been de- 
spatched from Rome till the end of winter, and St. Paul's martyrdom 
took place in the middle of summer. 3 We have seen that this was 
sooner than he had expected ; but we have no record of the final stage 
of his trial, and cannot tell the cause of its speedy conclusion. We only 
know that it resulted in a sentence of capital punishment. 

The privileges of Roman citizenship exempted St. Paul from the 
ignominious death of lingering torture, which had been lately inflicted 
on so many of his brethren. He was to die by decapitation ; 4 and he 
was led out to execution beyond the city walls, upon the road to Ostia, 

1 See the next chapter. If our Chronology in page 847. The constitutional moie of in- 
be right, Timothy's escape would be accounted flicting capital punishment on a Roman citizen 
for by the death of Nero, which immediately was by the lictor's axe. The criminal was tied 
followed that of St. Paul. to a stake ; cruelly scourged with the rods, 

2 Supposing the letter to have been de- and then beheaded. See Livy, ii. 6. " Missi 
spatched to Timotheus on the 1st of March, he lictores ad sumendum supplicium, nudatos virgis 
could scarcefy have arrived at Rome from ccedunt, securique feriunt." Compare Juv. 8, 
Asia Minor before the end of May. "legum prima securis." But the military 

3 Nero's death occurred in June, a. d. 68. mode of execution — decapitation by the 
Accepting therefore, as we do, the universal sword — was more usual under Nero. Many 
tradition that St. Paul was executed in the examples may be found in Tacitus ; for in- 
reign of Nero, his execution must have taken stance, the execution of Subrius Flavius (Tac. 
place not later than the beginning of June. Ann. xv. 67). The executioner was generally 
We have endeavored to show (in the article one of the speculators, or imperial body-guards, 
on the Pastoral Epistles in Appendix II.) that under the command of a centurion, whj> was 
this date satisfies all the necessary condi- responsible for the execution of the sentence, 
tions. See the interesting story in Seneca de Ira, lib. 

4 Such is the universal tradition ; see note 1 i. cap. 16. 



846 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap. xxvn. 

the port of Rome. As he issued forth from the gate, his eyes must have 
rested for a moment on that sepulchral pyramid which stood beside the 
road, and still stands unshattered, amid the wreck of so many centuries, 
upon the same spot. That spot was then only the burial-place of a single 
Roman ; it is now the burial-place of many Britons. The mausoleum 
of Caius Cestius l rises conspicuously amongst humbler graves, and marks 
the site where Papal Rome suffers her Protestant sojourners to bury their 
dead. In England and in Germany, in Scandinavia and in America, 
there are hearts which turn to that lofty cenotaph as the sacred point of 
their whole horizon ; even as the English villager turns to the gray- 
church-tower which overlooks the gravestones of his kindred. Among 
the works of man, that pyramid is the only surviving witness of the 
martyrdom of St. Paul ; and we may thus regard it with yet deeper 
interest, as a monument unconsciously erected by a pagan to the memory 
of a martyr. Nor let us think that they who lie beneath its shadow are 
indeed resting (as degenerate Italians fancy) in unconsecrated ground. 
Rather let us say, that a spot where the disciples of Paul's faith now 
sleep in Christ, so near the soil once watered by his blood, is doubly 
hallowed ; and that their resting-place is most fitly identified with the 
last earthly journey and the dying glance of their own Patron Saint, the 
Apostle of the Gentiles. 

As the martyr and his executioners passed on, their way was crowded 
with a motley multitude of goers and comers between the metropolis 
and its harbor — merchants hastening to superintend the unloading of 
their cargoes — sailors eager to squander the profits of their last voyage 
in the dissipations of the capital — officials of the government, charged 
with the administration of the Provinces, or the command of the legions 
on the Euphrates or the Rhine — Chaldean astrologers — Phrygian 
eunuchs — dancing-girls from Syria with their painted turbans — mendi- 
cant priests from Egypt howling for Osiris — Greek adventurers, eager 
to coin their national cunning into Roman gold — representatives of the 
avarice and ambition, the fraud and lust, the superstition and intelligence, 
of the Imperial world. Through the dust and tumult of that busy 
throng, the small troop of soldiers threaded their way silently, under the 
bright sky of an Italian midsummer. They were marching, though they 
knew it not, in a procession more truly triumphal than any they had ever 
followed, in the train of General or Emperor, along the Sacred Way. 
Their prisoner, now at last and forever delivered from his captivity, 
rejoiced to follow his Lord " without the gate." 2 The place of execu- 

1 The pyramid of Caius Cestius, which now in the time of Nero, though within the present 

marks the site of the Protestant burying- Aurelianic walls. 

ground, was erected in, or just before, the a Heb. xiii. 12, " He Buffered without tb$ 

reign of Augustus. It was outside the walls gate." 



chap, xx vn. 



DEATH OF ST. PAUL. 



847 



tion was not far distant; and there the sword of the headsman 1 ended 
his long course of sufferings, and released that heroic soul from that 
feeble body. Weeping friends took up his corpse, and carried it for 
burial to those subterranean labyrinths, 2 where, through many ages of 
oppression, the persecuted Church found refuge for the living, and 
sepulchres for the dead. 

Thus died the Apostle, the Prophet, and the Martyr ; bequeathing to 
the Church, in her government and her discipline, the legacy of his 
Apostolic labors ; leaving his Prophetic words to be her living oracles ; 
pouring forth his blood to be the seed of a thousand Martyrdoms. 
Thenceforth, among the glorious company of the Apostles, among the 
goodly fellowship of the Prophets, among the noble army of Martyrs, his 
name has stood pre-eminent. And wheresoever the Holy Church 
throughout all the world doth acknowledge God, there Paul of Tarsus is 
revered, as the great teacher of a universal redemption and a catholic 
religion — the herald of Glad-tidings to all mankind. 



1 The death of St. Paul is recorded by his 
contemporary Clement, in a passage already 
quoted; also by the Roman presbyter Caius 
(about 200 a. d.) (who alludes to the Ostian 
Road as the site of St. Paul's martyrdom), by 
Tertullian, Eusebius (in the passage above 
cited), Jerome, and many subsequent writers. 
The statement of Caius is quoted by Eusebius. 
That of Jerome is the most explicit. 

The statement that Paul was beheaded 
on the Ostian Road agrees with the usage of 
the period, and with the tradition that his de- 
capitation was by the sword, not the axe. 
We have this tradition in Orosius and Lactan- 
tius. It was not uncommon to send prisoners, 
whose death might attract too much notice in 
Rome, to some distance from the city, under a 
military escort, for execution. Wieseler com- 
pares the execution of Calpurnius Galerianus, 
as recorded by Tacitus, " who was sent under 
a military escort some distance along the Ap- 



pian Road." (Tac. Hist. iv. 11.) This hap- 
pened a. i>. 70. 

The great Basilica of St. Paul now stands 
outside the walls of Rome, on the road to Ostia, 
in commemoration of his martyrdom, and the 
Porta Ostiensis (in the present Aurelianic wall) 
is called the gate of St. Paul. The tradition- 
al spot of the martyrdom is the tre fontane not 
far from the basilica. The basilica itself (S. 
Paolo fuori le mura) was first built by Con- 
stantine. Till the Reformation it was under 
the protection of the Kings of England, and 
the emblem of the Order of the Garter is still 
to be seen among its decorations. 

2 Eusebius (ii. 25) says that the original 
burial-places of Peter and Paul, in the Cata- 
combs, were still shown in his time. This 
shows the tradition on the subject. Jerome, 
however, in the passage above cited, seems to 
make the place of burial and exe ration the 
same. 





Com of Autiocb in Pisidia. 



CHAPTER XXVIIL 

The Epistle to the Hebrews. — Its Inspiration not affected by the Doubts concerning its Author- 
ship. — Its Original Readers. — Conflicting Testimony of the Primitive Church concerning 
its Author. — His Object in writing it. — Translation of the Epistle. 

THE origin and history of the Epistle to the Hebrews was a subject of 
controversy even in the second century. There is no portion of the 
New Testament whose authorship is so disputed, nor any of which the 
inspiration is more indisputable. The early Church could not determine 
whether it was written by Barnabas, by Luke, by Clement, or by Paul. 
Since the Reformation, still greater diversity of opinion has prevailed. 
Luther assigned it to Apollos, Calvin to a disciple of the Apostles. The 
Church of Rome now maintains by its infallibility the Pauline authorship 
of the Epistle, which in the second, third, and fourth centuries, the same 
Church, with the same infallibility, denied. But notwithstanding these 
doubts concerning the origin of this canonical book, its inspired authority 
is beyond all doubt. It is certain, from internal evidence, that it was 
written by a contemporary of the Apostles, and before the destruction of 
Jerusalem ; l that its writer was the friend of Timotheus ; 2 and that he 
was the teacher 3 of one of the Apostolic Churches. Moreover, the Epistle 
was received by the Oriental Church as canonical from the first. 4 Every 
sound reasoner must agree with St. Jerome, that it matters nothing 
whether it were written by Luke, by Barnabas, or by Paul, since it is 
allowed to be the production of the Apostolic age, and has been read in 
the public service of the Church from the earliest times. Those, there- 
fore, who conclude with Calvin, that it was not written by St. Paul, must 
also join with him in thinking the question of its authorship a question 
of little moment, and in " embracing it without controversy as one of 
the Apostolical Epistles." 

But when we call it an Epistle, we must observe that it is distinguished 

1 See Heb. vii. 25, xiii. 11-13, and other * For this we can refer to Clemens Alex- 
passages which speak of the Temple services andrinus and Origen. also to passages of Je- 
as going on. rome. Our larger edition? give at length in the 

2 See xiii. 23. notes the passages from the Fathers referred 
8 See xiii. 19. Restored to you. to in the introductory part of this chapter. 

848 



CHAP.xxvm. EEADEES OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 849 

by one remarkable peculiarity from other compositions which bear that 
name. In ancient no less than in modern times, it was an essential fea- 
ture of an epistle, that it should be distinctly addressed, by the writer, to 
some definite individual, or body of individuals ; and a composition which 
bore on its surface neither the name of its writer, nor an address to any 
particular readers, would then, as now, have been called rather a treatise 
than a letter. It was this peculiarity * in the portion of Scripture now 
before us which led to some of the doubts and perplexities concerning 
it which existed in the earliest times. Yet, on the other hand, we cannot 
consider it merely as a treatise or discourse ; because we find certain 
indications of an epistolary nature, which show that it was originally 
addressed not to the world in general, nor to all Christians, nor even to 
all Jewish Christians, but to certain individual readers closely and per- 
sonally connected with the writer. 

Let us first examine these indications, and consider how far they tend 
to ascertain the readers for whom this Epistle was originally designed. 

In the first place, it may be held as certain that the Epistle was 
addressed to Hebrew Christians. Throughout its pages there is not a 
single reference to any other class of converts. Its readers are assumed 
to be familiar with the Levitical worship, the Temple services, and all 
the institutions of the Mosaic ritual. They are in danger of apostasy 
to Judaism, yet are not warned (like the Galatians and others) against 
circumcision ; plainly because they were already circumcised. They are 
called to view in Christianity the completion and perfect consummation of 
Judaism. They are called to behold in Christ the fulfilment of the Law, 
in His person the antitype of the priesthood, in His offices the eternal 
realization of the sacrificial and mediatorial functions of the Jewish 
hierarchy. 

Yet, as we have said above, this work is not a treatise addressed to all 
Jewish Christians throughout the world, but to one particular Church, 
concerning which we learn the following facts : — First, its members had 
steadfastly endured persecution and the loss of property ; secondly, they 
had shown sympathy to their imprisoned brethren and to Christians gen- 
erally (x. 32-34, and vi. 10) ; thirdly, they were now in danger of 
apostasy, and had not yet resisted unto blood (xii. 3-4 ; see also v. 11, 
<fcc, vi. 9, &c.) ; fourthly, their Church had existed for a considerable 
length of time (v. 12), and some of its chief pastors were dead (xiii. 7) ; 
fifthly, their prayers are demanded for the restoration to them of the writer 

1 We need scarcely remark that the inscrip- of later origin ; and the title by which this 
tion which the Epistle at present bears was not was first known was merely " to the Hebrews,"" 
a part of the original document. It is well and not " of Paul to the Hebrews." 
known that the titles of all the Epistles were 
64 



850 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxvm. 

of the Epistle, who was therefore personally connected with them (xiii. 
19) ; sixthly, they were acquainted with Timotheus, who was about to 
visit them (xiii. 23) ; seventhly, the arguments addressed to them pre- 
suppose a power on their part of appreciating that spiritualizing and 
allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament which distinguished the 
Alexandrian * School of Jewish Theology ; eighthly, they must have been 
familiar with the Scriptures in the Septuagint version, because every one 
of the numerous quotations is taken from that version, even where it differs 
materially from the Hebrew; ninthly, the language in which they are 
addressed is Hellenistic Greek, and not Aramaic. 2 

It has been concluded by the majority, both of ancient and modern 
critics, that the church addressed was that of Jerusalem, or at least was 
situate in Palestine. In favor of this view it is urged, first, that no church 
out of Palestine could have consisted so exclusively of Jewish converts. 
To this it may be replied, that the Epistle, though addressed only to 
Jewish converts, and contemplating their position and their dangers 
exclusively, might still have been sent to a church which contained Gentile 
converts also. In fact, even in the church of Jerusalem itself, there must 
have been some converts from among the Gentile sojourners who lived in 
that city ; so that the argument proves too much. Moreover, it is not 
necessary that every discourse addressed to a mixed congregation should 
discuss the position of every individual member. If an overwhelming 
majority belong to a particular class, the minority is often passed over in 
addresses directed to the whole body. Again, the Epistle may have been 
intended for the Hebrew members only of some particular church, which 
contained also Gentile members ; and this would perhaps explain the 
absence of the usual address and salutation at the commencement. 
Secondly, it is urged that none but Palestinian Jews would have felt the 
attachment to the Levitical ritual implied in the readers of this Epistle. 



1 The resemblance between the Epistle to was addressed to the Palestinian Church, 
the Hebrews and the writings of Philo is most That the present Epistle is not a translation 
striking. It extends not only to the general from an Aramaic original is proved, 1st, by 
points mentioned in the text, but to particu- the quotation of the Septuagint argumentative- 
lar doctrines and expressions : the parallel pas- ly, where it differs from the Hebrew ; for in- 
sages are enumerated by Bleek. stance, Heb. x. 38 : 2dly, by the paronomasias 

2 It may be considered as an established upon Greek words, which could not be trans- 
point, that the Greek Epistle which we now lated into Aramaic, e. g. that on dutdrjKTj (ix. 
have is the original. Some of the early fa- 16) ; 3dly, by the free use of Greek com- 
thers thought that the original had been writ- pounds, &c, which could only be expressed in 
ten in Aramaic; but the origin of this tradi- Aramaic by awkward periphrases; 4th, by the 
tion seems to have been, 1st, the belief that fact that even the earliest Christian writers 
the Epistle was written by St. Paul, combined had never seen a copy of the supposed Ara- 
with the perception of its dissimilarity in style maic original. Its existence was only hypo- 
to his writings ; and 2dly, the belief that it thetical from the first. 



CMAP.xxvm. KEADEBS OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 851 

But we do not see why the same attachment may not have been felt in 
every great community of Hebrews ; nay, we know historically that no 
Jews were more devotedly attached to the Temple worship than those of 
the dispersion, who were only able to visit the Temple itself at distant 
intervals, but who still looked to it as the central point of their religious 
unity and of their national existence. 1 Thirdly, it is alleged that many 
passages seem to imply readers who had the Temple services going on 
continually under their eyes. The whole of the ninth and tenth chapters 
speak of the Levitical ritual in a manner which naturally suggests this 
idea. On the other hand it may be argued, that such passages imply 
no more than that amount of familiarity which might be presupposed 
in those who were often in the habit of going up to the great feasts at 
Jerusalem. 2 

Thus, then, we cannot see that the Epistle must necessarily have been 
addressed to Jews of Palestine, because addressed to Hebrews? And, 
moreover, if we examine the preceding nine conditions which must be 
satisfied by its readers, we shall find some of them which could scarcely 
apply to the church of Jerusalem, or any other church in Palestine. 
Thus the Palestinian Church was remarkable for its poverty, and was the 
recipient of the bounty of other churches ; whereas those addressed here 
are themselves the liberal benefactors of others. Again, those here 
addressed have not yet resisted unto blood; whereas the Palestinian 
Church had produced many martyrs in several persecutions. Moreover, 
the Palestinian 4 Jews would hardly be addressed in a style of reasoning 
adapted to minds imbued with Alexandrian culture. Finally, a letter to 
the church of Palestine would surely have been written in the language 
of Palestine ; or, at least, when the Scriptures of Hebraism were appealed 
to, they would not have been quoted from the Septuagint version, where 
it differs from the Hebrew. 

These considerations (above all, the last) seem to negative the 
hypothesis, that this Epistle was addressed to a church situate in the 
Holy Land ; and the latter portion of them point to another church, for 



1 They showed this by the large contribu- " Hebrew " was applied as properly to Jews of 
tions which they sent to the Temple from all the dispersion as to Jews of Palestine, 
countries where they were dispersed ; see 4 Cultivated individuals at Jerusalem (as, 
above, p. 739. for instance, the pupils of Gamaliel) would 

2 We cannot agree with Ebrard, that the have fully entered into such reasoning ; but it 
Epistle contains indications that the Chris- would scarcely have been addressed to the 
tians addressed had been excluded from the mass of Jewish believers. Bleek (as we have 
Temple. before observed) has shown many instances of 

3 Bleek and De Wette have urged the title parallelism between the Epistle to the Hebrews 
"to the Hebrews," to prove the same point. and the writings of Philo, the representative 
But Wieseler has conclusively shown that of Alexandrian Judaism. 



852 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxvm 

which we may more plausibly conceive it to have been intended, namely, 
that of Alexandria. 1 Such a supposition would at once account for the 
Alexandrian tone of thought and reasoning, and for the quotations from 
the Septuagint; 2 while the wealth of the Alexandrian Jew would ex- 
plain the liberality here commended ; and the immense Hebrew popula- 
tion of Alexandria would render it natural that the Epistle should 
contemplate the Hebrew Christians alone in that church, wherein there 
may perhaps at first have been as few Gentile converts as in Jerusalem 
itself. It must be remembered, however, that this is only an hypothesis, 3 
offered as being embarrassed with fewer difficulties than any other which 
has been proposed. 

Such, then, being the utmost which we can ascertain concerning the 
readers of the Epistle, what can we learn of its writer ? Let us first 
examine the testimony of the Primitive Church on this question. It is 
well summed up by St. Jerome in the following passage : 4 — " That 
which is called the Epistle to the Hehreivs is thought not to be Paul's, 
because of the difference of style and language, but is ascribed either to 
Barnabas (according to Tertullian) ; or to Luke the Evangelist (accord- 
ing to some authorities) ; or to Clement (afterwards Bishop of Rome), 
who is said to have arranged and adorned Paul's sentiments in his own 
language ; or at least it is thought that Paul abstained from the inscrip- 
tion of his name at its commencement because it was addressed to the 
Hebrews, among whom he was unpopular." Here, then, we find that the 
Epistle was ascribed to four different writers, — St. Barnabas, St. Luke, 
St. Clement, or St. Paul. With regard to the first, Tertullian expressly 
says that copies of the Epistle in his day bore the inscription, " The 
Epistle of Barnabas to the Hebrews." The same tradition is mentioned 
by Philastrius. The opinion that either Luke or Clement was the writer 
is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, 5 and others ; but they 

1 The canon of Muratori mentions an ly suggested by Schmidt) by maintaining that 
epistle ad Alexandrinos (which it rejects), and the constant allusions to the Temple and hie- 
takes no notice of any epistle ad Hebrceos. rarchy in this Epistle refer to the Egyptian 
We cannot prove, however, that this epistle ad temple built by Onias at Leontopolis. This 
Alexandrinos was the same with our Epistle to notion is sufficiently refuted by "Wieseler's 
the Hebrews. own admission, that even Philo the Alexan- 

2 Bleek has endeavored to prove (and we drian, when speaking of the Temple, knows 
think successfully) that these are not only from but one, viz. the Temple on Mount Zion. 

the LXX., but from the Alexandrian MSS. of 4 See p. 848, n. 4. 

the LXX. But we do not insist on this argn- 5 After stating that the style is admitted 

ment, as it is liable to some doubt. not to be that of St. Paul, Origen adds his 

3 Since the above remarks were published, own opinion that the Epistle was written by 
this hypothesis has been advocated by Bunsen some disciple of St. Paul, who recorded the 
in his " Hippolytus." It is to be regretted that sentiments of the Apostle, and commented like 
Wieseler should have encumbered his able ar- a scholiast upon the teaching of his master, 
guments in defence of this hypothesis (original- Then follows the passage which is quoted be- 



chap.xxvih. WRITER OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 853 

seem not to have considered Luke or Clement as the independent authors 
of the Epistle, hut only as editors of the sentiments of Paul. Some held 
that Luke had only translated the Pauline original ; others that he or 
Clement had systematized the teaching of their master with a com- 
mentary 1 of their own. Fourthly, St. Paul was held to be in some sense 
the author of the Epistle by the Greek ecclesiastical writers generally ; 
though no one, so far as we know, maintained that he hud-written it in 
its present form. On the other hand, the Latin Church, till the fourth 
century, refused to acknowledge the Epistle 2 as Paul's in any sense. 

Thus there were, in fact, only two persons whose claim to the inde- 
pendent authorship of the Epistle was maintained in the Primitive Church, 
viz., St. Barnabas and St. Paul. Those who contend that Barnabas was 
the author confirm the testimony of Tertullian by the following argu- 
ments from internal evidence. First, Barnabas was a Levite, and there- 
fore would naturally dwell on the Levitical worship which forms so 
prominent a topic of this Epistle. Secondly, Barnabas was a native of 
Cyprus, and Cyprus was peculiarly connected with Alexandria ; so that a 
Cyprian Levite would most probably receive his theological education at 
Alexandria. This would agree with the Alexandrian character of the 
argumentation of this Epistle. Thirdly, this is further confirmed by the 
ancient tradition which connects Barnabas and his kinsman Mark with 
the church of Alexandria. 3 Fourthly, the writer of the Epistle was a 
friend of Timotheus (see above, pp. 845, 850) ; so was Barnabas (cf. 
Acts xiii. and xiv. with 2 Tim. iii. 11). Fifthly, the Hebraic appellation 
which Barnabas received from the Apostles — " Son of Exhortation " 4 — 
shows that he possessed the gift necessary for writing a composition dis- 
tinguished for the power of its hortatory admonitions. 

The advocates of the Pauline authorship urge, in addition to the 
external testimony which we have before mentioned, the following argu- 
ments from internal evidence. First, that the general plan of the Epistle 
is similar to that of Paul's other writings ; secondly, that its doctrinal 
sentiments are identical with Paul's ; thirdly, that there are many points 
of similarity between its phraseology and diction and those of Paul. 5 On 

low ; after which he mentions the tradition ship could not easily have been forgotten," 

about Clement and Luke. — Origen in Euseb. and also that " we should not expect in Bar- 

Hist. Ecc. vi. 25. nabas so Pauline a turn of mind." On these 

1 See the preceding note. grounds he assigns the epistle to Apollos. 

2 Even Cyprian rejected it, and Hilary is 4 So the word is translated by some of the 
the first writer of the Western Church who best authorities. See p. 109, note 7. 
received it as St. Paul's. 5 The ablest English champion of the 

3 Bunsen acknowledges the force of the Pauline authorship is Dr. Davidson, who has 
arguments in favor of Barnabas, but thinks stated the arguments on both sides with that 
that if he had been the author " his author- perfect candor which so peculiarly distinguish- 



854 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP, xxvin. 



the other hand, the opponents of the Pauline origin argue, first, that the 
rhetorical character of the composition is altogether unlike Paul's other 
writings ; secondly, that there are many points of difference in the 
phraseology and diction ; thirdly that the quotations of the Old Testa- 
ment are not made in the same form as Paul's ; l fourthly, that the 
writer includes himself among those who had received the Grospel from the 
original disciples of the Lord Jesus (ii. 3), 2 whereas St. Paul declares 
that the Gospel was not taught him by man, but by the revelation of Jesus 
Christ (Gal. i. 11, 12) ; fifthly, that St. Paul's Epistles always begin 
with his name, and always specify in the salutation the persons to whom 
they are addressed. 3 

Several very able modern critics have agreed with Luther in assigning 
the authorship of this Epistle to Apollos, chiefly because we know him to 
have been a learned Alexandrian Jew, 4 and because he fulfils the other 
conditions mentioned above, as required by the internal evidence. But 
we need not dwell on this opinion, since it is not based on external testi- 
mony, and since Barnabas fulfils the requisite conditions almost equally 
well. 

Finally, we may observe, that, notwithstanding the doubts which we 
have recorded, we need not scruple to speak of this portion of Scripture 
by its canonical designation, as " the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the 
Hebrews." We have seen that Jerome expresses the greatest doubts 
concerning its authorship : Origen also says, " The writer is known to 
God alone : " the same doubts are expressed by Eusebius and by Augus- 
tine : yet all these great writers refer to the words of the Epistle as the 
words of Paid. In fact, whether written by Barnabas, by Luke, by 



es him among theological writers. See David- 
son's Introduction, vol. iii. pp. 163-259. Eb- 
rard, in his recent work on the Epistle, argues 
plausibly in favor of the hypothesis mentioned 
above, that it was written by St. Luke, under 
the direction of St. Paul. He modifies this 
hypothesis by supposing Luke to receive 
Paul's instructions at Rome, and then to write 
the Epistle in some other part of Italy. We 
think, however, that the argument on which 
he mainly relies (viz. that the writer of xiii. 
19 could not have been the writer of xiii. 23) 
is untenable. 

1 It should be observed that the three pre- 
ceding arguments do not contradict the primi- 
tive opinion that the Epistle contained the em- 
bodiment of St. Paul's sentiments by the pen 
of Luke or Clement. 

1 Some have argued that this could not 



have been said by Barnabas, because they 
receive the tradition mentioned by Clement of 
Alexandria, that Barnabas was one of the y 
seventy disciples of Christ. But this tradi- 
tion seems to have arisen from a confusion be- 
tween Barnabas and Barsabas (Acts i. 23). 
Tertullian speaks of Barnabas as a disciple of 
the Apostles, " qui ab Apostolis didicit." — De 
Pudic. c. 20. 

8 We have not mentioned here the mistakes 
which some suppose the writer to have made 
concerning the internal arrangements of the 
Temple and the official duties of the High 
Priest. These difficulties will be discussed in 
the notes upon the passages where they occur. 
They are not of a kind which tend to fix the 
authorship of the Epistle upon one more than 
upon another of those to whom it has been 
4 Acts xviii. 24 



chap, xxvrn. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



855 



Clement, or by Apollos, it represented the views, and was impregnated 
by the influence, of the great Apostle, whose disciples even the chief of 
these Apostolic men might well be called-. By their writings, no less 
than by his own, he, being dead, yet spake. 

We have seen that the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to Jewish 
converts who were tempted to apostatize from Christianity, and return 
to Judaism. Its primary object was to check this apostasy, by showing 
them the true end and meaning of the Mosaic system, and its symbolical 
and transitory character. They are taught to look through the shadow 
to the substance, through the type to the antitype. But the treatise, 
though first called forth to meet the needs of Hebrew converts, was not 
designed for their instruction only. The Spirit of God has chosen this 
occasion to enlighten the Universal Church concerning the design of the 
ancient covenant, and the interpretation of the Jewish Scriptures. Nor 
could the memory of St. Paul be enshrined in a nobler monument, nor 
his mission on earth be more fitly closed, than by this inspired record of 
the true subordination of Judaism to Christianity. 

THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 1 



God has re- 
vealed Him 



GOD, 2 who at sundry times and in divers manners spake i. 1 
man^n a tbe to of °^ to our fathers Dv the prophets, hath 3 in these last days 4 2 
EoN.° n s spoken unto us by 5 His Son, whom He appointed heir of all 
things, by whom also He made the universe ; 6 who, being an emanation 7 3 



1 We have the following circumstances to 
fix the date of this Epistle : — 

(1) The Temple of Jerusalem was stand- 
ing, and the services going on undisturbed (vii. 
25, xiii. 11-13). Hence it was written before 
the destruction of the Temple in a.d. 70. 

(2) Its author was at liberty in Italy; and 
Timotheus was just liberated from imprison- 
ment (xiii. 23, 24). If St. Paul wrote it, this 
would fix the date at 63 ; but as we do not 
hear that Timotheus was then imprisoned in 
Italy (either in Acts, or in the Epistles to 
Timothy, where allusions might be expected 
to the fact), it would seem more probable that 
his imprisonment here mentioned took place 
about the time of St. Paul's death, and that 
he was liberated after the death of Nero. 
This would place the date of the Epistle in 
A.d. 68 or 69, if our chronology be correct : 
see Chronol. Table in Appendix II. 

(3) This date agrees with n. 3, which 
places the readers of the Epistle among those 



who had not seen our Lord in the flesh ; for 
the " we " there plainly includes the readers as 
well as the writer. 

8 In order to mark the difference of style 
and character between this and the preceding 
Epistles, the translator has in this Epistle ad- 
hered as closely as possible to the language 
of the Authorized Version. 

3 The Hellenistic peculiarity of using the 
aorist for the perfect (which is not uncom- 
mon in St. Paul's writings, see Rom. xi. 30, 
and Phil. iii. 12) is very frequent in this Epis- 
tle. 

* The best MSS. have the singular. It 
should perhaps rather be translated " in the end' 
of tliese days," these days being contrasted with 
the future period, the world to come. 

6 The preposition means more than " by "' 
(so in preceding verse) ; in the person of His. 
Son would be more accurate. 

6 " The worlds : " so xi. 3. 

7 Not "brightness" (A. V ), but emanation,. 



856 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxvm. 



of His glory, and an express l image of His substance, 2 and upholding all 
things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself made purifi- 
cation 3 for our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high ; 

4 being made so much greater than the Angels, as He hath by inheritance 
obtained a more excellent name than they. 

5 For to which of the Angels 4 said He at any time, ** Cbon who is higher 

* than the 

art mg son, %s irag (jaixe j foeptta fyzt ' r 5 And again, An g els - 

6 "<$ foill hz to frim a fa%r, anir Ije sjjall he to m,e a son "? 6 But 

when He bringeth back 7 the First-begotten into the world, He saith, 

7 " g^nir let all % ^ngtls of (Soir toorstjip Ijim." 8 And of the angels 
He saith, " WL\q maktlj jjis angels spirits, anir Ijis ministers 

8 flanttS of fir*/' 9 But unto the Son He saith, " Cfrg %01tt, © <Soir, 

is for *for anir jeixer ; a saptr* of righteousness is % saptre of 
tljg lungirotn, CIjou |rasi lofaeir righteousness anir Ijateir iniquitg ; 

9 therefore <§oir, *fon tljg (§oir, Ijatlj anointttr tljte toitfj % oil of 
10 glairness abobe tljg fellofos/' 10 And " Cfjou, forir, in; % begin- 
ning iriirst lag % foundation of tire eartjr, anir % jjeabens an % 

n foorbs of tjnne Ijanir. ©Ijeg sljall jrerisjj, but tlron rnnahust; 
12 anir tljeg all sfjall foa* oltr as irotb a garment, anir as a foster* 



as of light from the sun. The word and idea 
occur in Philo. 

1 Literally, impression, as of a seal on wax. 
The same expression is used by Philo concern- 
ing " the Eternal Word." 

2 Not "person" (A. V.), but substance. 
Cf. xi. 1 ; and see note on iii. 14. 

3 The "by Himself" and "our" of T. R. 
are not found in some of the best MSS. 

4 The Law (according to a Jewish tradi- 
tion frequently confirmed in the New Testa- 
ment) was delivered by angels (Acts vii. 53; 
'Gal. iii. 19; Heb. ii. 3). Hence the emphasis 
here laid upon the inferiority of the angels to 
the Messiah, whence follows the inferiority of 
the Law to the Gospel. This inference is ex- 
pressed ii. 3. 

5 Ps. ii. 7 (LXX.). 

6 2 Sam. vii. 14 (LXX.) (originally spoken 
■of Solomon, in whom we see a type of Christ. 
•Cf. Ps. lxxiii). 

7 This is, literally translated, when He shall 
.have, brought bach, not again, when He has brought 

lack. The ascension of Christ having been 



mentioned, His return to judge the world 
follows. 

8 This quotation forms an exception to 
Bleek's assertion, that the quotations in this 
Epistle are always from the Alexandrian text 
of the LXX. It is from Deut. xxxii. 43, ver- 
batim according to the MSS. followed by the 
T. R. ; but not according to the Codex Alex., 
which reads " sons," instead of "angels." 
The LXX. here differs from the Hebrew, 
which entirely omits the words here quoted. 
The passage where the quotation occurs is at 
the conclusion of the final song of Moses, 
where he is describing God's vengeance upon 
His enemies. It seems here to be applied in 
a higher sense to the last judgment. 

9 Ps. civ. 4. Quoted according to LXX. 
The Hebrew is, " Who maketh the winds His 
messengers, and the flames His ministers." 
But the thought expressed here is, that God 
employs His angels in the physical operations 
of the universe. " Spirits " is equivalent to 
" winds," as at John iii. 8, and Gen. viii. 1 
(LXX.). i° Ps. xlv. 6, 7 (LXX.). 



chap. xxvm. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



857 



sljalt tlpu fbrib %m tip auk tjj*g sjjall ht rjjaujjtu- ; but tlnru art 
tlje same, anir tljg %mm s^ali turf fail." 1 

But to which of the angels hath He said at any time, " «§it tjj0U 01X 13 

mu rigljt Ijautr, until J make tjjiue jemmies %r footstool " ? 2 Are 14 

they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to execute [His] service for 3 
the sake of those who shall inherit salvation ? 

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which ii. 1 
we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 4 For if the 2 
word declared by angels 5 was steadfast, and every transgression and dis- 
obedience received a due requital ; how shall we escape, if we neglect so 3 
great salvation ? which was declared at first by the Lord, and was estab- 
lished 6 unto us T on firm foundations by those who heard Him, God also 4 
bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, 
and with gifts of the Holy Spirit, which He distributed 8 according to His 
own will. 

For not unto angels hath He subjected the world 9 to come, whereof 5 
we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, " SlSIjat IS matt 6 

tljat tlj0tt art minbful of Ijim, 0r % S0ti oi matt tljat tljou re^artr- 
mt him ? &ox a little fal/tle 10 than frast matte (rim lotoer than tf;e 7 
ancjefe ; tljou Ijast rroixriteb {jim itritjj gtortr anir \}anax f u ilpn {jast 8 
put all tirhtgs in subjection: Kvfotx Ins feet." 12 For in that He * ynt 

all tljittjJS ttt Subjetticrn; " under Him, He left nothing that should not 
be put under Him. 



1 Ps. cii. 26-28. (LXX.) It is most im- 
portant to observe that this description, applied 
in the original to God, is here without hesita- 
tion applied to Christ. 

2 Ps. ex. 1. (LXX.) Applied to the Mes- 
siah by our Lord himself, by St. Peter (Acts 
ii. 35), and by St. Paul (1 Cor. xv. 25). 

3 The A. V., " to minister for them, is. in- 
correct. 

4 The active signification here given in 
A. V. is defended by Buttmann and Wahl. 

5 Viz. the Mosaic Law. See the note on i. 5. 

6 The verb means, was established on firm 
ground. 

7 On the inferences from this verse, see 
above, p. 524. 

8 "Distributed." Compare 1 Cor. xii. 11. 

9 The world to come here corresponds with 



the city to come of xiii. 14. The subjection of 
this to the Messiah (though not yet accom- 
plished, see verse 9) was another proof of His 
superiority to the angels. 

10 The phrase may mean in a small degree, 
or for a short time ; the former is the meaning 
of the Hebrew original, but the latter mean- 
ing is taken here, as we see from verse 9. 

11 The T. R. inserts here what we find in 
A. V., and hast set Him over the ivorks of thy 
hands, but this is not found in the best MSS. 

12 Ps. viii. 5-7 (LXX.). Quoted also (with 
a slight variation), as referring to our Lord, 
1 Cor. xv. 27, and Eph. i. 22. The Hebrew 
Psalmist speaks of mankind : the New Testa- 
ment teaches us to apply his words in a higher 
sense to Christ, the representative of glorified 
humanitv. 



858 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap, xxvin. 

ii. 

But now we see not yet all things in subjection under Him. ™n!Jf jllui 

9 But we behold Jesus, who was " tex a little fojlile XfLKbt |JBIF m * g ** 
luto^r tlmn tit UttmW crowned through 1 the suffering of JSSJ^ 

as High Priest 

death with glory and honor ; that by the free gift of God He for man. 

10 might taste death for all men. For it became Him, through 2 whom are all 
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing 3 many sons unto glory, 
to consecrate 4 by sufferings the Captain 5 of their salvation. 

11 For both He that sanctifieth, and they that are 6 sanctified, have all one 
Father ; wherefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 

12 " | bill irwlar* fffjg name ia mg brrfjjrm, in % miirst oi % can- 

13 pegatfon foxll Jf sing praise nnto Cjjte." 7 And again, ''$ farill 
put mg trust in Jpim; lo, $ antr % rjjiii)r*n fojrirjr <§0it Ijatlj 

14 %lbm me." 8 Forasmuch, then, as " tlje tjnluTM " are partakers of flesh 
and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same, that by death 

15 He might destroy the lord of death, that is, the Devil ; and might 
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to 

16 bondage. For truly He giveth His aid, 9 not unto angels, but unto the 

17 seed of Abraham. Wherefore it behooved Him in all things to be made 
like unto His brethren, that He might become a merciful 10 and faithful 
High Priest in the things of God, to make expiation for the sins of the 

18 people. For whereas He hath himself been tried 11 by suffering, He is 
able to succor them that are in trial. 

1 Compare Phil. ii. 8, 9. 7 p s . xx ij. 23 (LXX. with a slight change 

2 Compare Rom. xi. 36, and 1 Cor. viii. 6. in the verb for--" declare"). Here again the 
God is here described as the First Cause ("by Messianic application of this Psalm (which is 
whom ") and the Sustainer (" through whom ") not apparent in the original) is very instructive, 
of the Universe. 8 This quotation from Isa. viii. 17, 18 

3 For the grammar here we may refer to (LXX.), appears in English to be broken into 
Acts xi. 12. two (which destroys the sense), if the inter- 

4 Literally, to bring to the appointed accom- mediate words "and again" (which are not in 
plishment, to develop the full idea of the character, the LXX.) be inserted. Indeed, it may well 
to consummate. The latter word would be the be suspected that they have here been intro- 
best translation, if it were not so unusual as duced into the MSS., by an error of transcrip- 
applied to persons ; but the word consecrate is tion, from the line above. 

often used in the same sense, and is employed 9 The verb means to assist here. So it is 

in the A. V. as a translation of this verb, vii. used in Sirach iv. 12. The A. V. mistrans- 

28. lates the present tense as past. 

6 Captain. Those who are being saved are 10 Perhaps it would be more correct to trans- 

here represented as an army, with Jesus lead- late that He might become merciful, and a faith- 

ing them on. Compare xii. 2. ful, &c. 

6 Literally, who are in the process of sancti- u Literally, hath suffered when in trial. This 

Jication. verb does not mean usually to be tempted to sin t 






CHAP.xxvm. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 859 

iii. 
M'herthan Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, 1 

Mo ee8 . consider the Apostle 1 and High Priest of our Confession, 2 

Christ 3 Jesus ; who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as Moses 2 
also was " faitjrful xtl all % {Krusfjjoltr ot (Hair." 4 For greater glory 3 
is due to Him than unto Moses, inasmuch as the founder of the house- 
hold is honored above the household. For every household hath some 4 
founder ; but He that hath founded all things is God. And Moses indeed 5 
was "faxtfjfni ht all % {wtl&ejjoltr oi <§0tr" as " n Strbatlt" 5 ap- 
pointed to testify the words that should be spoken [unto him] ; but 6 
Christ as * 4 K SfllT " 6 over His own household. 

warning And His household are we, if we hold fast our confidence, 

apostasy; and the rejoicing of our hope, firmly unto the end. Where- 
fore, as the Holy Spirit saith, "C0-jtmg, if })* Jxear Jpis boxa, Ijarbw 7 
not g0ttr fymxte as in % %xobatKtxon f xn % tmn ai temptation in 8 
% hriiirmwas ; foljm g0wr fa%rs fempteir nte, proixetr nu, anir safo 9 
mg hrorha fortg jrms. Wfyixzfott j foas gritbtfcr foitjj t^at %mt- 10 
ration, anir sai!fcr, Cjxeg iro alfajag txx in %ir \tuxt$ f anir %g 7 
Ijafae not hxoion mg toags. 2>o d sfoare in mg fom% CIj£g sfjall 11 

not Z\xttX into mg XtBt"* Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of 12 
you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But 13 
exhort one another daily while it is called To-day, lest any of you be 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers 9 14 
of Christ, if we hold our first foundation 10 firmly unto the end. 

but to be tried by affliction. Cf. 1 Cor. x. 13, metaphor is of a faithful steward presiding 

and James i. 2. Hence it is better not to over his master's household. 

translate it by temptation, which, in modern 6 " Servant," quoted from the same verse, 

English, conveys only the former idea. A Numbers xii. 7 (LXX.). (See above.) 

perplexity may perhaps be removed from some 6 See the quotations in i. 5. 

English readers by the information that St. 7 They is emphatic. 

James's direction to "count it all joy when 8 The above quotation is from Ps. xcv. 

we fall into divers temptations," is, in reality, 7-11, mainly according to the Codex Alexan- 

an admonition to rejoice in suffering for drinus of the LXX., but not entirely so, the 

Christ's sake. forty years interpolated in verse 9th being the 

1 Apostle is here used in its etymological principal, though not the only variation, 
sense for one sent forth. The peculiar use of " if " here (and iv. 3) is a 

2 For " confession " compare iv. 14 and x. Hebraism. 

23, 9 "Partakers." Compare iii. 1, and vi. 4 

8 We have not departed here from the (" partakers of the Holy Spirit"). 

T. R. ; but the best MSS. omit " Christ." i° Literally, the beginning of our foundation. 

* Numbers xii. 7 (LXX.). "My servant The original meaning of the latter word is that 

Moses is faithful in all my household." The whereon any thing else stands, or is supported; 



8G0 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



chap. xxvm. 



111. 
15 



When it is said, " C0-irag, if g* \lKX ||is bam, jjarbttt not QOUX 

16 ^arfs as XXI % ytabotixtian" -~ who l were they that, though they 
had heard, did provoke ? Were they not all 2 whom Moses brought forth 

17 out of Egypt ? And with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it 
not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses 3 fell in the wilderness? 

18 And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to 

19 them that were disobedient ? 4 And 5 we see that they could not enter, 
because of unbelief. 6 

iv. 1 Therefore let us fear, since a promise still 7 remain eth of entering into 

2 His rest, lest any of you should be found 8 to come short of it. For we 
have received glad tidings as well as they ; but the report which they 

3 heard did not profit them, because it 9 met no belief in the hearers. For 
we that have believed are entering into the [promised] rest. And 
thus He hath said, " g>0 f Sfoar* Xtt ttlg foo% Cfjtg SJrall %®% 
mttX into mg test/' 10 Although His works were finished, ever since 

4 the foundation of the world ; for He hath spoken in a certain place of the 

5 seventh day in this wise, " %vti <§0*> bifr !&€§»% 0tt % Stixettilj bag 
fnmt all pis fotfrfes ; " n and in this place again, " Cfttg sljall %®% 

6 mitt into mg Xtst" 12 Since therefore it still remaineth that some 



hence it acquired the meaning of substantia, or 
substance (in the metaphysical sense of the 
term). Cf. Heb. i. 3, and xi. 1 ; hence, again, 
that of ground, nearly in the sense of subject- 
matter (2 Cor. ix. 4; 2 Cor. xi. 17). There is 
no passage of the New Testament where it 
need necessarily be translated " confidence ; " 
although it seems to have the latter meaning 
in some passages of the LXX. cited by Bleek ; 
and it is also so used by Diodorus Siculus, 
and by Polybius. 

1 We follow the accentuation adopted by 
Chrysostom, Griesbach, &c. 

2 The inference is that Christians, though 
delivered by Christ from bondage, would 
nevertheless perish if they did not persevere 
(see verses 6 and 14). The interrogation is 
not observed in A. V. 

3 Literally, limbs ; but the word is used by 
the LXX. for carcasses. Numbers xiv. 32. 

4 Not "that believed not" (A. V.). See 
note on Rom. xi. 30. 

6 "And," not" So" (A, V.). 



6 The allusion is to the refusal of the Israel- 
ites to believe in the good report of the land 
of Canaan brought by the spies. (Numbers 
xiii. and xiv.) 

7 " Still remaineth." Compare " remain- 
eth," verses 6 and 9. The reasoning is ex- 
plained by what follows, especially verses 6-8. 

8 Should be seen. 

9 Literally, it was not mixed with belief. The 
other reading would mean, "they were not 
united by belief to its hearers," where its hearers 
must mean the spies, who reported what they had 
heard of the richness of the land. Tischen- 
dorf, in his 2d edition, retains the T. R. 

10 The A. V. here strangely departs from 
the correct translation which it adopts above 

(iii.ii). 

11 Gen. ii. 2 (LXX. slightly altered). 

32 The meaning of this is, — God's rest 
was a perfect rest, — He declared His inten- 
tion that His people should enjoy His rest, — 
that intention has not yet been fulfilled, — Us 
fulfilment therefore is still to come. 



chap.xxviii. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 861 

must enter therein, and they who first received the glad tidings thereof 
entered not, because of disobedience, 1 He again fixeth a certain day, — 7 
" C@-§§>H t " — declaring in David, after so long a time (as hath been 

said), "Ctf-bag, if |re {par Jpis bom, fmrtrm twi %am fymxte" 

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak afterwards of 8 

another day. Therefore there still remaineth a Sabbath-rest 2 for the 9 

people of God. For he that is entered into God's rest must 3 himself 10 

also rest from his labors, as God did from His. Let us therefore strive 11 

to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of 

disobedience. 4 

for God's For the word of God 5 liveth and worketh, and is sharper 12 

judgment A 

evaded be than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
asunder of soul and spirit, yea, to the 6 inmost parts thereof, and 
judging the thoughts and imaginations of the heart. Neither is there 13 
any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked 
and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 
Christ is a Seeing, then, that we have a great High Priest, who hath 14 

wifocan ies1 passed 7 through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us 

be touched 

with a feeling h ld f as t our confession. For we have not a High Priest 15 

of our mfirmi- c 

tIe8, that cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, but 

who bore in all things the likeness of our trials, 8 yet without sin. Let us 16 
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain nercy, 
and find grace to help in time of need. For every High Priest taken r. 1 
from among men is ordained to act on behalf of men in the things of 

1 Here it is said they entered not because of ites, and the repose of Canaan, were typical 
disobedience; in iii. 19, because of unbelief; hut of higher realities; and that this fact had 
this does not justify us in translating these been divinely intimated in the words of the 
different Greek expressions (as in A. V.) by Psalmist. 

the same English word. The rejection of the 5 The word of God is the revelation of the 

Israelites was caused both by unbelief and by mind of God, imparted to man. See note on 

disobedience ; the former being the source of Eph. v. 26. Here it denotes the revelation of 

the latter. God's judgment to the conscience. 

2 Strictly, a keeping of Sabbatical rest. 6 The expression is literally, of soul and 

3 Literally, hath rested, the aorist used for spirit, both joint and marrow ; the latter being 
perfect. To complete the argument of this a proverbial expression for utterly, even to the 
verse, we must supply the minor premise, but inmost parts. 

God's people have never yet enjoyed this perfect 7 " Through," not "into" (A. V.). The 

rest ; whence the conclusion follows, therefore allusion is to the high priest passing through 

its enjoyment is still future, as before. the courts of the Temple to the Holy of Ho- 

4 The reasoning of the above passage rests lies. Compare ix. 11 and 24. 
upon the truth that the unbelief of the Israel- 8 See note on ii. 18. 



862 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. CHAr.xxvm. 

V. 

2 God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins ; and is able to bear 
with the ignorant 1 and erring, being himself also encompassed with 

3 infirmity. And by reason thereof, he is bound, as for the people, 2 so also 

4 for himself, to make offering for sins. And no man taketh this honor on 

5 himself, but he that is 3 called by God, as was Aaron. So also Christ 
glorified not Himself, to be made a High Priest ; but He that said unto 

6 Him, " CIjcu art mg Stan, t0-trag jmbt Jf bxgoite %£♦" 4 As He 
saith also in another place, " Cjwxt art a l§xu$i faxtbix after % axfttx 

7 0f Illtkljht&tC." 5 Who in the days of His flesh offered up prayers 
and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that could save 

8 Him from death, and was heard because He feared God ; 6 and though He 

9 was a Son, yet learned He obedience 7 by suffering. And when His con- 
secration 8 was accomplished, He became the author of eternal salvation 

10 to all them that obey Him ; having been named by God a High Priest 

" afte % 0ruxr 0f ^tkfy&tbtz" 

11 Of whom I have many things to say, and hard of interpreta- The readers 

12 tion, since ye have grown 9 dull in understanding. 10 For when decune^n* 
ye ought, after so long a time, 11 to be teachers, ye need again Standing", 
to be taught yourselves what 12 are the first principles, of the oracles of 

13 God ; and ye have come to need milk, instead of meat. 13 For every one 
that feeds on milk is ignorant of the doctrine of righteousness, for he is 

14 a babe ; but meat is for men full grown, who, through habit, have their 
vi. 1 senses exercised to know good from evil. Therefore let me leave 14 the 

1 The sin-offerings were mostly for sins of 9 " Have grown," implying that they had 
ignorance. See Levit. chap. v. declined from a more advanced state of Chris- 

2 See Levit. chap. iv. and chap. ix. tian attainment. 

3 If (with the best MSS.) we omit the 10 Literally, "in their hearing." Compare 
article, the translation will be, "but when called Acts xvii. 20, and Matt. xiii. 15. 

by God," which does not alter the sense. n Literally, because of the time, viz. the length 

4 Ps. ii. 7 (LXX.). of time elapsed since your conversion. See 
6 Ps. ex. 4 (LXX.). the preceding introductory remarks, p. 850. 

6 " Fear " hear means the fear of God. 12 We accentuate with Griesbach, Tischen- 
Compare " God-fearing men," Acts ii. 5. The dorf, &c. 

sentiment corresponds remarkably with that 13 The adjective does not mean "strong" 

of chap. xii. 5-11. (A. V.), but solid, opposed to liquid. We use 

7 There is a junction here of words of meat for solid food in general. 

similar sound and parallel meaning, with u The 1st person plural here, as at v. 11, 

which the readers of iEschylus and Herodo- vi. 3, vi. 9, vi. 11, is used by the writer; it is 

tus are familiar. SeeiEsch. Agam. and Herod. translated by the 1st person singular in Eng- 

i. 207. lish, according to the principle laid down, p. 

8 Compare ii. 10, and the note there. 341, note 3. 



CHAP.xxvm. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 863 

vL 
rudiments of the doctrine of Christ, and go on to its maturity ; not lay- 
ing again the foundation, — of Repentance from dead works, 1 and Faith 
towards God; — Baptism, 2 Instruction, 3 and Laying-on of hands; 4 — 2 
and Resurrection of the dead, and Judgment everlasting, 
warned of the And this I will do 5 if God permit. For it is impossible 6 3, 

danger of 

apostasy, again to renew unto repentance those who have been once 
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and been made par- 
takers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of 5 
God, 7 and the powers of the world to come, 8 and afterwards have fallen 6 
away ; seeing they 9 crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put 
Him to an open shame. For the earth, when it hath drunk in the rain 7 
that falleth oft upon it, if it bear herbs profitable to those for whom it is 
tilled, partaketh of God's blessing ; but if it bear thorns and thistles, it 8 
is counted worthless, and is nigh unto cursing, and its end is to be 
of the1r ainde<i burned. But, beloved, I am persuaded better things of you, 9 
perseverance, and things that accompany salvation, though I thus speak. 
For God is not unrighteous to forget your labor, and the love 10 which ye 10 
have shown to His name, in the services ye have rendered and still ren- 
der 11 to the saints. But I desire earnestly that every one of you might 11 

1 Dead works here may mean either sinful in such a case. Of course, no limit is placed 
works (cf. Eph. ii. 1, "dead in sins"), or on the Divine power. Even in the passage, x. 
legal works ; but the former meaning seems to 26-31 (which is much stronger than the pres- 
correspond better with the "repentance" here, ent passage), it is not said that such apostates 
and with ix. 14. are never brought to repentance, but only 

2 We take the punctuation sanctioned by that it cannot be expected they ever should be. 
Chrysostom. Both passages were much appealed to by the 

8 This was the Catechetical Instruction, Novatians, and some have thought that this 

which, in the Apostolic age, followed baptism, was the cause which so long prevented the 

as we have already mentioned, p. 383. Latin Church from receiving this Epistle into 

4 This is mentioned as following baptism, the Canon. 
Acts viii. 17-19, xix. 6, and other places. 7 i.e. have experienced the fulfilment of 

6 Or, let me do, if we read with the best God's promises. 
MSS. 8 The powers of the world to come appear to 

6 A reason is here given by the writer denote the miraculous operations of the spirit- 
why he will not attempt to teach his readers ual gifts. They properly belonged to the 
the rudiments of Christianity over again ; " world to come." 

namely, that it is useless to attempt, by the 9 These apostates to Judaism crucified 

repetition of such instruction, to recall those Christ afresh, inasmuch as they virtually gave 

who have renounced Christianity to repent- their approbation to His crucifixion by join- 

ance. The impossibility which he speaks of ing His crucifiers. 

has reference (it should be observed) only to 10 "Labor" is omitted in the best MSS. 

human agents; it is only said that all hu:nan u Compare x. 32, and the remarks, p. 850. 

means of acting on the heart have been exhausted For " saints," see note on 1 Cor. i. 2. 



864 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxvtii. 

vi. 

show the same zeal, to secure the full possession l of your hope unto the 

12 end ; that ye be not slothful, but follow the example of them who through 

13 faith and steadfastness inherit the promises. For God when He made 
promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, sware by 

14 Himself, saying, " ©mlg, blearing Jf foill him %*, antr mxtliipljr- 

15 mg Jf foil{ multiply tljte;" 2 and so, having steadfastly endured, 3 he 

16 obtained the promise. For men, indeed, swear by the greater; and 
their oath establisheth 4 their word, so that they cannot gainsay it. 

17 Wherefore God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of the 
promise the immutability of His counsel, set an oath between himself 

18 and them; 5 that by two immutable things, wherein it is impossible for 
God to lie, we that have fled [to Him] for refuge might have a strong 

19 encouragement 6 to hold fast the hope set before us. Which Lope we 
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and entering 

20 within the veil ; whither Jesus, our forerunner, is for us entered, being 

made " u ^x%\ l^xmi foxtbtx after % oxbtx of gbWjisAK." Y 

vii. 1 For this Melchisedec, 8 " kilter of Salem," 9 " mu%{ 0f iht T^ei'riest- 

r , r q v * ° hood of Chris! 

ttT0SI ylgg @0u, who met Abraham returning from the fijjSgJi* 

2 slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abra- JhSedecfis" 

.. . . r . ~ ** ,t distinguished 

ham gave K terulj part 01 Ulk 19 — who is first, by inter- ^ a } h p e n ^ 
pretation, King of Righteousness, 11 and, secondly, king of ete°rnai y dura- 

3 Salem, 12 which is King of Peace •—- without father, without ca°cy an 
mother, without table of descent 13 — having H neither beginning of days 

1 Such appears the meaning of the word Heb. xii. 5, and xiii. 22; also Heb. iv. 14) 
here. The English word satisfaction, in its than the A. V. 

different uses, bears a close analogy to it. 7 Ps. ex. 4, quoted above, verse 6 and verse 

2 Gen. xxii. 17 (LXX., except that " thee" 10, and three times in the next chapter. 

is put for " thy seed "). 8 The following passage cannot be rightly 

3 Abraham's " steadfast endurance " was understood, unless we bear in mind through- 
shown just before he obtained this promise, in out that Melchisedec is here spoken of, not as 
the offering up of Isaac. an historical personage, but as a type of Christ. 

4 Literally, their oath is to them an end of all 9 Gen. xiv. 18 (LXX.). 
gainsaying, unto establishment [of their word.] 10 Gen. xiv. 20 (LXX.). 

6 The verb means to interpose between two ll This is the translation of his Hebrew 
parties. Bleek gives instances of its use, both name. 12 Salem in Hebrew means peace. 
transitively and intransitively. The literal 13 " Without table of descent." This ex- 
English of the whole phrase is, He interposed plains the two preceding words ; the mtan- 
with an oath between the two parties. The " two ing is, that the priesthood of Melchisedec was 
immutable things " are God's promise and His not, like the Levitical priesthood, dependent 
oath. on his descent, through his parents, from a par- 

6 This construction of the words seems to ticular family, but was a personal office. 

agree better with the ordinary meaning (see 14 Here, as in the previous " without father " 



CHAP.xxvm. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 865 

vii. 

nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God — remaineth a priest 
forever. 

Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham the 4 
patriarch gave a tenth of the choicest l spoil. And truly those among 5 
the sons of Levi who receive the office of the priesthood have a com- 
mandment to take tithes according to the Law from the People, that is, 
from their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. 
But he, whose descent is not counted from them, taketh tithes from 6 
Abraham, and blesseth 2 the possessor of the promises. Now without all 7 
contradiction, the less is blessed by the greater. 3 And here, tithes are 8 
received by men that die ; but there, by him of whom it is testified 4 that 9 
he liveth. And Levi also, the receiver of tithes, hath paid tithes (so to 
speak) by 5 Abraham ; for he was yet in the loins of his father when Mel- 10 
chisedec met him. 

Now if all things 6 were perfected by the Levitical priesthood (since 11 
under it 7 the people hath received the Law), 8 what further need was 
there that another priest should rise " V&ZX % GXfttX 0f |$tok{jt$£b£C," 
and not be called " after the order of Aaron " ? For the priesthood 12 
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the Law. 9 
For He 10 of whom these things are spoken belongeth to another tribe, of 13 
which no man giveth attendance n at the altar ; it being evident that our 14 
Lord hath arisen 12 out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing con- 
cerning priesthood. And this is far more evident when 13 another priest 15 
ariseth after the likeness of Melchisedec ; who is made not under the law 16 
of a carnal commandment, but with the power of an imperishable life ; 
for it is testified 14 of Him, " CJJ0U mt U $XUHt g®§&§€§ after 17 

and " without mother," the silence of Scripture to bring a thing to the fulness of its designed devel- 

is interpreted allegorically. Scripture mentions opment. Compare vii. 19, and note on ii. 10. 
neither the father nor mother, neither the birth 7 Under its conditions and ordinances. Com- 

nor death, of Melchisedec. pare viii. 6. 

1 Such is the sense of the word used here. 8 Such is the tense according to the read- 

2 The verbs are present-perfect. ing of the best MSS. 

3 The same word as in i. 4. 9 The word used (as often) without the ar- 

4 Viz. testified in Ps. ex. 4. " Thou art tide for the law. Cf. note on Rom. iii. 20. 

a priest forever." w Viz. the Messiah, predicted in Ps. ex. 4. 

s "By," not "in" (A. V.). 11 The verbs are present-perfect. 

6 The term here used, a word of very fre- 12 Hath arisen. Compare the passage )f 
quent occurrence and great significance in this Isaiah quoted Matt. iv. 16. 

Epistle, is not fully represented by the English 13 If, here meaning if as is the case, 

"perfection." The corresponding verb denotes, * 4 The best MSS. have the passive. 
55 



866 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAT7L. coAP.xxvm. 

vii. 

18 ijre OxbtX 0f ^dfyi&iiiy:" On the one hand, 1 an old commandment is 

19 annulled, because it was weak and profitless (for the Law perfected 2 
nothing) ; and on the other hand, a better hope is brought in, whereby 
we draw near unto God. 

20 And inasmuch as this Priesthood hath the confirmation of an oath — 

21 (for those priests are made without an oath, but He with an oath, by 

22 Him that said unto Him, " Cjje Ifatft Star*, attfr foill ttof Xt$tT&, %\q\JL 
Uti U JJTOSi foXtbtX ") 3 — insomuch Jesus is 4 surety of a better covenant. 

23 And they, indeed, are 5 many priests [one succeeding to another's 

24 office], because death hindereth their continuance. But He, because He 

25 remaineth forever, hath no successor in His priesthood. 6 Wherefore abo 
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, 
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. 

26 For such a High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, 

27 separate 7 from sinners, and ascended above the heavens. Who needeth 
not daily, 8 as those High Priests, 9 to offer up sacrifice, first for His own 
sins, and then for the People's ; for this He did once, when He offered up 

28 Himself. For the Law maketh men High Priests, who have infirmity ; 
but the word of the oath which was since the Law, 10 maketh the Son, who 
is consecrated n forevermore. 

1 The particles in the Greek express this xxx. 7-10.) We ranst either suppose (with 
contrast. The overlooking of this caused the Tholuck) that it is used for perpetually, i. e. 
error in the A. V. year after year ; or we must suppose a r«& 

2 Compare note on verse 11. erence to the High Priest as taking part in the 

3 In this quotation (again repeated) from occasional sacrifices made by all the Priests, 
Ps. ex. 4, the words "after the order of Mel- for sins of ignorance (Levit. iv.J ; or we must 
chisedec " are not found here in the best MSS. suppose that the regular acts of the Priesthood 

4 Not "was made" (A. V.), but has become are attributed to the High Priests, as represen- 
or is. tatives and heads of the whole order ; or, final- 

5 Are, or have become, not "were" (A. V.) ; ly, we must take "High Priests," as at Matt, 
an important mistranslation, as the present tense ii. 4, Acts v. 24, and other places, for the heads 
shows that the Levitical priesthood was still of the twenty-four classes into which the Priests 
enduring while this Epistle was Written. were divided, who officiated in turn. This lat- 

6 Not passing on to another. ter view is perhaps the most natural. The 

7 This seems to refer to the separation Priests sacrificed a lamb every morning and 
from all contact with the unclean, which was evening, and offered an offering of flour, and 
required of the high priest; who (according to wine besides. Philo regards the lambs as of- 
the Talmud) abstained from intercourse even fered by the Priests for the people, and the flour 
with his own family, for seven days before the for themselves. He also says the High Priest 
day of Atonement. offered prayers and sacrifices every day. 

8 This "daily" has occasioned much per- 9 Literally, the [ordinary] High Priests. 
plexity, for the High Priest only offered the 10 Viz., the oath in Ps. ex. 4, so often referred 
sin-offerings here referred to once a year, on to in this Epistle. 

the day of Atonement. (Levit. xvi. and Exod. u Compare ii. 10. 



chap, xxvra. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 867 

viii. 
The Mosaic Now this is the sum of our words. 1 We have such a High 1 

Temple! Me- S Priest, who hath sat down on the right hand of the throne of 

rarchy, and 

an C im C IKt as ^ ie Majesty m the heavens ; a minister of the sanctuary, 2 and 2 
better^ove- e of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 

nant, and the 

availing atone- For every High Priest is ordained 3 to offer gifts and sacrifices ; 3 
Christ. wherefore this High Priest also must have somewhat 4 to offer. 

Now 5 if He were on earth, He would not be a Priest at all, 6 since the 4 
Priests are they that make the offerings according to the Law; 7 who 5 
minister to that which is a figure 8 and shadow of heavenly things, as 
Moses is admonished 9 by God, when he is about to make the tabernacle ; 

for " S>n f ,f saith He, " tljat tJKM make all tljmp VLttaxbing to % 

paitent SJjokeir %£ ilt % mount/' 10 But now He hath obtained a 6 
higher ministry, by so much as He is the mediator 11 of a better covenant, 
which is enacted 12 under better promises. 

For if that first covenant were faultless, no place would be sought 13 for 7 
a second ; whereas He findeth fault, 14 and saith unto them, " ^rJjoItr, tlie 8 

l&atrs tome, saitfr ibt ITortr, bfym Jf farll aaomplblj 15 for tfje jjouse 
of Israel antr for % \mu of Jfubajr a mixr tobtttattt. pot aaortr- 9 
incj to i\t roiwtant io jjiclr Jf gabt 16 unto %ir fafjjers, in tjje bag 
foljm JJ took tjiem Irjr % j)anir to ieatr %m oat of % lantr of 
%gpt ; hnwask t\m rontinweb not in mg rofcrmant, antr Jf also 
tunxtfcr mg fate from %m, saitjr % i^ortr, Jfor tlris m % tab*- 10 

1 Literally, the things which are being spoken. 13 Here A. V. is not quite correct. 

2 Sanctuary. Compare ix. 12, Holy Place, 14 " Findeth fault " refers to the preceding 
where the Greek word is the same. " faultless." The pronoun should be joined 

3 The same thing is said v. 1. with " saith." 

4 What the sacrifice was is not said here, 15 Here another verb is substituted for that 
but had been just before mentioned, vii. 27. found in the LXX. The preposition denotes 

6 Now (not for) is according to the reading " for," not " with " (A. V.). 
of the best MSS. 16 It must be remembered that the Greek 

6 "Not a Priest at all." The translation word does not (like the English covenant) 
in A. V. is hardly strong enough. imply reciprocity. It properly means a legal 

7 Our Lord, being of the tribe of Judah, disposition, and would perhaps be better trans- 
could not have been one of the Levitical Priest- lated dispensation here. A covenant between 
hood. So it was said before, vii. 14. two parties is expressed by a different term. 

8 Viz. the Temple ritual. The new dispensation is a gift from God rath- 

9 Compare Acts x. 22, and Heb. xi. 7. er than a covenant between God and man (see 

10 Exod. xxv. 40 (LXX.). Gal. iii. 15-20). Hence perhaps the other 

11 Moses was called by the Jews the Media- alteration of verb here, as well as that men- 
tor of the law. See Gal. iii. 19, and note. tioned in the preceding note. 

12 Compare vii. 11, not " was established" 
(A. V.), but hath been or is 



868 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



CHAP. XXVXU, 



Vlll. 



nan* foljitjj | foU£ make xxnia % \mu d Jf sral after %s* imp, 
gaiffj % ijartr : | totll gibs 1 mg latos nnia %ir mini}, antr forife 
%m npan %ir fr*ar;te ; anb | farill hz io %m a #0&, anir 

11 %g sjjall hz fa me a powple. %nb %n sfjall not iearjj jeferg 
man Ijis nwjgfffo&r 2 antr tog man {ns fratljcr, sagmg, pnota % 
l^orb; far all gljail knobs me, foam % least rate % gnaiesi 

12 Jfar I foill to mmiful ia \\zxx nnrirjjjtousnr^s, anb %ir sins antr 

13 %ir inrqnifus brill Jf r*m*mlier no mor*/' 5 In that He saith 

44 % ntto XXj&enant," He hath made the first old ; and that which is old 4 
and stricken in years is ready to vanish away. 

Now the first covenant also had ordinances of worship, and its Holy 
Place was in this world. 5 For a tabernacle was made [in two portions] ; the 
first (wherein was the candlestick, 6 and the table, 7 and the showbread),s 
which is called the 9 sanctuary ; and, behind the second veil, the taber- 
nacle called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense, 10 and 
the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, 11 wherein 12 was the 



ix. 1 

2 

3 
4 



1 "Give," not "put" (A. V.). 

2 The best MSS. read citizen instead of 
neighbor, which does not, however, alter the 
sense. 

3 Jer. xxxi. 31-34 (LXX. with the above- 
mentioned variations). 

4 The first refers to time (growing out of 
date), the second to the weakness of old age. 

5 " The sanctuary," not " A sanctuary " 
(A. V.) ; and observe the order of the words, 
showing that " in this world " is the predicate. 

6 Exod. xxv. 31, and xxxvii. 17. 

7 Exod. xxv. 23, and xxxvii. 10. 

8 Exod. xxv. 30, and Levit. xxiv. 5. 

9 See the note on ix. 24. 

10 "Altar of incense." This has given 
rise to much perplexity. According to Exod. 
xxx. 6, the Incense altar was not in the Holy 
of Holies, but on the outer side of the veil 
which separated the Holy of Holies from the 
rest of the Tabernacle. Several methods of 
evading the difficulty have been suggested ; 
amongst others, to translate the word by censer, 
and understand it of the censer which the High 
Priest brought into the Holy of Holies once a 
ye*ar; but this was not kept in the Holy of 
Holies. Moreover, the term is used for the 
Incense-altar by Philo and Josephus. The 



best explanation of the discrepancy is to con- 
sider that the Incense altar, though not with- 
in the Holy of Holies, was closely connected 
therewith, and was sprinkled on the day of 
Atonement with the same blood with which the 
High Priest made atonement in the Holy of 
Holies. See Exod. xxx. 6-10, and Levit. xvi. 
11, &c. n Exod. xxv. 11. 

12 Here we have another difficulty ; for the 
pot of manna and Aaron's rod were not kept 
in the Ark in Solomon's time, when it con- 
tained nothing but the tables of the Law. See 
1 Kings viii. 9, 2 Chron. v. 10. It is, however, 
probable that these were originally kept in the 
Ark. Compare Exod. xvi. 33, and Numbers 
xvii. 10, where they are directed to be laid up 
" before the Lord," and " before the testimony " 
[i. e. the tables of the Law], which indicates, at 
least, a close juxtaposition to the Ark. More 
generally, we should observe that the intention 
of the present passage is not to give us a mi- 
nute and accurate description of the furniture of 
the Tabernacle, but to allude to it rhetorically : 
the only point insisted upon in the application 
of the description (see verse 8) is the symboli- 
cal character of the Holy of Holies. Hence the 
extreme anxiety of commentators to explain 
away every minute inaccuracy is superfluous. 



CHAP. XXV1H. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



869 



IX. 



golden pot x that had the manna, and Aaron's rod 2 that budded, and the 
tables 3 of the covenant ; and over it the cherubims 4 of glory shadowing 5 
the Mercy-seat. 5 Whereof we cannot now speak particularly. Now 6 
these things being thus ordered, unto the first tabernacle the priests go 6 
in continually, accomplishing the offices 7 of their worship. But into the 7 
second goeth the High Priest alone, once a year, not without blood, which 
he offereth for himself and for the errors 8 of the people. Whereby the 8 
Holy Spirit signifieth that the way into the Holy Place is not yet made 
fully manifest, 9 while still the outer 10 tabernacle standeth. But it is a 9 
figure for the present time, 11 under 12 which gifts and sacrifices are offered 
that cannot perfect the purpose of the worshipper, according to the con- 
science ; 13 being carnal ordinances, commanding meats and drinks, and 10 
diverse washings, imposed until a time of reformation. 14 



1 Exod. xvi. 32, &c. 

2 Num. xvii. 10. 

3 Exod. xxv. 16. * Exod. xxv. 18. 

5 Exod. xxv. 17. This is the word used in 
the LXX. for Mercy-seat. 

6 The writer of the Epistle here appears to 
speak as if the Tabernacle were still standing. 
Commentators have here again found or made 
a difficulty, because the Temple of Herod was 
in many respects different from the Tabernacle, 
and especially because its Holy of Holies did 
not contain either the Ark, the Tables of the 
Law, the Cherubim, or the Mercy-seat (all of 
which had been burnt by Nebuchadnezzar with 
Solomon's Temple), but was empty. See 
above, p. 632. Of course, however, there was 
no danger that the original readers of this 
Epistle should imagine that its writer spoke of 
the Tabernacle as still standing, or that he was 
ignorant of the loss of its most precious con- 
tents. Manifestly he is speaking of the sanc- 
tuary of the First Covenant (see ix. 1) as origi- 
nally designed. And he goes on to speak of the 
existing Temple-worship as the continuation 
of the Tabernacle-worship, which, in all essen- 
tial points, it was. The translators of the Au- 
thorized Version (perhaps in consequence of this 
difficulty) have mistranslated many verbs in the 
following passage, which are in the present tense, 
as though they were in the past tense. Thus 
we have "went," "offered," " ivere offered," 
" they offered " (x. 1 ), &c. The English read- 
er is thus led to suppose that the Epistle was 
written after the cessation of the Temple-wor- 
ship. "* Plural, not singular, as in A. V. 



8 " Errors." Compare v. 2, and the note. 

9 On the mistranslation in A. V. see note 6 
on this page. It may be asked, How could it be 
said, after Christ's ascension, that the way into 
the Holy place was not made fully manifest ? The 
explanation is, that while the Temple-worship, 
with its exclusion of all but the High Priest 
from the Holy of Holies, still existed, the way 
of salvation would not be fully manifest to 
those who adhered to the outward and typical 
observances, instead of being thereby led to 
the Antitype. 

10 i. e. while the inner is separate from the 
outer tabernacle. That " first " has this mean- 
ing here is evident from ix. 2. 

11 The A. V. here interpolates "then" in 
order to make this correspond with the mis- 
translated tenses already referred to. 

12 According to which figure. This follows 
the reading of the best MSS., and adopted by 
Griesbach, Lachmann, and Tischendorf's l&J 
edition ; it suits the preposition better than 
the other reading, to which Tischendorf has 
returned in his 2d edition. 

13 p er f e ct the worshipper, according to the con- 
science. This is explained, x. 2, as equivalent 
to " the worshippers, once purified, would have 
had no more conscience of sin." The meaning 
here is to bring him to the accomplishment of the 
end of his ivorship, viz. remission of sins. Ic ia 
not adequately represented by to make perfect, 
as we have before remarked; to consummate 
would be again the best translation, if it were 
less unusual. 

14 The reading of this verse is very doubtful. 



870 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap. xxvm, 

ix. 

11 But when Christ appeared, as High Priest of the good things to come, 

He passed through the greater and more perfect tabernacle 1 not made 

12 with hands (that is, not of man's building), 2 and entered, not by the 
blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, once for all, into the 

13 Holy Place, having obtained an everlasting redemption. 3 For if the blood 
of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer 4 sprinkling the unclean, 

14 sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the 
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without 
spot to God, purify our 5 conscience from dead works, that we may 
worship the living God ! 

15 And for this cause He is the mediator of a new testament ; that, when 
death had 6 made redemption for the transgressions under the first testa- 
ment, 7 they that are called might receive the promise of the eternal 

16 inheritance. For where a testament is, the death of the testator must be 

17 declared ; 8 because a testament is made valid by death, for it hath no 
force at all during the lifetime of the testator. 

18 Wherefore 9 the first testament also hath its dedication 10 not without 

19 blood. For when Moses had spoken to all the people every precept 

Teschendorf in his 2d edition returns to the translating- testament in this passage. The at- 

reading of the T. R,., which is also defended tempts which have heen made to avoid this 

by De Wette. But Griesbach and Lachmann meaning are irreconcilable with any natural 

adopt the other reading, which is followed in explanation of testator. The simple and obvi- 

our translation. The construction is literally, ous translation should not be departed from 

imposed with conditions of meats, Sfc, until a time in order to avoid a difficulty; and the diffi- 

of reformation. culty vanishes when we consider the rhetorical 

1 This greater tabernacle is the visible heav- character of the Epistle. The statement in 
ens, which are here regarded as the outer this verse is not meant as a logical argument, 
sanctuary. but as a rhetorical illustration, which is sug- 

2 Literally, this building. This parenthesis gested to the writer by the ambiguity of the 
has very much the appearance of having been word for " testament " or "covenant." 
originally a marginal gloss upon the preced- 8 Declared is omitted in A. V. The legal 
ing phrase. maxim is the same as that of English Law, 

3 There is nothing in the Greek correspond- Nemo est hares viventis. 

ing to the words "for us" (A. V.). 9 This "wherefore" does not refer to the 

4 The uncleanness contracted by touching preceding illustration concerning the death of 
a corpse was purified by sprinkling the un- the testator, but to the reasoning from which 
clean person with the water of sprinkling, which that was only a momentary digression. Corn- 
was made with the ashes of a red heifer. See pare verse 18 with verses 12-14. 

Numbers xix. (LXX.) 10 The verb means to dedicate in the sense 

5 "Our" (not "your") is the reading of of to inaugurate; cf. Heb. x. 20; so the feast 
the best MS S. commemorating the opening or inauguration of 

6 Literally, after death had occurred for the the Temple by Judas Maccabasus (after its 
redemption of, &c. The words must be thus pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes) was called 
taken together. " the dedication" (John x. 22.) 

? The Authorized Version is correct In 



CHAP. XXVIII. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



871 



according to the Law, he took ! the blood of the calves and goats, with 
water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself 2 
and all the people, saying, " C{?IS W % hlacfo of % tefatttetlt fojjixjr 20 
<§0ir fjatlj mjtfmeir nnia pit/' 3 Moreover he sprinkled with blood the 21 
tabernacle 4 also, and all the vessels of the ministry, in like manner. And 22 
according to the Law, almost all things are purified with blood, and with- 
out shedding of blood is no remission. It was, therefore, necessary that 23 
the patterns of heavenly things should thus be purified, but the heavenly 
things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ entered 24 
not into the sanctuary 5 made with hands, which is a figure of the true, 
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor 25 
yet that He should offer Himself often, as the High Priest entereth the 
sanctuary every year with blood of others ; for then must He often have 26 
suffered since the foundation of the world : but now once, in the end 6 of 
the ages, hath He appeared, 7 to do away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 8 
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, 27 
so Christ was once offered " 10 hmt fyt BXV18 ttf mattg/' 9 and unto 28 
them that look for Him shall He appear a second time, without sin, 10 
unto salvation. 

For the Law, having a shadow of the n good things to come, and not the x 1 
very image of the reality, 12 by the unchanging sacrifices which year by 2 
year they offer continually 13 can never perfect 14 the purpose of the offer- 



1 See Exod. xxiv. 3-8. The sacrifice of 
goats (besides the cattle) and the sprinkling 
of the book are not in the Mosaic account. It 
should be remembered that the Old Testa- 
ment is usually referred to memoriter by the 
writers of the New Testament. Moreover, 
the advocates of verbal inspiration would be 
justified in maintaining that these circumstan- 
ces actually occurred, though they are not 
mentioned in the books of Moses. See, how- 
ever, p. 199, note 2. 

2 Itself is omitted in A. V. 

8 Exod. xxiv. 8 (LXX., but with a change 
of verb). 

4 Apparently referring to Levit. viii., verses 
19, 24, and 30. 

5 Not " the holy places " (A. V.), but the holy 
place or sanctuary. Compare viii. 2, ix. 2, ix. 
25, xiii. 11. It is without the article here, as 
is often the case with words similarly used. 



6 " The end of the ages " means the termi- 
nation of the period preceding Christ's com- 
ing. It is a phrase frequent in St. Matthew, 
with " age," instead of " ages," but not occur- 
ring elsewhere. The A. V. translates two 
different terms here by the same word, 
"world." 

7 Literally, He hath been made manifest to the 
sight of men. 

8 The A. V. is retained here, being justi- 
fied by offered Himself, verse 14. 

9 Isaiah liii. 12 (LXX.), He bare the sins of 
many. 

10 Tholuck compares separate from sinners 
(vii. 26). The thought is the same as Rom. 
vi. 10. 

11 The definite article is omitted in A. V 

12 The real things. 

18 The same is omitted in A. V. 

14 Compare ix. 9, and note. The " perfec- 



872 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxvui. 



X. 



ers. 1 For then would they not have ceased to be offered ? because the 
worshippers, once purified, would have had no more conscience of sins. 

3 But in these sacrifices there is a remembrance of sins made every year. 

4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away 

5 sins. Wherefore, when He cometh into the world, He saith, " Sacrifice 

antr offering ijxon fooultrest not t but a boirg Ijast tljon prepared me. 2 

6 <f n burnt-offerings antr sacrifices for sin ijxon jjast Ijair no plcas- 

7 mt. ®Ijen saiir $, %o, $ rome (in % frolume of tfje frooh if is 

8 toritfen of me) fo fro tljJT foill, & <§0b." 3 When He had said before, 

u Sacrifice antr offering anir burnt -offerings anir sacrifices for sin 
f Ijon toonliresf not, neifljer {ratrst pleasure fljerein " (which are offered 

9 under the law), " Cljeu ' (saith 4 He), " §jj, $ rome to ^0 % foill, 
® (Soft/' He taketh away the first, 5 that He may establish the second. 

10 And in 6 that " foill " we are sanctified, by the offering of the u bofrg " 
of Jesus Christ, once for all. 

11 And every priest 8 standeth daily ministering, and offering oftentimes 

12 the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But HE, after He 
had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of 

13 God ; from henceforth expecting " till Ijis enemies be matre Ijis foof- 

14 stool/' 9 For by one offering He hath perfected 10 forever the purification 

15 of them whom He sanctifieth. Whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness 

16 to us. For after He had said before, " Cljis is % cobtuauf tljat Jf 

tion " of the worshippers was entitle purification 6 In the will of God, Christians are already 
from sin : this they could not attain under the sanctified as well as justified, and even glorified 
Law, as was manifest by the perpetual itera- (see Rom. viii. 30); i. e. God wills their sanc- 
tion of the self-same sacrifices required of them. tification, and has done His part to insure it. 

1 Literally, those who come to offer. 7 "Body," alluding to the "body hast thou 

2 In the Hebrew original the words are, prepared me " of the above quotation. 

" thou hast opened [or pierced] my ears." The 8 The MSS. are divided between "priest" 

LXX. (which is here -quoted) translates this and "high priest ;" if the latter reading be 

" a body hast thou prepared me." Perhaps the correct, the same explanation must be given 

reading of the Hebrew may formerly have as in the note on vii. 27. 

been different from what it now is; or per- 9 Ps. ex. 1 (LXX.), quoted above, i. 13. 

haps the body may have been an error for ear, (See note there.) 

which is the reading of some MSS. 10 Literally, He hath consummated them that 

3 Ps. xl. 6-8 (LXX. with some slight varia- are being sanctified. The verb to perfect does 
tions). not, by itself, represent the original word. 

4 Not u said He" (A. V.), but He hath See notes on x. 1, ix. 10, and ii. 10. We 
said, or saith He. should also observe, that " being sanctified " is 

5 The first, viz. the sacrifices; the second, not equivalent to "having been sanctified." 
viz. the will of God. 



chap, xxvin. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



873 



foil! mnh foxtlj %m afte ilpsz tmgs, Bait^ % Ijjrir : $ toill gifa 
mj7 |£au>s up0rx %rr \mxt%, antr torifo %m upoix %ir miniis/' 1 
He saith also, " Cjttir sins aittr %ir iniquities toill J mixembxr tta 17 



ttUTtfc." Now, where remission of these is, there is no more offering for 18 



sm. 

Renewed 
warning 
against apos- 
tasy, 



Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter the holy place 19 
through the blood of Jesus, 3 by a new and living way which 20 
He hath opened 4 for us, through the veil (that is to say, His flesh), 5 
and having a High Priest 6 over the house of God, let us draw near 21,22 
with a true heart, in full assurance of faith ; as our hearts have been 
44 Sftnttkllfr " 7 from the stain of an evil conscience, and our bodies have 
been washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our 23 
hope, 8 without wavering ; for faithful is He that gave the promise. And 24 
let us consider the example 9 one of another, that we may be provoked 
unto love and to good works. Let us not forsake the assembling 10 of 25 
ourselves together, as the custom of some is, but let us exhort one 
another ; and so much the more, as ye see The Day approaching. 11 For 26 
if we sin wilfully, 12 after we have received the knowledge 13 of the truth, 



1 Jer. xxxi. 34 (LXX.). The part of the 
quotation here omitted is given above, viii. 
10-12. It appears, from the slight variations 
between the present quotation and the quota- 
tion of the same passage in chap, viii., that 
the writer is quoting from memory. 

2 Jer. xxxi. 34 (LXX.), being the conclu- 
sion of the passage quoted before, viii. 12. 
The omission of " He saith " with the " and" 
which joins the two detached portions of the 
quotation, though abrupt, is not unexampled; 
compare 1 Tim. v. 18. 

3 Compare ix. 25. 

4 See note on ix. 18 

5 The meaning of this is, that the flesh (or 
manhood) of Christ was a veil which hid His 
true nature ; this veil He rent when He gave 
up His body to death ; and through His incar- 
nation, thus revealed under its true aspect, we 
must pass, if we would enter into the presence 
of God. We can have no real knowledge of 
God but through His incarnation. 

6 Literally, "Great Priest." The same 
expression is used for High Priest by Philo 
and LXX. 

7 " Sprinkled" (alluding to ix. 13 and 21), 



viz. with, the blood of Christ; compare "blood 
of sprinkling," xii. 24. Observe the force of 
the perfect participle in this and " washed ; " 
both referring to accomplished facts. See x. 2. 

8 " Hope," not "faith." (A. V.) 

9 This is Chrysostom's interpretation, which 
agrees with the use of the verb, iii. 1 . 

10 It was very natural that the more timid 
members of the Church should shrink from 
frequenting the assembly of the congregation 
for worship, in a time of persecution. 

11 " The Day " of Christ's coming was seen 
approaching at this time by the threatening 
prelude of the great Jewish war, wherein He 
came to judge that nation. 

12 " Wilfully." This is opposed to the " if 
a man sin not wilfully " (Levit. iv. 2, LXX.), 
the involuntary sins for which provision was 
made under the Law. The particular sin 
here spoken of is that of apostasy from the 
Christian faith, to which these Hebrew Chris- 
tians were particularly tempted. Sec the 
whole of this passage from x. 26 to xii. 29. 

13 " Knowledge." Compare Rom. x. 2, 
Phil. i. 9, &c. 



874 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE 3T. PAUL. 



CHAP. xxvm. 



27 there remaiiieth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking- 
for of judgment, and " u toraijjfal fir* ifjai ajmll btbavix % atrtrer- 

28 sarins/' 1 He that hath despised the Law of Moses dieth 2 without 

29 mercy, upon the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much 
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath 
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the 
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done 

30 despite unto the Spirit of Grace ? For we know Him that hath said, 

" Bm^mntt is mxm, $ toill ripag; saitjj % $jarir ; " 3 and again, 

31 "&Ijj> fortr s{jraH jutrg* gig pC0pk" 4 It is a fearful thing to fall 
into the hands of the living God. 5 

32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after and exhorta- 

tion not to let 

ye were illuminated, ye endured 6 a great fight of afflictions; f ^ e ^ e b con * 

33 for not only were ye made a gazing-stock by reproaches and fear ' 
tribulations, but ye took part also in the sufferings of others who bore 

34 the like. For ye showed compassion to the prisoners, 7 and took joyfully 
the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have 8 in heaven a better and 
an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which 



35 



1 Is. xxvi. 11. Quoted generally from 
the LXX. Those who look for this quotation 
in A. V. will be disappointed ; for the A. V., 
the Hebrew, and the LXX., all differ. 

2 The present, translated as past in A. V. 
The reference is to Deut. xvii. 2-7, which pre- 
scribes that an idolater should be put to death 
on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 
The Avriter of the Epistle does not mean that 
idolatry was actually thus punished at the time 
he wrote (for though the Sanhedrin was al- 
lowed to judge charges of a religious nature, 
they could not inflict death without permis- 
sion of the Roman Procurator, which would 
probably have been refused, except under very 
peculiar circumstances, to an enforcement of 
this part of the Law) ; but he speaks of the 
punishment pi-escribed by the Law. 

3 Deut. xxxii. 35. This quotation is not 
exactly according to LXX. or Hebrew, but is 
exactly in the words in which it is quoted by 
St. Paul, Rom. xii. 19. 

4 Deut. xxxii. 36 (LXX.). 

5 The preceding passage (from verse 26), 
and the similar passage, vi. 4-6, have proved 
perplexing to many readers ; and were such 



a stumbling-block to Luther, that they caused 
him even to deny the canonical authority of 
the Epistle. Yet neither passage asserts the 
impossibility of an apostate's repentance. What 
is said amounts to this — that for the conver- 
sion of a deliberate apostate, God has (accord- 
ing to the ordinary laws of His working) no 
further means in store than those which have 
been already tried in vain. It should be remem- 
bered, also, that the parties addressed are not 
those who had already apostatized, but those 
who were in danger of so doing, and who 
needed the most earnest warning. 

6 If this Epistle was addressed to the 
Church of Jerusalem, the afflictions referred 
to would be the persecutions of the Sanhedrin 
(when Stephen was killed), of Herod Agrippa 
(when James the Greater was put to death), 
and again the more recent outbreak of Ana- 
nus, when James the Less was slain. But see 
tke preceding remarks, p. 849. 

7 "The bondsmen" (not "my bonds") is 
the reading of all the best MSS. 

8 Not "knowing in yourselves" (A. V.). 
The reading of the best MSS. is, that ye have 
yourselves, or for yourselves, i. e. as your own. 



cba*. xxvin. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 875 

x. 

hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of steadfastness, 36 

that, after ye have done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. For 37 
yet a little while and "fU tjjaf tQXiltt^ S^all ht tOXWt, tttttr sljall not 

fans/' x Now " gg feitjj sfcall % risljt^us fifo ; " 2 and " $f fy 3 38 
irrato bark %0Wjlj fear, mo snitl {jailj no pleasur* in jnm." 4 But 39 

we are not men of fear unto perdition, hut of faith unto salvation. 5 

Faith defined Now faith is the substance 6 of things hoped for, the evidence xi. 1 

as that prin- 

en P abie3 h inen °^ tnm g s n °t seen. For therein the elders obtained a good re- 2 

to prefer , » 

things invisi- port. 
ble to things 

visible. By faith we understand that the universe 8 is framed 9 by 3 

the word of God, so that the world which we behold 10 springs not from 
things that can be seen, 
its operation By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice 4 

historically 

exemplified, than Cain, whereby he obtained testimony that he was right- 
eous, for God testified n unto his gifts ; and by it he being dead yet 
speaketh. 12 

By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death, and " fag 5 
foas not famtb, frtcaus* (Snfr ixunnfoitb Mm," 1S For before his trans- 
lation he had this testimony, that ** In tthUBtb (Stfil ; " 14 but without 6 
faith it is impossible to please Him ; for whosoever cometh unto God must 
have faith 15 that God is, and that He rewardeth them that diligently seek 
Him. 

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning things not seen as 7 

i Habak. ii. 3 (LXX.). Not fully translat- 8 " The worlds : " so i. 2. 

ed in A. V. 9 Observe that the tenses are perfects, not 

2 Habak. ii. 4 (LXX.), quoted also Rom. aorists. 

i. 17, and Gal. iii. 11. 10 The best MSS. have the participle in the 

3 The " any man " of A. V. is not in the singular. The doctrine negatived is that -which 
Greek. The Greek verb is exactly the English teaches that each successive condition of the 
flinch. universe is generated from a preceding condi- 

4 Habak. ii. 4 (LXX.). But this passage tion (as the plant from the seed) by a mere 
in the original precedes the last quotation, material development, which had no beginning 
which it here follows. in a Creator's will. 

6 Properly gaining of the soul, and thus equiv- u Gen. iv. 4. The Jewish tradition was, 

alent to salvation. that fire from heaven consumed Abel's offering. 

6 For the meaning of this word, see note on 12 This has been supposed (compare xii. 
iii. 14. 24) to refer to Gen. iv. 10, but it may be taken 

7 " Obtained a good report," cf. Acts vi. 3. more generally- 

This verse is explained by the remainder of 13 Gen. v. 24 (LXX.). 

the chapter. The faith of the Patriarchs was a 14 Ibid. 

type of Christian faith, because it was fixed 15 Without faith — must have faith. The 

upon a future and unseen good. original has this verbal connection. 



876 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. chap.xxviii. 

xi. 

yet, through fear of God 1 prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. 

Whereby he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness 
of faith. 

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, 2 obeyed the command to go 
forth into a place 3 which he should afterward receive for an inheritance ; 

9 and he went forth, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned 
in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tents, with 

10 Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked 
for the city which hath sure 4 foundations, whose builder and maker is 
God. 

11 By faith also Sarah herself received power to conceive seed, even 
when 5 she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had 

12 promised. Therefore sprang there of one, and him as good as dead, " £Q 
maitg as % Stars ai % Skg Xlt multituir^/' 6 and as the sand which 
is by the seashore 7 innumerable. 

13 These 'all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having 
seen them afar off, and embraced them, 8 and confessed that they were 

14 strangers and pilgrims upon earth. For they that say such things declare 

15 plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they speak 9 of that coun- 
try from whence they came forth, they might have opportunity to return ; 

16 but now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly. Wherefore 
God is not ashamed to be called their God ; for He hath prepared for 
them a city. 

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered 10 up Isaac, and he that 

18 had believed u the promises offered up his only-begotten son, though it 



1 Compare Heb. v. 7. 9 Speak. The verb is the same in verse 22. 

2 If we follow some of the best MSS., the The meaning is. "If, in calling themselves 
translation will be, " He that was called Abra- strangers and pilgrims, they refer to the fact of 
ham [instead of Abram]." their having left their native land." In other 

3 Some of the best MSS. read "place" words, if Christians regret the world which 
without the article. * Cf. xii. 28. they have renounced, there is nothing to pre- 

5 Was delivered is not in the best MSS. vent their returning to its enjoyments. Here 

6 Exod. xxxii. 13 (LXX.). again we trace a reference to those who were 

7 The same comparison is found Is. x. 22, tempted to apostatize. Such is the meaning of 
quoted Rom. ix. 27. the imperfect. 

8 Persuaded is an interpolation not found 10 Literally, hath offered. 

in the best MSS. It was originally a margi- n The word means more than " received.'* 

nal gloss on embraced. The latter word cannot (A. V.) His belief in the promises to his pos 

be adequately translated in English, so as to terity enhanced the sacrifice which he mado. 



retain the full beauty of the metaphor. 



CHAP.xsvin. EPISTLE TO THE HEBEEWS. 877 

xi. 
was said unto 1 him, " Jit JfsaaX sfjall ijfg Stefr fr* oII^J " 2 account- 19 

ing that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead ; from whence 

also (in a figure) he received him. 

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 20 
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph ; 21 

and " ]pe torsljippefcr, leaning rtjHrrt ilje top rjf Ins staff/' 3 

By faith Joseph, in the hour of his death, spake 4 of the departing 22 
of the sons of Israel ; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, 23 
because " fjpg safo fyul % rjjiia toctS g00tflg ; " 5 and they were not 
afraid of the king's commandment. 

By faith Moses, [* foljm JjJC itJHS tamz to %mx&" 6 refused to be called 24 
the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 25 
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming 26 
the reproach of Christ 7 greater riches than the treasures of Egypt ; for 
he looked beyond 8 unto the reward. 9 By faith he forsook 10 Egypt, not 27 
fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is 
invisible. By faith he hath established n the passover, and the sprin- 28 
kling of blood, that the destroyer of the first-born might not touch 
the children of Israel. 12 

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land ; which 29 
the Egyptians tried to pass, and were swallowed up. 

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed 30 
about for seven days. 

By faith the harlot Bahab perished not with the disobedient, 13 because 31 
she had received the spies with peace. 

i " Unto," not "of." (A. V.) "Unto 5 Exod. ii. 2 (LXX.). " They seeing that 

whom" is equivalent to "though unto him." he was goodly." The Hebrew speaks of his 

2 Gen. xxi. 12 (LXX.), quoted also Rom. mother only. 6 Exod. ii. 11 (LXX.). 
x. 7. 7 The reproach of Christ's people is here 

3 Gen. xlvii. 31 (LXX.). The present He- called the reproach of Christ. Compare Col. 
brew text means, not the top of his staff,, but the i. 24, and 2 Cor. i. 5 ; also see 1 Cor. x. 4. 
head of his bed; but the LXX. followed a differ- 8 Literally, he looked away from that ichick 
ent reading. The " faith " of Jacob consisted was before his eyes. 9 Compare verse 6. 
in fixing his hopes upon future blessings, and 10 See Exod. ii. 15. n Perfect. 
worshipping God, even in the hour of death. 12 Them, i. e. the children of Israel. 

4 Spake. See verse 15. Joseph's " faith " 13 Not "them that believed not." (A. V.) 
relied on the promise that the seed of Abraham They had heard the miracles wrought in favor 
should return to the promised land. (Gen. xv. of the Israelites (Josh. ii. 10), and yet refused 
)*>.) obedience. 



878 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF &T. PAUL. 



chap. xxvm. 



XI. 



32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of 
Gideon, and of Barak, of Samson and of Jephthae, of David, and Samuel, 

33 and the prophets ; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought right- 

34 eousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 1 quenched the 
violence of fire, 2 escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness 3 were 
made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the 

35 aliens. Women 4 received their dead raised to life again ; and others were 
tortured, 5 not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better 6 

36 resurrection. Others also had trial of cruel mockings 7 and scourgings, 

37 with chains also and imprisonment. They were stoned, 8 were sawn 9 
asunder, were tempted, 10 were slain with the sword. They wandered 
about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. 

38 They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the 
earth ; of whom n the world was not worthy. 

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received 

40 not the promise ; God having provided some better thing for us, that 
they, without us, should not be made perfect. 12 



1 Referring to Daniel. (Dan. vi. 17.) 

2 Referring to Dan. iii. 27. 

3 This and the two following clauses may 
be most naturally referred to the Maccabees. 

4 Referring to the widow of Sarepta (1 
Kings xvii.) and the Shunamite (2 Kings 
iv.). 

5 This refers both to Eleazar (2 Mace, vi.), 
and to the seven brothers, whose torture is 
described, 2 Mace. vii. The verb erv/nnavia- 
Q-naav points especially to Eleazar, who was 
bound to the rvfinavov, an instrument to which 
those who were to be tortured by scourging 
were bound. (2 Mace. vi. 19.) The "not 
accepting deliverance " refers to the mother 
of the seven brothers and her youngest son 
(2 Mace. vii.). 

6 Better, viz. than that of those who (like 
the Shunamite's son) were only raised to 
return to this life. This reference is plain in 
the Greek, but cannot be rendered equally ob- 
vious in English, because we cannot translate 
the first avaordoeug in this verse by resurrec- 
tion. 

7 Mockings. Still referring to the seven 
brothers, concerning whose torments this word 
is used. (2 Mace. vii. 7.) 



8 Zechariah, the son of Jehoiadah, was 
stoned. (2 Chron. xxiv. 20.) But it is not 
necessary (nor indeed possible) to fix each 
kind of death here mentioned on some person 
in the Old Testament. It is more probable 
that the Epistle here speaks of the general 
persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes. 

9 According to Jewish tradition, this was 
the death of Isaiah ; but see the preceding 
note. 

10 The Received Text is here retained ; 
but it seems very probable that the reading 
should be (as has been conjectured), they were 
burned. This was the death of the seven 
brothers. 

11 Literally, they of whom the world was not 
worthy, wandering in deserts and in mountains, 
Src. ; i. e. they, for whom all that the world 
could give would have been too little, had not 
even a home wherein to lay their head. 

12 Made perfect. See notes on ii. 10, vii. 11, 
ix. 9 ; literally, attain their consummation, in- 
cluding the attainment of the full maturity of 
their being, and the attainment of the full accom- 
plishment of their faith ; which are indeed identi- 
cal. They were not to attain this without us. 
i. e. not until we came to join them. 



chap. xxvm. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



879 



Xll. 

1 



Exhortation Wherefore, seeing we are compassed about with so great a 

lo imitate 

B j"e?andto c ^ 011( ^ of witnesses, let us l also lay aside every weight, and 
in steadfast* the sin which clingeth closely round us, 2 and run with cour- 

endurance of . , 

Buffering. age 3 the race that is set before us ; looking onward 4 unto 2 
Jesus, the forerunner 5 and the finisher of our faith ; who, for the joy that 
was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set 
down at the right hand of the throne of God. Yea, consider Him that 3 
endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied 
and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, 6 in your 4 
conflict against sin ; and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reason- 5 
eth 7 with you as with sons, saying, " |gg SOTt, JttSpi&e OCrt %TU % 

tjjasimxftjj ai fyz l^rtr, wx hint tojjm tljott uxt nhnkzb jof frim. 
Jfor fojrom % %oxb labtfy JM rjjastemtfr, aitir mamg&fy *tarjr non 

itthoxtl Wt Xtttlbtth" 8 If ye endure chastisement, 9 God dealeth with 
you as with sons ; for where is the son that is not chastened by his 
father ? but if ye be without chastisement, whereof all [God's children] 
have been 10 partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Moreover, we 
were chastened n by the fathers of our flesh, and gave them reverence ; 
shall we not much rather submit ourselves to the Father of our 12 spirits, 



1 Let us, as they did. The Agonistic meta- 
phor here would be more naturally addressed 
to the Church of Alexandria than to that of 
Jerusalem. 

2 This word occurs nowhere else. Sin 
seems here to be described under the metaphor 
of a garment fitting closely to the limbs, which 
must be cast off if the race is to be won. A 
garment would be called by the term in ques- 
tion, which fitted well all round. 

3 The original (as it has been before re- 
marked) is not accurately represented by "pa- 
tience ; " it means steadfast endurance, or forti- 
tude. 

4 " Looking onward." Compare " looked 
beyond" (xi. 26). 

5 Literally, foremost leader. Compare ii. 10. 
Compare also the similar phrase in vi. 20. 

6 If this Epistle was addressed to the 
Christians of Jerusalem, the writer speaks 
here only of the existing generation ; for the 
Church of Jerusalem had "resisted unto 
blood " formerly, in the persons of Stephen, 
James the Greater, and James the Less. But 
see introductory remarks, p. 850. 



7 This is the meaning of the Greek word. 

8 Prov. iii. 11-12. (LXX. nearly verba- 
tim.) Philo quotes the passage to the same 
purpose as this Epistle. 

9 Throughout this passage it appears that 
the Church addressed was exposed to perse- 
cution. The intense feeling of Jewish nation- 
ality called forth by the commencing struggle 
with Rome, which produced the triumph 
of the zealot party, would amply account 
for a persecution of the Christians at Jerusa- 
lem at this period, as is argued by those who 
suppose the Epistle addressed to them. But 
the same cause would produce the same effect 
in the great Jewish population of Alexandria. 

10 Observe the perfect, referring to the ex- 
amples of God's children mentioned in the 
preceding chapter. 

11 " We had our fathers to chasten us." 
The A. V. does not render the article cor 
rectly. 

12 « g ur » j s understood (without repetition) 
from the parallel "our flesh." 



880 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxvhi. 

xii. 

10 and live ? For they, indeed, for a few days chastened us, after their own 

pleasure ; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holi- 

11 ness. Now no chastisement for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous ; nevertheless, afterward, unto them that are exercised thereby, 
it yieldeth the fruit of righteousness in peace. 1 

12 Wherefore " f^ff up % Jmnfts fojjttlj {mitg fratott, Itttfr % fftMt 
11 faWB," 2 and " make Kbm patfrs for g0uT fet;" 3 that the halting 

limb be not lamed, 4 but rather healed. 

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no warning 

against eensu- 

15 man shall see the Lord. And look diligently lest any man »Kty. 

fall 5 short of the grace of God ; a lest atlg XQOt of btttmwSS Spring- 
IB nt0 Up trouble g0rt/' 6 and thereby many be defiled ; lest there be any 
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for a single meal sold his 

17 birthright ; for ye know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the 
blessing, he was rejected ; finding no room for repentance, though ho 
sought it 7 earnestly with tears. 

18 For ye are not come to a mountain that may be touched, 8 Jo& r e °J°^!™ 
and that burnetii with fire, nor to " frl&cltMSS atttr JmrkttegS cSpSovIr 



1 Peaceful fruit of righteousness. God's 6 The most natural construction here is 

chastisements lead men to conformity to the similar to that in verse 16. 

will of God (which is righteousness); and this 6 Deut. xxix. 18. This quotation is a 

effect (fruit) of suffering is (peaceful) full of strong instance in favor of Bleek's view, that 

peace. There can be no peace like that which the writer of this Epistle used the Alexan- 

follows upon the submission of the soul to drian text of the LXX. For the Codex Alex- 

the chastisement of our heavenly Father, if andriims (which, however, is corrupt here) cor- 

we receive it as inflicted by infinite wisdom responds with the Epistle, while the Codex 

and perfect love. Vaticanus corresponds more closely with the 

2 This quotation is from Is. xxxv. 3, from Hebrew. 

LXX. (as appears by two of the Greek 7 Although, with Chrysostom and De 
words), but quoted from memory, and not ver- "Wette, we refer " it" grammatically to "r'e- 
batim. The quotation here approaches more pentance," yet we think the view of Bleek 
nearly than this to the Hebrew original, and substantially correct in referring it to " bless- 
might therefore (if not quoted memoriter) be ing." That is, in saying that Esau sought re- 
considered an exception to the rule, which pentance with tears, the writer obviously means 
otherwise is universal throughout this Epistle, that he sought to reverse the consequences of his 
of adhering to the LXX. in preference to the fault, and obtain the blessing. If we refer to 
Hebrew. Genesis, we find that it was, in fact, Jacob's 

3 Prov. iv. 26 (LXX. nearly verbatim). blessing (the Greek word is the same, Gen. 

4 Or be dislocated. The meaning of this xxvii. 35-38, LXX.) which Esau sought with 
exhortation seems to be, that they should tears. 

abandon all appearance of Judaizing practices, 8 The first is the present participle; the 

which might lead the weaker brethren into second the perfect participle (not as A. V.). Eor 

apostasy. the particulars here mentioned, see Exod. xix. 






chap, xx vm. 



EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 



881 



xn. 

S e the a T a rger attir i wrraerf/' 1 and " sanvfo of txmamt" 2 and " ham ai 19 

of despising . „„ 

"• rbtrr&S — the hearers whereof entreated that no more might 

be spoken unto them ; 4 for they could not bear that which was com- 20 

manded. 5 (" gjxfr if bo muxjr kb k hmst imt\ % mauniKin, it 

sljall ht sinmtr ; " 6 and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, " J[ 21 
jemeiriltglg fear Hnb quake/' 7 ) But ye are come unto Mount Sion, 22 
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, 8 and to myri- 
ads 9 of angels in full assembly, and to the congregation of the first-born 10 23 
whose names are written in heaven, and to God u the judge of all, and to 
the spirits of just men 12 made perfect, 13 and to Jesus the mediator of a 24 
new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, 14 which speaketh better 
things than that of Abel. 15 

See that ye reject 16 not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not 25 
who rejected him that spake 17 on earth, much more shall not we escape 
if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice 26 
then shook the earth ; but now He hath promised, saying, ** l&ti QVitt 



1 Deut. iv. 11, the same Greek words 
(LXX). 

2 Exod. xix. 16, again the same Greek 
words (LXX.). 

3 Deut. iv. 12 (LXX.) 

4 Deut. v. 25 (LXX.), where one of the 
Greek words accounts for what we read here. 

5 We put a full stop after commanded, be- 
cause that which the Israelites "could not 
bear " was not the order for killing the beasts, 
but the utterance of the commandments of 
God. See Ex. xx. 19. 

6 Quoted from Ex. xix. 12 (LXX., but not 
verbatim). The words "or thrust through 
with a dart" of the Received Text have been 
here interpolated from the Old Testament, 
and are not in any of the uncial MSS. 

7 Deut. ix. 19 (LXX.). This is the pas- 
sage in the Old Testament, which comes near- 
est to the present. It was the remembrance of 
that terrible sight which caused Moses to say 
this ; much more must he have been terrified 
by the reality. 

8 This is (see Gal. iv. 26) the Church of 
God, which has its metropolis in heaven, though 
some of its citizens are still pilgrims and 
strangers upon earth. 

9 We take myriads of angels with full assem- 
bly. The latter phrase properly means a fes- 

56 



live assembly, which reminds us of " the mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb." 

10 First-born. These appear to be the Chris- 
tians already dead and entered into their rest ; 
" written " means registered or enrolled. Cf. 
Luke ii. 1, and Phil. iv. 3. 

11 The order of the Greek would lead us 
more naturally to translate to a judge, who is 
God of ell; but we have retained the A. V. in 
deference to the opinion of Chrysostom. 

12 These just men (being distinguished from 
the first-born above) are probably the worthies 
of the ancient dispensation, commemorated 
chap. xi. 

13 Literally, who have attained their consum- 
mation. This they had not done until Christ's 
coming. See xi. 40. 

14 Contrasted with the water of sprinkling of 
Numbers xix. (LXX.) Compare ix. 13-14, 
and x. 22. 

15 Or, if we read with the best MSS., "bet- 
ter than Abel." The voice of Abel cried for 
vengeance (Gen. iv. 10). Compare xi. 4 ; the 
blood of Christ called down forgiveness. 

16 It is impossible to translate this verb by 
the same English word here and in verse 19th ; 
hence the reference of the one passage to the 
other is less plain than in the original. 

17 Literally, " that spake oracularly." 



b82 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OE ST. PAUL. chap.xxvui. 



Xll. 



matt 0itlg 1 foil! <f sjrake 2 noi % mtfj atone, but aton {pafoen." 3 

27 And this " get 01tte mOXt 0tllg M signifieth the removal of those things 
that are shaken, as being perishable, 4 that the things unshaken may 

28 remain immovable. Wherefore, since we receive a kingdom that can- 
not be shaken, let us be filled with thankfulness, 5 whereby we may offer 

29 acceptable worship unto God with reverence and godly fear. For " rjur 

<§0ir xb a xrasuminjj fir*." 6 

xiii.l Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain Exhortation 

2 strangers, for thereby some 7 have entertained angels un- moral duties, 

° ' •" ° especially to 

3 awares. Remember the prisoners, as though ye shared their JS^SSIof 
prison ; and the afflicted, as being yourselves also in the body. obcdionce a to 

the leaders of 

4 Let marriage be held honorable 8 in all things, and let the tbe church. 
marriage-bed be undefiled ; for 9 whoremongers and adulterers God will 

5 judge. Let your conduct be free from covetousness, and be content with 
what ye have ; for HE hath said, " Jf foil! rata Imbt %£ VCOX faxmht 

6 iljte/' 10 So that we may boldly say, " CIj* |jJrir IS ttW fyelgper, aitb Jf 

foil! not fmx. Mljat tun man bo xxnia me ? " u 

7 Remember them that were your leaders, 12 who spoke to you the word 
of God ; look upon 13 the end of their life, and follow the example of their 
faith. 

8. 9 Jesus Christ 14 is the same yesterday and to-day and forever. Be not 



1 Once, and once only. Cf. ix. 26 and x. 2. Moses. In Josh. i. 5 (LXX.), we find a direct 

2 " Will I shake " is the reading of the promise from God, almost in the same words, 
best MSS. addressed to Joshua. The citation here, being 

3 Hagg. ii. 6 (LXX., but not verbatim). not verbatim, may be derived from either of 

4 Used here as made with hands is (ix. 11, these places. Philo cites the same words as 
ix. 24), and as we often use " things created " the text. 

as equivalent to thing perishable. ll Ps. cxviii. 6 (LXX.). 

5 " Filled with thankfulness." Compare 12 Not riders, but leaders. Compare Acts 
Luke xvii. 9. If the meaning were, " Let us xv. 22, where the word is the same. It is 
hold fast [the] grace [which we have received]," here (cf. verses 17 and 24) applied to the 
the Greek verb would be different. presbyters or bishops of the Church. See p. 

6 Deut. iv. 24 (LXX., nearly verbatim). 379, note 6. 

7 Viz. Abraham and Lot. 13 A very graphic word, not to be fully ren- 

8 This must be taken imperatively on the • dered by any English term. The meaning is, 
same ground as what immediately follows, at " contemplate the jinal scene [perhaps martyrdom] 
the beginning of the 5th verse. which closed their life and labors." 

9 The MSS. A, D, and some others, read 14 The A. V. here gives an English reader 
for here, which is adopted by Lachmann and the very erroneous impression that " Jesus 
Bleek. Christ ** is in the objective case, and in appose 

10 Deut. xxxi. 6 (LXX.). This is said by tion to "the end of their conversation/' 



CHAP.xxvm. EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 883 

xiii. 

carried away l with manifold and strange doctrines. For it is good that 

the heart be' established by grace ; not by meats, 2 which profited not 
them that were occupied therein. We have an altar whereof they that 10 
minister unto the tabernacle have no right to eat. For 3 the bodies of 11 
those beasts whose blood the High Priest bringeth 4 into the Holy Place 5 
are burned " foitlj0ut tlj£ ramp/' 6 Wherefore Jesus also, that He 12 
might sanctify the People by His own blood, suffered without the gate. 
Therefore let us go forth unto Him " foitlj0ui i\t ramp/' bearing His 13 
reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 7 14 

By Him therefore let us offer unto God continually a sacrifice of 15 
praise, 8 that is, " Hje fruit af 0UT ligS>" 9 making confession unto His 
name. And be not unmindful of benevolence and liberality, for such 16 
are tiie sacrifices which are acceptable unto God. 

Render unto them that are your leaders obedience and submission ; for IT 
they on their part 10 watch for the good of your souls, as those that must 
give account ; that they may keep their watch with joy, and not with 
lamentation ; for that would be unprofitable for you. 
The writer Pray for me ; fori trust 11 that I have a good conscience, 18 

asks their 

prayers, gives desiring in all my conduct to live rightly. But I the rather 19 

them his own, ° J o «/ 

SJtesiSSS?i beseech you to do this, that I may be restored to you the 

ti on from ,„ 

Italy. sooner. iiJ 

1 "Carried away," not "carried about," is camp of the Israelites was afterwards represent- 
the reading of the best MSS. ed by the Holy City; so that the bodies of 

2 Not by meats. The connection here is very these victims were burnt outside the gates of 
difficult. The reference seems to be, in the Jerusalem. See above, p. 636, note 6. 

first place, to Judaizing doctrines concerning 7 Literally, the city which is to come. Com- 

clean and unclean meats ; but thence the pare x. 34, and the kingdom that cannot be 

thought passes on to the sacrificial meats, on shaken, xii. 28. 

which the priests were partly supported. Some 8 The Christian sacrifice is " a sacrifice of 

think this verse addressed to those who had praise and thanksgiving/' contrasted with the 

themselves been priests, which would be an ar- propitiatory sacrifices of the old law, which 

gument for supposing the Epistle addressed to were forever consummated by Christ. See x. 

the Church at Jerusalem. (Compare Acts vi. 4-14. 

7.) 9 Hosea xiv. 2. (LXX.) (The present 

3 The connection seems to be, that the vie- Hebrew text is different.) 

tims sacrificed on the day of Atonement were 10 The pronoun is emphatic. 

commanded (Levit. xvi. 27) to be wholly burned, n This seems to be addressed to a party 

and therefore not eaten. amongst these Hebrew Christians who had tak- 

4 Viz. on the day of Atonement. Com- en offence at something in the writer's conduct- 
pare chaps, ix. and x. 12 We have already observed that this im- 

6 The words " for sin " are omitted in the plies that a personal connection existed be- 
best MSS. tween the writer and the readers of this Epistle.. 
6 Levit. xvi. 27 (LXX. verbatim). The The opinion of Ebrard, that this verse is writ- 



884 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. i'ALL. 



chap. xxvm. 



Xm. 

20 Now the God of peace, who raised up 1 from the dead the great 
44 Slj£plj£r£r at % tifytZty" 2 even our Lord Jesus, through the blood 

21 of an everlasting covenant, — make you perfect in every good work to do 
His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, by 
Jesus Christ. To whom be glory forever. 3 Amen. 

22 I beseech you, brethren, to bear with these words of exhortation ; for I 
have written shortly. 4 

23 Know that our brother Timotheus is set at liberty ; and with him, if 
he come speedily, I will see you. 

24 Salute all them that are your leaders, and all the saints. 

25 They of Italy 6 salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen. 



EN0AAE KWL 

TAL fcAJCTTNA 




Here lies Faustina. In peace. 6 



ten by St. Luke in St. Paul's person, and verse 
23d in his own person, appears quite untena- 
ble; no intimation of a change of person is 
given (compare Rom. xvi. 22) ; nor is there 
any inconsistency in asking prayers for a pros- 
perous journey, and afterwards expressing a 
positive intention of making the journey. 

1 This denotes not to bring again (A. V.), 
ibut to bring up from below, to raise up. (Rom. 
X . 7.) 

2 This is an allusion to a passage in Isaiah 
i(Is. lxiii. 11, LXX.), where God is described 
■as " He who brought up from the sea the shepherd 
'ofthe sheep " [viz. Moses]. 

3 " And ever " is probably to be omitted 
■both here and Rom. xi. 36, and xvi. 27. 

4 They are asked to excuse the apparent 
Iharshness of some portions of the letter, on the 



ground that the writer had not time for circum- 
locution. 

6 " They of Italy." We agree with Winer 
in thinking that this "of" may be most natu- 
rally understood as used from the position of the 
readers. This was the view of the earlier inter- 
preters, and is agreeable to Greek analogy. In 
fact, if we consider the origin in most lan- 
guages of the gentilitial prepositions (von, de,of, 
&c), we shall see that they conform to the 
same analogy. Hence we infer from this pas- 
sage that the writer was in Italy. 

6 A Christian tomb with the three lan- 
guages, from Maitland's Church in the Cata- 
combs, p. 77. The name is Latin, the inscrip- 
tion Greek, and the word Shalom or " peace " 
is in Hebrew. See p. 28. 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDIX I. 

ON THE TIME OF THE VISIT TO JEEUSALEM MENTIONED IN GALA 

TIANS (Chap, ii.). 1 

TO avoid circumlocution, we shall call the visit mentioned in Galatians ii. 1 the Gala- 
tian Visit; and we shall designate the visit mentioned in Acts ix. as visit (1), that 
in Acts xi. and xii. as visit (2), that in Acts xv. as visit (3), that in Acts xviii. as visz 
(4), that in Acts xxi. as visit (5). 

I. The Galatian Visit was not the same with visit (1), because it is mentioned as suV 
sequent by St. Paul. 2 

H. Was the Galatian Visit the same with visit (2) ? 3 The first impression from read- 
ing the end of Gal. i. and beginning of Gal. ii. would be that it was ; for St. Paul seems 
to imply that there had been no intermediate visit between the one mentioned in Gal i. 
18, which was visit (1), and that in Gal. ii. 1, which we have called the Galatian Visih 
On the other side, however, we must observe that St. Paul's object in this passage is not 
to enumerate all his visits to Jerusalem. His opponents had told his converts that Paul 
was no true Apostle ; that he was only a Christian teacher authorized by the Judsean 
Apostles ; that he derived his authority and his knowledge of the Gospel from Peter, 
James, and the rest of " the twelve." St. Paul's object is to refute this statement. This 
he does by declaring, firstly, that his commission was not from men, but from God ; sec- 
ondly, that he had taught Christianity for three years without seeing any of ' ; the twelve " 
at all ; thirdly, that, at the end of that time, he had only spent one fortnight at Jerusalem 
with Peter and James, and then had gone to Cilicia and remained personally unknown to 
the Judsean Christians ; fourthly, that, fourteen years afterwards, he had undertaken a 
journey to Jerusalem, and that he then obtained an acknowledgment of his independent 
mission from the chief Apostles. Thus we see that his object is, not to enumerate every 

i This question is one of the most important, both * We must certainly acknowledge that St. Paul 

chronologically and historically, in the life of St. appears to say this; and some commentators have 

Paul. Perhaps its discussion more properly belongs avoided the difficulty by supposing, that although 

to the Epistle to the Galatians than to this place; Paul and Barnabas were commissioned to convey 

but it has been given here as a justification of the the alius from Antioch to Jerusalem, yet that St.. 

view taken in Ch. VII. Paul was prevented (by some circumstances not 

2 Gal. ii. 1. mentioned) from going the whole way to Jerusalem. 

3 To support this view, either the conversion For example, it might be too hazardous for him to . 
must be placed much earlier than we think probable, appear within the walls of the city at such. a. time off 
or " fourteen," in Gal. ii. 1, must be altered into persecution. 



four. 



885 



886 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 

occasion where he might possibly have been instructed by " the twelve," but to assert (an 
assertion which he confirms by oath, Gal. i. 20) that his knowledge of Christianity was 
not derived from their instruction. A short visit to Jerusalem which produced no im- 
portant results he might naturally pass over; and especially if he saw none of " the 
twelve " at Jerusalem when he visited it. Now, this was probably the case at visit (2), 
because it was just at the time of Herod Agrippa's persecution, which would naturally 
disperse the Apostles from Jerusalem, as the persecution at Stephen's death did. With 
regard to St. Peter, it is expressly said, that, after his miraculous escape from prison, he 
quitted Jerusalem. 1 This supposition is confirmed by finding that Barnabas and Saul 
were sent to the Elders of the church at Jerusalem, and not to the Apostles. 

A further objection to supposing the Galatian Visit identical with visit (2) is, that, at 
the time of the Galatian Visit, Paul and Barnabas are described as having been already 
extensively useful as missionaries to the Heathen ; but this they had not been in the time 
of visit (2). 

Again : St. Paul could not have been, at so early a period, considered on a footing of 
equality with St. Peter ; yet this he was at the time of the Galatian Visit? 

Again: visit (2) could not have been so long as fourteen years 3 after visit (1). For 
visit (2) was certainly not later than 45 a.d. ; and, if it was the same as the Galatian 
Visit, visit (1) must have been not later than from 31 to 33 a.d. (allowing the inclusive 
Jewish mode of reckoning to be possibly employed). But Aretas (as we have seen p. 76) 
was not in possession of Damascus till about 37. 

Again : if visit (2) were fourteen years after visit (1), we must suppose nearly all this 
time spent by St. Paul at Tarsus, and yet that all his long residence there is unrecorded 
by St. Luke, who merely says that he went to Tarsus, and from thence to Antioch. 4 

HI. The Galatian Visit not being identical with (1) or (2), was it identical with (3), 
(4), or (5) ? We may put (5) at once out of the question, because St. Paul did not re- 
turn to Antioch after (5), whereas he did return after the Galatian Visit. There remain, 
therefore, (3) and (4) to be considered. We shall take (4) first. 

IV. Wieseler has lately argued very ingeniously that the Galatian Visit was the same 
with (4). His reasons are, firstly, that, at the Galatian Visit, the Apostles allowed un- 
limited freedom to the Gentile converts ; i.e., imposed no conditions upon them, such as 
those in the decrees of the Council passed at visit (3). This, however, is an inference not 
warranted by St. Paul's statement, which speaks of the acknowledgment of his personal 
independence, but does not touch the question of the converts. Secondly, Wieseler urges, 
that, till the time of visit (4), St. Paul's position could not have been so far on a level with 
St. Peter's as it was at the Galatian Visit. Thirdly, he thinks that the condition of mak- 
ing a collection for the poor Christians in Jerusalem, which St. Paul says 5 he had been 
forward to fulfil, must have been fulfilled in that great collection which we know that St. 
Paul set on foot immediately after Visit (4), because we read of no other collection made 
by St. Paul for this purpose. 6 Fourthly, Wieseler argues that St. Paul would not have 
been likely to take an uncircumcised Gentile, like Titus, with him to Jerusalem at a period 
earlier than visit (4). And, moreover, he conceives Titus to be the same with the Corin- 
thian Justus, 7 who is not mentioned as one of St. Paul's companions till Acts xviii. 7 ; 
that is, not till after visit (3) . 

1 Acts xii. 17. 2 See G-al. ii. 9. 6 The collection carried up to Jerusalem at visit 

8 On this fourteen years, see note 2, p. 891, and (2) might, however, he cited as an exception to this 

the note B on the Chronological Table in Appendix remark; for (although not expressly stated) it is 

III. most probable that St. Paul was active in forwarding 

* Acts ix. 30, and xi. 28. See what Prof. Burton it, since he was selected to carry it to Jerusalem, 

says on this interval. 7 Many of the most ancient MSS. and version! 

6 Gal. ii. 10. read Titus Justus in Acts xviii. 7. 



APPENDIX ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF GAL. II. 



887 



Tt is evident that these arguments are not conclusive in favor of visit (4), even if there 
were nothing on the other side ; but there are, moreover, the following objections against 
supposing the Galatian Visit identical with (4). Firstly, Barnabas was St. Paul's com- 
panion in the Galatian Visit: he is not mentioned as being with him at visit (4). Sec- 
ondly, had so important a conference between St. Paul and the other Apostles taken place 
at visit (4), it would not have been altogether passed over by St. Luke, who dwells so fully 
upon the council held at the time of visit (3), the decrees of which (on Wieseler's view) 
were inferior in importance to the concordat between St. Paul and the other Apostles 
which he supposes to have been made at visit (4). Thirdly, the whole tone of the second 
chapter of Galatians is against Wieseler's hypothesis : for, in that chapter, St. Paul plainly 
seems to speak of the first conference which he had held, after his success among the 
Heathen, with the chief apostles at Jerusalem ; and he had certainly seen and conferred 
with them during visit (3). 

V. We have seen, therefore, that, if the Galatian Visit be mentioned at all in the Acts, 
it must be identical with visit (3), at which the (so-called) Council of Jerusalem took 
place. We will now consider the objections against the identity of these two visits urged 
by Paley and others, and then the arguments in favor of the identity. 



Objections to the identity of the Galatian 
Visit with Visit (3). 
1. St. Paul, in Gal. (ii. 1), mentions this 
journey as if it had been the next visit to 
Jerusalem after the time which he spent 
there on his return from Damascus : he 
does not say any thing of any intermediate 
visit. This looks as if he were speaking of 
the journey which he took with Barnabas 
to Jerusalem (Acts xi. 30) to coAvey alms 
to the Jewish Christians in the famine. 



Answers to the Objections. 
1. This objection is answered above, p. 



886. 



2. In the Galatians, the journey is said 
to have taken place " by revelation " (Gal. 
ii. 2) ; but in Acts xv. 2-4, 6-12, a public 
mission is mentioned. 



2. The journey may have taken place 
in consequence of a revelation, and yet 
may also have been agreed to by a vote 
of the church at Antioch. Thus, in St. 
Paul's departure from Jerusalem (Acts ix. 
29, 30), he is said to have been sent by 
the brethren in consequence of danger 
feared; and yet (Acts xxii. 17-21) he says 
that he had taken his departure in conse- 
quence of a vision on the very same occa- 
sion (see pp. 186, 187). 



3. In the Galatians, Barnabas and Titus 
are spoken of as St. Paul's companions ; in 
the Acts, Barnabas and others (Acts xv. 
2) : but Titus is not mentioned. 



3. This argument is merely ex silent lo, 
and therefore inconclusive. In the Acts, 
Paul and Barnabas are naturally men- 
tioned, as being prominent 2haracters in 
the history ; whereas, in the Epistle, Titus 
would naturally be mentioned by St. Paul 
as a personal friend of his own, and also 
because of his refusal to circumcise him. 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



4. The object of the visit in Acts xv. is 
different from that of the Galatian Visit. 
The object in Acts xv. was to seek relief 
from the imposition of the Mosaic Law : 
that of the Galatian Visit was to obtain the 
recognition of St. Paul's independent apos- 
tleship. 



4. Both these objects are implied in 
each narrative. The recognition of St. 
Paul's apostleship is implied in Acts xv. 
25 ; and the relief from the imposition of 
the Mosaic Law is implied, Gal. ii. 7, where 
the word " uncircumcision " shows that the 
Apostles at the time of St. Paul's visit to 
Jerusalem, mentioned in the Epistle, ac- 
knowledged that the uncircumcised might 
partake of " the gospel." The same thing 
is shown by the fact that the circumcision 
of Titus was not insisted on. We must re- 
member, also, that the transactions recorded 
are looked upon from different points of 
view in the Acts and in the Epistle: for 
Acts xv. contains a narrative of a great 
transaction in the history of the Church ; 
while St. Paul, in the Epistle, alludes to 
this transaction with the object of prov- 
ing the recognition of his independent 
authority. 



5. In Acts xv., a public assembly of the 
Church in Jerusalem is described ; while, in 
the Galatians, only private interviews with 
the leading Apostles are spoken of. 



5. The private interviews spoken of in 
the Epistle do not exclude the supposition 
of public meetings having also taken place; 
and a communication to the whole Church 
(Gal. ii. 2) is expressly mentioned. 



6. The narrative in the Epistle says noth- 
ing of the decision of the Council of Jeru- 
salem, as it is commonly called, mentioned 
Acts xv. Now, this decision was conclu- 
sive of the very point disputed by the Ju- 
daizing teachers in Galatia, and surely, 
therefore, would not have been omitted by 
St. Paul in an argument involving the ques- 
tion, had he been relating the circumstan- 
ces which happened at Jerusalem when 
that decision was made. 



6. The narrative in Galatians gives a 
statement intended to prove the recogni- 
tion of St. Paul's independent authority, 
which is sufficient to account for this omis- 
sion. Moreover, if St. Paul's omission of 
reference to the decision of the Council 
proved that the journey he speaks of was 
prior to the Council, it must equally prove 
that the whole Epistle was written before 
the Council of Jerusalem ; yet it is gener- 
ally acknowledged to have been written 
long after the Council. The probable rea- 
son why St. Paul does not refer to the de- 
cision of the Council is this, — that the 
Judaizing teachers did not absolutely dis- 
pute that decision : they probably did not 
declare the absolute necessity of circumcis- 
ion, but spoke of it as admitting to greater 
privileges and a fuller covenant with God. 
The Council had only decided that Gentile 
Christians need not observe the Law. The 
Judaizing party might still contend that 



APPENDIX ON THE CHKONOLOGY OF GAL. II. 



889 



Jewish Christians ought to observe it (as 
we know they did observe it till long after- 
wards). And also the decrees of the Coun- 
cil left Gentile Christians subject to the 
same restrictions with the Proselytes of 
the Gate. Therefore the Judaizing party 
would naturally argue, that they were still 
not more fully within the pale of the Chris- 
tian Church than the Proselytes of the 
Gate were within that of the Jewish 
Church. Hence they would urge them to 
submit to circumcision, by way of placing 
themselves in full membership with the 
Church ; just as they would have urged a 
Proselyte of the Gate to become a Proselyte 
of Righteousness. Also St. Paul might as- 
sume that the decision of the Council was 
well known to the Churches in Galatia; 
for Paul and Silas had carried it with them 
there. 



7. It is inconsistent to suppose, that, 
after the decision of the Council of Jeru- 
salem, St. Peter could have behaved as he 
is described doing (Gal. ii. 12); for how 
could he refuse to eat with the uncircum- 
cised Christians, after having advocated 
in the Council their right of admission to 
Christian fellowship? 



7. This objection is founded on a mis- 
understanding of St. Peter's conduct. His 
withdrawal from eating at the same table 
with the uncircumcised Christians did not 
amount to a denial of the decision of the 
Council. His conduct showed a weak fear 
of offending the Judaizing Christians who 
came from Jerusalem ; and the practical 
effect of such conduct would have been, if 
persisted in, to separate the Church into 
two divisions. Peter's conduct was still 
more inconsistent with the consent which 
he had certainly given previously (Gal. ii. 
7-9) to the " gospel " of Paul, and with 
his previous conduct in the case of Corne- 
lius (see end of Chap. VII.). We may 
add, that whatever difficulty may be felt 
in St. Paul's not alluding to the decrees of 
the Council in his Epistle to the Galatians 
must also be felt in his total silence con- 
cerning them when he treats of the ques- 
tion of " things sacrificed to idols " in the 
Epistles to Corinth and Rome ; for that 
question had been explicitly decided by 
the Council. The fact is, that the Decrees 
of the Council were not designed as of per- 
manent authority, but only as a temporary 
and provisional measure ; and their author- 
ity was superseded as the Church gradually 
advanced towards true Christian freedom. 



890 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



8. The Epistle mentions St. Paul as 
conferring with James, Peter, and John ; 
whereas, in Acts xv., John is not men- 
tioned at all ; and it seems strange that 
so distinguished a person, if present at the * 
Council, should not have been mentioned. 



8. This argument is only ex silentio, and 
obviously inconclusive. 



9. Since, in the Galatians, St. Paul men- 
tions James, Peter, and John, it seems most 
natural to suppose that he speaks of the 
well-known apostolic triumvirate so often 
classed together in the Gospels. But if so, 
the James mentioned must be James the 
Greater ; and hence the journey mentioned 
in the Galatians must have been before 
the death of James the Greater, and there- 
fore before the Council of Jerusalem. 



9. This objection proceeds on the mere 
assumption, that, because James is men- 
tioned first, he must be James the Greater ; 
whereas James the Less became even a 
more conspicuous leader of the Church at 
Jerusalem than James the Greater had 
previously been, as we see from Acts xv. : 
hence he might be very well mentioned 
with Peter and John. And the fact of 
his name coming first in St. Paul's nar- 
rative agrees better with this supposition; 
for James the Greater is never mentioned 
the first in the apostolic triumvirate, the 
order of which is Peter, James, and John : 
but James the Less would naturally be 
mentioned first, if the Council at Jerusa- 
lem was mentioned, since we find from 
Acts xv. that he took the part of presi- 
dent in that Council. 



10. St. Paul's refusal to circumcise Titus 
(Gal. ii.), and voluntary circumcising of 
Timothy (Acts xvi. 3), so soon afterwards. 



10. Timothy's mother was a Jewess, and 
he had been brought up a Jew ; 1 whereas 
Titus was a Gentile. The circumstances 
of Timothy's circumcision were fully dis- 
cussed in pp. 228-231. 



Thus we see that the objections against the identity of the Galatian Visit with visit 
(3) are inconclusive ; consequently, we might at once conclude (from the obvious circum- 
stances of identity between the two visits) that they were actually identical. But this 
conclusion is further strengthened by the following arguments : — 

1. The Galatian Visit could not have happened before visit (3) ; because, if so, the 
Apostles at Jerusalem had already granted to Paul and Barnabas 2 the liberty which was 
sought for the " gospel of the uncircumcision : " therefore there would have been no need 
for the Church to send them again t© Jerusalem upon the same cause. And again : the 
Galatian Visit could not have happened after visit (3) ; because, almost immediately after 
that period, Paul and Barnabas ceased to work together as missionaries to the Gentiles ; 
whereas, up to the time of the Galatian Visit, they had been working together. 3 

2. The chronology of St. Paul's life (so far as it can be ascertained) agrees better with 
the supposition that the Galatian Visit was visit (3) than with any other supposition. 

Reckoning backwards from the ascertained epoch of 60 a.d., when St. Paul was sent 



1 See 2 Tim. iii. 15. We may remark that this 
difficulty (which is urged by Wieseler) is quite as 
great on his own hypothesis ; for, according to him, 



the refusal happened only about two years after the 
consent. 

2 Gal. ii. 3-6. 8 Gal ii. 1, 9 



APPENDIX ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF GAL. II. 



891 



to Home, we find that he must have begun his second missionary journey in 51 ; and that, 
therefore, the Council (i.e., visit (3) ) must have been either in 50 or 51. This calculation 
is based upon the history in the Acts. Now, turning to the Epistle to the Galatians, we 
find the following epochs : — 

A. — Conversion. 

B. — 3 years' interval (probably Judaically reckoned == 2 years). 1 

C. — Flight from Damascus, and visit (1). 

D. — 14 2 years' interval (probably Judaically reckoned = 13 years). 1 
E. — Galatian Visit. 

And since Aretas was supreme at Damascus 8 at the time of the flight, and his su- 
premacy there probably began about 37 (see pp. 76 and 93), we could not put the flight 
at a more probable date than 38. If we assume this to have been the case, then the Ga- 
latian Visit was 38 -J- 13 =51 ; which agrees with the time of the Council (i.e. visit (3) ) 
as above. 

VI. Hence we need not further consider the views of those writers who (like Paley 
and Schrader) have resorted to the hypothesis, that the Galatian Visit is some supposed 
journey not recorded in the Acts at all ; for we have proved that the supposition of its 
identity with the third visit there recorded satisfies every necessary condition. Schrader's 
notion is, that the Galatian Visit was between visit (4) and visit (5). Paley places it be- 
tween visit (3) and visit (4). A third view is ably advocated in a discussion of the subject 
(not published) which has been kindly communicated to us. The principal points in this 
hypothesis are, that the Galatians were converted in theirs/ missionary journey ; that the 
Galatian Visit took place between visit (2) and visit (3) ; and that the Epistle to the Ga« 
latians was written after the Galatian Visit, and before visit (3). This hypothesis cer 
tainly obviates some difficulties, 4 and it is quite possible (see p. 212, n. 2) that the Gala 
tian churches might have been formed at the time supposed ; but we are strongly of 
opinion that a much later date must be assigned to the Epistle. 5 



1 On this Judaical reckoning, see note B on the 
Chronological Table in Appendix HI. 

2 The reading " fourteen " (Gal. ii. 1) is un- 
doubtedly to be retained. It is in all the ancient 
MSS. which contain the passage. The reading 
"four" has probably arisen from the words "four 
years," which relate to a different subject, in the 
sentence below. The preposition " after," denoting 
" after an interval of," may be used, according to 
the Jewish way of reckoning time, inclusively. The 
fourteen years must be reckoned/rom the epoch last 
mentioned, which is the visit (1) to Jerusalem, and 



not the Conversion : at least, this is the most natural 
way; although the other interpretation might be 
justified, iff required by the other circumstances of 
the case. 

s 2 Cor. xi. 32. 

4 Especially the difficulties which relate to the 
apparent discrepancies between the Galatian Visit 
and visit (3), and to the circumstance that the 
Apostle does not allude to the Council in his argu- 
ment with the Galatians on the subject of circum- 
cision. 

6 See note on Epistle to the Galatians. 



APPENDIX n. 



ON THE DATE OF THE PASTORAL EPISTLES. 

BEFORE we can fix the time at which these Epistles were written, we must take the 
following data into account : — 

1. The three Epistles were nearly contemporaneous with one another. This is proved 
by their resembling each other in language, matter, and style of composition, and in the 
state of the Christian Church which they describe ; and by their differing in all these three 
points from all the other Epistles of St. Paul. Of course, the full force of this argument 
cannot be appreciated by those who have not carefully studied these Epistles ; but it is 
now almost universally admitted by all l who have done so, both by the defenders and im- 
pugners of the authenticity of the Pastoral Epistles. Hence, if we fix the date of one of 
the three, we fix approximately the date of all. 

2. They were written after St. Paul became acquainted with Apottos, and therefore after 
St. Paul's first visit to Ephesus. (See Acts xviii. 24, and Titus iii. 13.) 

3. Hence they could not have been written till after the conclusion of that portion of 
his life which is related in the Acts ; because there is no part of his history, between his 
first visit to Ephesus and his Roman imprisonment, which satisfies the historical condi- 
tions implied in the statements of any one of these Epistles. Various attempts have been 
made, with different degrees of ingenuity, to place the Epistles to Timothy and Titus at 
different points in this interval of time ; but all have failed even to satisfy the conditions 
required for placing any single Epistle correctly. 2 And no one has ever attempted to 
place all three together at any period of St. Paul's life before the end of his first Roman 
imprisonment ; yet this contemporaneousness of the three Epistles is a necessary condition 
of the problem. 

4. The Pastoral Epistles were written not merely after St. Paul's first Roman impris- 
onment, but considerably after it. This is evident from the marked difference in their 
style from the Epistle to the Philippians, which was the last written during that imprison- 
ment. So great a change of style (a change not merely in the use of single words, but in 
phrases, in modes of thought, and in method of composition) must require an interval of 
certainly not less than four or five years to account for it. And even that interval might 
seem too short, unless accompanied by circumstances which should further explain the 
alteration. Yet five years of exhausting labor, great physical and moral sufferings, and 
bitter experience of human nature, might suffice to account for the change. 

1 "We have noticed Dr. Davidson's contrary opin- alphabetical list of the words and phrases peculiar 

ion before ; and we should add that Wieseler may be to the Pastoral Epistles. 

considered another exception, only that he does not 2 Wieseler's is the most ingenious theory which 

attempt to reply to the grounds stated by other has been suggested forgetting over this difficulty; 

critics for the contemporaneousness of the three but it has been shown by Huther that none of the 

Epistles, but altogether ignores the question of three Epistles can be placed as Wieseler places them 

internal evidence from style and Church organiza- without involving some contradiction of the facta 

tion, which is the conclusive evidence here. Sub- mentioned in them respectively. 
Joined to this Appendix in the larger editions is an 
e 892 



DATE OF THE PASTORAL EPISTLES. 893 

5. The development of Church organization implied in the Pastoral Epistles leads to 
the same conclusion as to the lateness of their date. The detailed rules for the choice of 
presbyters and deacons, implying numerous candidates for these offices ; the exclusion 
of new converts (neophytes 1 ) from the presbyterate ; the regular catalogue of Church 
widows (1 Tim. v. 9), — are all examples of this. 

6. The heresies condemned in all three Epistles are likewise of a nature which forbids 
the supposition of an early date. They are of the same class as those attacked in the 
Epistle to the Colossians, but appear under a more matured form. They are apparently 
the same heresies which we find condemned in other portions of Scripture written in the 
later part of the apostolic age ; as, for example, the Epistles of Peter and Jude. We trace 
distinctly the beginnings of the Gnostic Heresy, which broke out with such destructive 
power in the second century, and of which we have already seen the germ in the Epistle 
to the Colossians. 

7. The preceding conditions might lead us to place the Pastoral Epistles at any point 
after a.d. 6Q (see condition 4, above) ; i.e., in the last thirty-three years of the first cen- 
tury. But we have a limit assigned us in this direction by a fact mentioned in the Epistles 
to Timothy; viz., that Timotheus was still a young man (1 Tim. iv. 12, 2 Tim. ii. 22) 
when they were written. We must, of course, understand this statement relatively to the 
circumstances under which it is used. Timotheus was young for the authority intrusted to 
him ; he was young to exercise supreme jurisdiction over all the Presbyters (many of them 
old men) of the Churches of Asia. According even to modern notions (and much more 
according to the feelings of antiquity on the subject), he would still have been very young 
for such a position at the age of thirty-five. Now, Timotheus was (as we have seen, pp. 
175 and 228) a youth still living with his parents when St. Paul first took him in a.d. 51 
(Acts xvi. 1-3) as his companion. From the way in which he is then mentioned (Acts 
xvi. 1-3, compare 2 Tim. i. 4), we cannot imagine him to have been more than seventeen 
or eighteen at the most. Nor, again, could he be much younger than this, considering the 
part he soon afterwards took in the conversion of Macedonia (2 Cor. i. 19). Hence we 
may suppose him to have been eighteen years old in a,d. 51. Consequently, in 68 (the 
.ast year of Nero), he would be thirty-five 2 years old. 

8. If we are to believe the universal tradition of the early Church, St. Paul's martyr- 
lorn occurred in the reign of Nero. 3 Henc3 we have another limit for the date of the 
Pastoral Epistles ; viz., that it could not hi,ve been later than a.d. 68 : and this agrees 
very well with the preceding datum. 

It will be observed that all the above conditions are satisfied by the hypothesis adopted 
in Chap. XXVH., — that the Pastoral Epistles were written, the two first just before, and 
the last during, St. Paul's final imprisonment at Rome. 4 

1 1 Tim. iii. 6. 4 At this point, in the larger editions, is a detailed 

8 No objection against the genuineness of the discussion of the arguments of those, who, during 

Pastoral Epistles has been more insisted on than the present century, have denied the genuineness of 

that furnished by the reference to the youth of these three Epistles. This was written before the 

Timotheus in the two passages above mentioned. appearance of Dr. Davidson's third volume. The 

How groundless such objections are, we may best reader who is acquainted with that valuable work 

realize by considering the parallel case of those will perceive that we differ from Dr. Davidson on 

young Colonial bishops who are almost annuallj Bot^e material points; nor, after considering his 

leaving our shores. Several of these have been not arguments, do we see reason to change our conclu- 

more than thirty-four or thirty-five years of age at sions. But this difference does not prevent us from 

the time of their appointment; and how naturally appreciating the candor and ability with which he 

might they be addressed by an elderly friend in the states the arguments on both sides. "We would 

very language which St. Paul here addressed to especially refer our readers to his statement of the 

Timotheus I difficulties in the way of the hypothesis that thes* 

8 See the authorities for this statement above, Epistles were forged. 
p. 846. 



894 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 

We come now to consider the order of the three Epistles among themselves : — 

1. 1 Tim. — In this we find that St. Paul had left Ephesus for Macedonia (1 Tim. i. 3), 
and had left Timothy at Ephesus to counteract the erroneous teaching of the heretics 
(iii. 4) ; and that he hoped soon to return to Ephesus (iii. 14). 

2. Titus. — Here we find that St. Paul had lately left Crete (i. 5), and that he was 
now about to proceed (iii. 1 2) to Nicopolis in Epirus, where he meant to spend the ap- 
proaching winter ; whereas, in 1 Tim., he meant soon to be back at Ephesus ; and he was 
afterwards at Miletus and Corinth between 1 Tim. and 2 Tim. (otherwise 2 Tim. iv. 20 
would be unintelligible). Hence Titus 1 must have been written later than 1 Tim. 

3. 2 Tim. — We have seen that this Epistle could not (from the internal evidence of 
its style, and close resemblance to the other Pastorals) have been written in the first Ro- 
man imprisonment. The same conclusion may be drawn also on historical grounds, as 
Huther has well shown where he proves that it could neither have been written before the 
Epistle to the Colossians, nor after the Epistle to the Colossians during tliat imprison- 
ment. The internal evidence from style and matter, however, is so conclusive, that it is 
needless to do more than allude to this quasi-external evidence. In this Epistle, we find 
St. Paul a prisoner in Rome (i. 17): he has lately been at Corinth (iv. 20) ; and, since he 
left Timothy (at Ephesus), he has been at Miletus (iv. 20). Also he has been, not long 
before, at Troas (iv. 13). 

The facts thus mentioned can be best explained by supposing, (1) that, after, writing 
1 Tim. from Macedonia, St. Paul did, as he intended, return to Ephesus by way of Troat, 
where he left the books, &c, mentioned 2 Tim. iv. 13, with Carpus ; (2) that from Ephe- 
sus he made a short expedition to Crete and back, and on his return wrote to Titus ; (3) 
that, immediately after despatching this letter, he went by Miletus to Corinth, and thence 
to Nicopolis ; whence he proceeded to Rome. 

1 Had 1 Tim. been written after Titus, St. Paul (on that hypothesis) -would be intending to winter 
could not have hoped to be back soon at Ephesus, at the distant Nicopolis. 
1 Tim. iii. 14; for he had only just left Epheros, And 



APPENDIX m. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 



A.D. 


Biography of St. Paul. 


Contemporary Events. 


36 


(?) St. Paul's conversion [supposing the 
3 years of Gal. i. 18 Judaically reck- 










oned]. See p. 891, and note (B) be- 
low. 




37 


(?) At Damascus. 


Death of Tiberius, and accession of 
Caligula (March 16). 


38 


(?) Flight from Damascus [see p. 891] 
to Jerusalem, and thence to Tarsus. 




39 


(?)1 


During these years, St. Paul preach- 




40 


(?) 
(?) 


es in Syria and Cilicia, making 




41 


Tarsus his head-quarters; and 








probably undergoes most of the 








sufferings mentioned at 2 Cor. 


Death of Caligula, and accession of 






xi. 24-26 ; viz., two of the Ro- 


Claudius (Jan. 25). Judsea and 






man and the five Jewish scour- 


Samaria given to Herod Agrippa I. 


42 


(?) 


gings, and three shipwrecks. See 




43 


(?) 


pp. 98 and 109, and note on 


Invasion of Britain by Aulus Plautius. 






2 Cor. xi. 25. 




44 


He is brought from Tarsus to Antioch 


Death of Herod Agrippa I. (Acts xii.) 




(Acts xi. 26), and stays there a year 


[see note (A) below.] ■ 




before the famine. 


Cuspius Fadus (as procurator) suc- 
ceeds to the government of Judsea. 


45 


He visits Jerusalem with Barnabas to 
relieve the famine. 




46 


At Antioch. 


Tiberius Alexander made procurator 
of Judsea (about this time). 


47 


At Antioch. 




48 


His " First Missionary Journey," from 
Antioch to 
Cyprus, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, 






Lystra, Derbe, 


Agrippa H. (Acts xxv.) made king of 
Chalcis ; 


49 


and back through the same places to 






Antioch. 


Cumanus made procurator of Judsea 








(about this time). 



896 



THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 



Appendix ILL — continued. 



A.D. 



Biography of St. Paul. 



Contemporary Events. 



50 



51 



52 



53 



54 



55 

56 
57 



58 

59 
60 

61 



St. Paul and Barnabas attend the " Coun- 
cil of Jerusalem." 
[See p. 191, &c; and note (B) below.] 

His " Second Missionary Journey," from 
Antioch to 
Cilicia, Lycaonia, 
Galatia, 

Troas, 

Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea, 

Athens, and 

Corinth. — Writes 1 Thess. 

At Corinth. — Writes 2 Thess. 



(Spring) — He leaves Corinth, and reaches 
(Summer) — Jerusalem at Pentecost, and 

thence goes to Antioch. 
(Autumn) — His " Third Missionary 

Journey." — He goes 
To Ephesus. 

At Ephesus. 

At Ephesus. 

(Spring) — He writes 1 Cor. 

(Summer) — Leaves Ephesus for Mace- 
donia, 

(Autumn) — Where he writes 2 Cor. ; and 
thence 

(Winter) — To Corinth, where he writes 
Galatians. 

(Spring) — He writes Bamans, and leaves 
Corinth, going by Philippi and Miletus 

(Summer) — To Jerusalem (Pentecost), 
where he is arrested, and sent to Caes- 
area. 

At C^SAREA. 

(Autumn) — Sent to Rome by Festus 

(about August). 
(Winter) — Shipwrecked at Malta. 

(Spring) — He arrives at Borne. 



Caractacus captured by the Romans 

in Britain ; 
Cogidunus (father of Claudia [?], 2 Tim. 

iv. 21) assists the Romans in Britain. 



Claudius expels the Jews from Rome 
(Acts xviii. 2). 



The tetrarchy of Trachonitis given to 

Agrippa H. ; 
Felix made procurator of Judaea. [See 

note (C) below.] 

Death of Claudius, and accession of 
Nero (Oct. 13). 



Nero murders Agrippina. 

Felix is recalled, and succeeded by 
Festus [see note (C) below]. 



Embassy from Jerusalem to Rome to 
petition about the wall [see note (C) 
below]. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 



897 



Appendix m. — continued. 



A.D. 


Biography of St. Paul. 


Contemporary Events. 


62 

63 
64 
65 

67 
68 


At Rome. C Philemon, 
(Spring) — Writes < Colossians, 
( EpTiesians, 
(Autumn) — Writes Philippians. 

(Spring) — He is acquitted, and goes to 
Macedonia (Phil. ii. 24) and 
Asia Minor (Philem. 22). 

(?) He goes to Spain. [For this and 
the subsequent statements, see Chap. 
XXVH.] 

(?) In Spain. 

(Summer) — From Spain (?) to Asia 
Minor (1 Tim. i. 3). 

(Summer) — Writes 1 Tim. from Mace- 
donia. 
(Autumn) — Writes Titus from Ephesus. 
(Winter) — At Nicopolis. 

( Spring) — In prison at Rome. Writes 

2 Tim. 
(Summer) — Executed (May or June). 


Burrus dies ; 

Albinus succeeds Festus as procurator ; 

Nero marries Poppaea ; 

Octavia executed ; 

Pallas put to death. 

Poppsea's daughter Claudia born. 

Great fire at Rome (July 19), followed 
by persecution of Roman Christians ; 

Gessius Florus made procurator of 
Judaea. 

Conspiracy of Piso, and death of Seneca. 

The Jewish war begins. 

Death of Nero in the middle of June. 



67 



NOTES ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 



Note (A.) — Date of the Famine in Acts xi. 28. 

We find in Acts xi. 28 that Agabus prophesied the occurrence of a famine, and that 
his prophecy was fulfilled in the reign of Claudius ; also that the Christians of Antioch 
resolved to send relief to their poor brethren in Judaea, and that this resolution was car- 
ried into effect by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. After relating this, St. Luke digress- 
es from his narrative to describe the then state (" about that time ") of the Church at 
Jerusalem, immediately before and after the death of Herod Agrippa (which is fully de- 
scribed Acts xii. 1-24). He then resumes the narrative which he had interrupted, and 
tells us how Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch after fulfilling their commission to 
Jerusalem (Acts xii. 25). 

From this it would appear that Barnabas and Saul went up to Jerusalem, to relieve the 
sufferers by famine, soon after the death of Herod Agrippa I. 

Now, Josephus enables us to fix Agrippa's death very accurately: for he tells us {Ant. 
xix. 9, 2), that, at the time of his death, he had reigned three full years over the whole of 
Judaea; and also {Ant. xix. 5, 1), that, early in the first year of Claudius (41 a.d.), the 
sovereignty of Judaea was conferred on him. Hence his death was in a.d. 44. 1 

The famine appears to have begun in the year after his death ; for (1) Josephus speaks 
of it as having occurred during the government of Cuspius Fadus and Tiberius Alexander 
{Ant. xx. 5, 2). Now, Cuspius Fadus was sent as Procurator from Rome on the death of 
Agrippa I., and was succeeded by Tiberius Alexander ; and both their Procuratorships 
together only lasted from a.d. 45 to A.D. 50, when Cumanus succeeded. (2) We find 
from Josephus {Ant. xx. 2, 6, compare xx. 5, 2), that, about the time of the beginning of 
Fadus's government, Helena, Queen of Adiabene, a Jewish proselyte, sent corn to the re- 
lief of the Jews in the famine. (3) At the time of Herod Agrippa's death, it would seem 
from Acts xii. 20 that the famine could not have begun ; for the motive of the Phoenicians 
in making peace was that their country was supplied with food from Judaea, — a motive 
which could not have acted while Judaea itself was perishing of famine. 

Hence we conclude that the journey of Barnabas and Saul to Jerusalem with alms took 
place in a.d. 45. 

Note (B.) 

In p. 891, we have remarked that the interval of 14 years (Gal. ii. 1) between the 
flight from Damascus and the Council of Jerusalem might be supposed to be either 14 full 
years, or 13, or even 12 years, Judaically reckoned. It must not be imagined that the 
Jews arbitrarily called the same interval of time 14, 13, or 12 years ; but the denomination 
of the interval depended on the time when it began and ended, as follows : If it began on 
Sept. 1, a.d. 38, and ended Oct. 1, a.d. 50, it would be called 14 years, though really 

1 Additional authorities for this are given "by Wieseler. 
t 898 



NOTES ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 899 

only 12 years and one month, because it began before the 1st of Tisri, and ended after 
the 1st of Tisri; and, as the Jewish civil year began on the 1st of Tisri, the interval was 
contained in Ik different civil years. On the other hand, if it began Oct. 1, a.d. 38, and 
ended Sept. 1, a.d. 50, it would only be called 12 years, although really only two months 
less than the former interval which was called 14 years. Hence, as we do not know the 
month of the flight from Damascus, nor of the Council of Jerusalem, we are at liberty to 
suppose that the interval between them was only a few weeks more than 12 years, and 
therefore to suppose the flight in a.d. 38, and the Council in a.d. 50. 



Note (C.) — On the Date of the Recall of Felix. 

We have seen that St. Paul arrived in Rome in spring, after wintering at Malta ; and 
that he sailed from Judsea at the beginning of the preceding autumn, and was at Fair Ha- 
vens in Crete in October, soon after "the Fast," which was on the 10th of Tisri (Acts 
xxvii. 9). He was sent to Rome by Festus, upon his appeal to Csesar; and his hearing 
before Festus had taken place about a fortnight (see Acts xxiv. 27 to xxv. 1) after the 
arrival of Festus in the province. Hence the arrival of Festus (and consequently the 
departure of Felix) took place in the summer preceding St. Paul's voyage. 

This is confirmed by Acts xxiv. 27, which tells us that Paul had been in prison two 
complete years at the time of Felix's departure : for he was imprisoned at a Pentecost ; 
therefore Felix's departure was just after a Pentecost. 

We know, then, the season of Felix's recall ; viz., the summer : and we must determine 
the date of the year. 

. (a) At the beginning of St. Paul's imprisonment at Csesarea (i.e., two years before 
Felix's recall), Felix had been already "for many years Procurator ofJudcea " (Acts xxiv. 
10). " Many years" could not be less than 5 years : therefore Felix had governed Judsea 
at least (5 -f- 2 =) 7 years at the time of his recall. Now, Felix was appointed Procura- 
tor in the beginning of the 13th year of Claudius 1 (Joseph. Ant, xx. 7, 1, twelfth year com- 
plete) ; that is, early in the year a.d. 53. Therefore Felix's recall could not have occurred 
before a.d. (53 + 7 =) 60. 

(/3) But we can also show that it could not have occurred after a.d. 60, by the follow- 
ing arguments : — 

1. Felix was followed to Rome by Jewish ambassadors, who impeached him of misgov- 
ernment. He was saved from punishment by the intercession of his brother Pallas, at a 
time when Pallas was 2 in special favor with Nero (Joseph. Ant. xx. 8, 9). Now, Pallas 
was put to death by Nero in the year a.d. 62; and it is improbable, that, at any part 
of that or the preceding year, he should have had much influence with Nero. Hence 
Felix's recall was certainly not after a.d. 62, and probably not after a.d. 60. 

2. Burrus was living (Joseph. Ant., quoted by Wieseler) at the time when Felix's Jew- 
ish accusers were at Rome. Now, Burrus died not later than February, a.d. 62. And 
the Jewish ambassadors could not have reached Rome during the season of the Mare 
Clausum : therefore they (and consequently Felix) must have come to Rome not after 
the autumn of a.d. 61. 

3. Paul, on arriving at Rome, was delivered (Acts xxviii. 16) to the prefect (not the pre- 

1 Tacitus places the appointment of Felix earlier too much on hia favor, he excited the disgust of 
than this; but, on such a question, his authority is Nero at the very beginning of his reign (A. D. 54). 
not to be compared with that of Josephus. In A. D. 55 he was accused of treason, but acquitted; 

2 Pallas had been mainly instrumental in obtain- and, after this acquittal, he seems to have regained 
ing Nero's adoption by Claudius ; but, by presuming bis favor at court. 



900 THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL. 

feet.*) : l hence there was a single prefect in command of the praetorians at that time. But 
this was not the case after the death of Burrus, when Rufus and Tigellinus were made 
joint prefects. Hence (as above) Paul could not have arrived in Rome before a.d. 61, 
and therefore Felix's recall (which was in the year before Paul's arrival at Rome) could 
not have oeen after a.d. 60. 

Therefore Felix's recall has been proved to be neither after a.d. 60, nor before a.d. 
60 : consequently, it was in a.d. 60. 

(y) This conclusion is confirmed by the following considerations : — 

1 . Festus died in Judaea, and was succeeded by Albinus. We are not informed of the 
duration of Festus's government ; but we have proved (a) that it did not begin before 
a.d. 60 : and we know that Albinus was in office in Judaea in the autumn of a.d. 62 (at 
the Feast of Tabernacles), and perhaps considerably before that time. Hence Festus's 
arrival (and Felix's recall) must have been either in 60 or 61. Now, if we suppose it in 
61, we must crowd into a space of fifteen months the following events : (a) Festus repress- 
es disturbances. (5) Agrippa H. builds his palace overlooking the temple, (c) The 
Jews build their wall, intercepting his view, (d) They send a deputation to Rome to ob- 
tain leave to keep their wall, (e) They gain their suit at Rome by the intercession of 
Poppaea. (/) They return to Jerusalem, leaving the high priest Ishmael as hostage at 
Rome, (g) Agrippa, on their return, nominates a new high priest (Joseph), the length 
of whose tenure of office we are not told, (h) Joseph is succeeded in the high priesthood 
by Ananus, who holds the office three months, and is displaced just before the arrival of Al- 
binus. This succession of events could not have occurred "between the summer of a.d. 61 
and the autumn of a.d. 62; because the double voyage of the Jewish embassy, with 
their residence in Rome, would alone have occupied twelve months. Hence we conclude 
that from the arrival of Festus to that of Albinus was a period of not less than two years 
and consequently that Festus arrived a.d. 60. 

2. The Procurators of Judaea were generally changed when the Propraetors of Syri-i 
were changed. Now, Quadratus was succeeded by Corbulo in Syria a.d. 60 : hence we 
might naturally expect Felix to be recalled in that year. 

3. Paul was indulgently treated (Acts xxviii. 31) at Rome for two years after his arrival 
there. Now, he certainly would not have been treated indulgently after the Roman fire 
(in July, 64). Hence his arrival was, at latest, not after (64 — 2=) a.d. 62. Conse- 
quently, Felix's recall was certainly not after 61. 

4. After Nero's accession (Oct. 13, a.d. 54), Josephus 2 mentions the following consec- 
utive events as having occurred in Judaea : (a) Capture of the great bandit Eleazar by 
Felix, (b) Rise of the Sicarii. (c) Murder of Jonathan unpunished, (d) Many pre- 
tenders to Inspiration or Messiahship lead followers into the wilderness, (e) These are 
dispersed by the Roman troops. (/) An Egyptian rebel, at the head of a body of Sicarii, 
excites the most dangerous of all these insurrections : his followers are defeated ; but he 
himself escapes. This series of events could not well have occupied less than three years ; 
and we should therefore fix the insurrection of the Egyptian not before a.d. 57. Now, 
when St. Paul was arrested in the Temple, he was at first mistaken for this rebel Egyptian, 
who is mentioned as " the Egyptian who before these days made an uproar " (Acts xxi, 
38), — an expression which would very naturally be used if the Egyptian's insurrection 
had occurred in the preceding year. This would again agree with supposing the date of 
St. Paul's arrest to be a.d. 58, and therefore Felix's recall a.d. 60. 

1 The official phrase was in the plural, when a The references are given hy Wieseler. 

there was more than one prefect. So Trajan writes, 
" Vmctus mitti ad prcefec-tos pruetorii mei debet." — 
Tlin. Ep. x. 65 



NOTES OX THE CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 901 

5. St. Paul (Acts xviii. 2) finds Aquila and Priscilla just arrived at Corinth from 
Rome, -whence they were banished by a decree of the Emperor Claudius. "VYe do not 
know the date of this decree ; but it could not, at the latest, have been later than a.d. 54, 
in -which year Claudius died. Now, the Acts gives us distinct information, that between 
this first arrival at Corinth, and St. Paul's arrest at Jerusalem, there were the following in-' 
tervals of time : viz., from arriving at Corinth to reaching Antioch, If years ; from reach- 
ing Ephesus to leaving Ephesus, 2\ years ; from leaving Ephesus to reaching Jerusalem, 
1 year. (See Acts xviii., xix., and xx.) These make together h\ years; but to this 
must be added the time spent at Antioch, and between Antioch and Ephesus, which is 
not mentioned, but which may reasonably be estimated at \ year. Thus we have 5^ 
years fbr the total interval. Therefore the arrest of St. Paul at Jerusalem was probably 
not later than (5-4 -f-5^=) a.d. 59, and may have been earlier; which agrees with the 
result independently arrived at, — that it was actually in a.d. 58. 

It is impossible for any candid mind to go through such investigations as these with- 
out seeing how strongly they confirm (by innumerable coincidences) the historical accu- 
racy of the Acts of the Apostles. 



INDEX. 



u Abba," remarks on the use of the word, 
531 n. 

Acamas, promontory of, 142. 

Acco, 614. 

Achaia, 273 ; harbors of, 360 ; province of, 
under the Romans, 362. 

Acre, St. Jean d', 614. 

Acrocorinthus, the, 359; its importance, 
ib. : views from its summit, ib. 

Acropolis, the, 300, 305 ; view of the, re- 
stored, 326. 

Acts of the Apostles, 121. 

Adana, 220 n., 223 n. 

Adramyttium, 240, 686. 

iEgae, 220 n. 

^Egina, Island of, 299. 

Agabus the prophet, 117, 615. 

Agora, the. of Athens, 306. 

Agricola, 14. 

Agrippa, Herod, grandson of Herod the 
Great, 103; his death, 119. 

Agrippa H., 652. 

'Akot], meaning of, 570 n. 

Ak-Sher, 233. 

Alban Mount, 731. 

Albinus, 667 n. 

Alcibiades, character of, 315 ; fortifications 
of, at Cos, 605. 

Alexander the coppersmith, 472, 474. 

Alexander the Great, 6, 7 ; at Pamphylia, 
144. 

Alexandria, eminence of. 684. 

Alexandria Troas, 241 ; harbor of, 242, 591. 

Almalee in Lycia, 149. 



Almsgiving amongst the Jews, 61. 

" Altar of the Twelve Gods " at Athens, 
307 ; to the " Unknown God," 315. 

Amphipolis, 275. 

Amphitheatres in Asia Minor, 587. 

Amplias, 581. 

Amyntas, King of Galatia, 21. 

Ananias, 87. 

Ananias, the Jewish merchant, 117. 

Ancyra, description of, 212 n., 234. 

Andriace, 608, 691. 

Androclus, founder of Ephesus, 462. 

Andronicus, "kinsman" of St. Paul, 581. 

Ane murium, cliffs of, 142. 

Annseus Novatus. — See Gallio. 

'Avdv-nci-og, the word as translated in the 
A. Y., 131 n. 

" Antinomian," the term as applied to the 
" all things lawful " party at Corinth, 
539 n. 

Antinomianism, Corinthian, 539. 

Antinomian s, 422. 

Antinous, the favorite of Hadrian, birth- 
place of, 208 n. 

Antioch, 101; Jewish Christians in, 109; 
description and history of the city, 112 
et seq. ; earthquake and famine in, 117 ; 
a revelation at, 122. 

Antioch in Pisidia, 150 ; identified with the 
modern town of Jalobatch, 151 ; its 
foundation, ib. ; called Cassarea by Au- 
gustus, 152. 

'AvTioxdag Tvxv, statue of the, 116, n. 4. 

Antiochus Epiphanes, coins of, 24; his 
adoption of Roman fashions, 25. 

Antiochus Soter, 211. 



903 



904 



IXDEX. 



Antigonia Troas. — See Alexandria Troae. 

Anti-Taurus, the, 224 n. 

Antipas, son of Herod the Great, 26. 

Antipater, 26. 

Antipatris, 650. 

Antonia, the Fortress, 633. 

Antonine Itinerary, 274. 

Antoninus Pius, 584 n. 

Anxur, 728, 730. 

Aorist, St. Paul's constant use of the, for 
the perfect, 496 n. ; 532 n.; 552 n. 

Apamea in Asia Minor, 114. 

Apelles, 605. 

Apollo Patrous, Temple of, 307. 

Apollonia on the Adriatic, description of, 
277. 

Apollos, 390 ; 406 el seq. ; followers of, 422. 

Apostles, Acts of the, 47 ; their office in the 
Primitive Church, 376. 

Apostles and Elders, letters of the, to the 
Christians of Antioch, 197. 

Apostolic Church, the, 60. 

Appellatio, the Roman right of, 669 n. 

Appendices : — I. On the time of the visit 
to Jerusalem mentioned in Galatians 
(chap, ii.), 885. II. On the date of the 
Pastoral Epistles, 892. III. Chronolo- 
gical Table, 895. 

Appian Way, 727. 

Appii Forum, 730. 

Aquila, 336, 357, 367. 

Aquila, the translator of the Old Testa- 
ment into Greek, 336. 

Arabia, the word as used by the ancients, 
89. 

Aram, 33. 

Aramcean Jews, 33. 

Aratus, the Greek poet of Cilicia, 328 n. 

Araunah, threshing-floor of, 629. 

Archelaus, son of Herod, his banishment, 
51. 

Archelaus, last king of Cappadocia, 214. 

Archippus, 413. 

Areopagus, 300, 306 ; description of the, 
325. 

Aretas, the Arab royal title of, 76 n. ; coins 
of; 100 n. 

Arethusa, Pass of, 277. 

Arg£eus, Mount, 166. 

Aricia, town of, 731. 



Aristarchus, 687. 

Aristobulus, the, mentioned in Rom. xvi. 10, 
582. 

Aristotle, 310. 

Artemio, 128. 

Artemisian festival, 471. 

Asia, the word as used by the ancients, 205 
et seq. 

Asia Minor, robbers in, 145; " water- 
floods " of, 145 ; caravans in, 148 ; table- 
lands of, 149; political divisions of, 
204 n. 

'Ac'iapxai, translation of, 471, n. 2. 

Asiarchs, the, 471. 

Aspendus, 143. 

" Assemblies of the Wise," 55. 

Assize-towns of the Romans, 470. 

Assos, 240 ; notice of, 594. 

Astrology, passion of the Antiochseans for, 
115; amongst the Orientals, 133. 

Asyncritus, 582. 

Athenian religion, notice of the, 314. 

Athenodorus, 98. 

Athens, scenery around, 301 ; description 
of the city of, 301 et seq. ; its " careful- 
ness in religion," 314 ; paganism of, con- 
trasted with Christianity, 331 ; compared 
with Corinth, 333. 

Athos, Mount, 243, 247, 272, 297. 

Attaleia, Bay of, 141 ; town of, 142 ; his- 
tory and description of, 177. 

Attalus Philadelphus, 143. 

Attalus HI., King of Pergamus, 206. 

Attica, description of, 300. 

" Augustan Band," the, 26 n. 

Augustine, St., on the names of " Saulus " 
and " Paulus," 137. 

Aulon, Pass of, 276. 

Avrdc b/u, meaning of, in Rom. vii. 25, 
561 n. 

Avernus Lacus, 723. 

Axius River, 272. 



B. 



Balse, 220 n. ; 724. 
Balaamites, or Nicolaitans, 398. 
" Barbarian," use of the word in the N. T., 
7n. 



INDEX. 



905 



Barjesus the sorcerer, 133. 

Barnabas at Antioch, 96, 110 ; accompanies 
St. Paul to Jerusalem with contribution- 
money in time of famine, 117 ; becomes 
one of the teachers at Antioch, 120; 
departs for Cyprus, 123 ; arrives at Se- 
leucia, 126; at Salamis, 127; and at 
Paphos, 128; brought before Sergius 
Paulus, 133; visits Pamphylia, 141; 
arrives at Perga, 143 ; and at the table- 
land of Asia Minor, 149 ; reaches An- 
tioch in Pisidia, 155 ; accompanies St. 
Paul to the synagogue there, 155 ; ex- 
pelled from the city, 162 ; journeys 
towards Lycaonia, 162 ; reaches Iconi- 
um, 162 ; flies from a conspiracy of the 
Iconians to destroy him, 164; reaches 
Lystra, 167; goes to Derbe, 175; turns 
back, and revisits Lystra, Iconium, and 
Antioch, 176; reaches Perga, 176; ac- 
companies St. Paul to Jerusalem, 187; 
arrives there, 189 ; his address to the 
Christian conference at Jerusalem, 190 ; 
returns to Antioch, 196; quarrels with 
and separates from St. Paul, 217, 218; 
his subsequent life, 218. 

Basil, St., 322. 

Basilica, the Roman, 736. 

Basilides, the Gnostic, 399 n. 

Baptism, infant, 255. 

Baris, 633. 

Baulos-Dagh, the, 238 n. 

Behistoun, rock-inscriptions of, 235 n. 

Beilan Pass, the, 220. 

Bnfia, the, 364 n. ; 634. 

Benjamin, lot of, 41 ; the youngest and 
most honored of the patriarchs, 41. 

Berenice, 23, 213, 652, 671. 

Beroea, description of, 292. 

Bethesda, Pool of, 634. 

Bethsaida, city of, 52. 

Bin-Bir-Kilisseh, 166 n. 

Bishop, office of, in the Primitive Church, 
378. 

Bithynia, description of, 207. 

Bovillae, 732. 

Buldur, marble road at, 148 ; Lake of, 
150. 

Burning bush, the, 66. 

Burrus, the prsetorian prefect, 734. 



" Cabala," meaning of the word, 396 n. 

Capua, 727. 

Csesar, J., 133. 

Csesarea, 25, 107 ; its theatre, 118 ; descrip- 
tion of the city, 658. 

Csssarea Stratonis, city of, 97 n. 

Caius, or Gaius, 349. 

Caligula, 76, 102. 

Cambunian Hills, the, 272 n. 

Cameniata, Joh«, history of, 280 n. 

Campagna of Rome, 731. 

Campanian Way, 726. 

Candace, Queen, 18. 

Cappadocia, description of, 214. 

Capreae, Island of, 722. 

Casilinum, 728. 

Casius, Mount, 126. 

Catarrhactes River, 142. 

C ay ster River, 410. 

Caystrian Meadows, 461. 

" Cemetery," Christian use of the word, 
69 n. 

Cenchrese, 302; notice of, 367; its geo- 
graphical position, 584 n. 

Cephas, the name, 426 n. 

Cephisus River, 303, 311. 

Ceramicus, the, at Athens, 306. 

Cercinitus, the Lake, 276. 

Ceres, Temple of, at Athens, 305. 

Cestrus River, 142. 

Charity amongst the early Christians, 120 

"Chiefs of Asia," 470. 

Chios, 410, 597. 

Chittim, 139. 

" Chittim, isles of," 139 n. 

Chloe, family of, 421. 

Chrestus, 335. 

Chrysorrhoas River, 81. 

Chrysostom, John, 170, 236. 

Christianity and Judaism, 29, 30. 

Christianity, dissemination of, in Antioch 
in Pisidia, 161 ; compared with Greek 
philosophy, 319 ; foundation of, in 
Achaia, 409 ; in Rome, founder of, not 
known, 543. 

" Christians," the name, when first used, 
111. 

Chrysippus the Stoic, his birthplace, 20 n. 



906 



INDEX. 



Church, the Apostolic, 60 ; charity of its 
members, 61; first aspect of the, 62; 
formation of the first, of united Jews 
and Gentiles, 161 ; controversy in the, 
179; great conference of the apostles 
and elders of the, at Jerusalem, 190; 
its decree, 192; foundation of the, in 
Macedonia, 255 ; constitution of the 
primitive, 376 et seq. ; ordinances of the, 
382; festivals of the, 385; divisions in 
the, 387 ; heresies in the, 390. 

Church of Philippi, 480 ; veneration of, for 
St. Paul, 480 ; its liberality to the Apos- 
tle, 481, 512. 

Church of Tyre, 612. 

Church, the Roman, 739. 

Cibyra, " the Birmingham of Asia Minor," 
149. 

Cicero, 13, 14; as governor of Cilicia, 22; 
at Athens, 311, 312 ft. 

Cilician churches, foundation of the, 98. 

" Cilician Gates," 176, 220 n. ; 222 ft. 

Cilicia, 13,18; Rough Cilicia, 19; Flat 
Cilicia, 20 ; mountain-wall of, 20 ; as a 
Roman province, 22 ; under Cicero, 22 ; 
description of, 214. 

"Cilicium" tents, 45, 150. 

Cimon of Athens, statue of, 306 ; his vic- 
tory over the Persians at Plataea and 
Salamis, 143. 

Cithaeron, hills of, 300. 

Citium, Phoenician colony of, 139 ft. 

Claudia, 835, 844 ft. 

Claudius Lysias, 636 ; letter of, to Felix, 
650. 

Claudius, the Emperor, 104, 105 ; his edict 
banishing the Jews from Rome, 335. 

Cleanthes the Stoic, hymn of, 5 n. 

Cnidus, notice of, 605, 692. 

Colonia, observations on the constitution 
of a, 252. 

Colonna, Cape, 299. 

Colossae, 234 n. ; description of, 752 ft. 

Colossians, Epistle to the, 752. 

Colossus at Rhodes, the, 607. 

Colony, constitution of a Roman, 252. 

Commerce, Roman, 682. 

Conference, great, of the apostles and 
elders at Jerusalem, 190. 

Constantia, 128. 



Consular Way, 727. 

Contributions for poor Jewish Christians, 

509, 542. 
" Conventus," use of the word, 471 n. 
Coracesium, cliffs of, 142. 
Coressus mountains, 462. 
Corinth, 333, 334 ; its early history, 361 

under the Romans, 362 ; its destruction 

by Mummius, 362; re-establishment of 

its importance under Julius Caesar, 362 

tumult at, 365. 
Corinthian Church, state of, in time of St 

Paul, 541 ; its subsequent character 

542. 
Corinthians, First Epistle to the, 424 

Second, 485. 
Corinthians, licentiousness of the, 419. 
Cornelius, 99, 106 ; conversion of, 107, 108. 
Corn-vessels of Egypt, 685. 
Cos, Island of, 604. 
Cotyaeum, 238 ft. 
Council-house of Athens, 307. 
Cragus, Mount, 608. 
Crassus, 133. 
Crescens, 828. 

Crispus, " ruler of the synagogue," 350. 
Cross, meaning of the expression, " to boast 

in the cross," 537 n. 
Croesus and the " Ephesian Letters," 413. 
Cumae, 723. 
Cuspius Fadus, 635. 
Cydnus, the River, 20, 45. 
Cybistra, 225 ft. 
Cyprus, 16, 109, 123 ; as a Roman province, 

129; history of, 139. 
Cyrene, 16. 



Dalmatia, 515. 

Damaris, the female convert at Athens, 330. 

Damascus, 76 ; roads from, to Jerusalem, 

78 ; history of, 80. 
Daphne, 116. 
Delos, slave-trade of, 19. 
Demas, 747. 

Demetrius and the silver-smiths, 472. 
Demoniac slave, the, at Philippi, 260. 
Demoniacs, the, of : the New Testament, 

258. 



INDEX. 



907 



Demosthenes, statue of, 307. 

Demus, the, of Thessalonica, 289. 

Denarius, silver, 2. 

Derbe, city of, 166, 175, 222, 225; site of, 

225. 
" Devil," and " demon," 259. 
Diana, Temple of, at Perga, 143 ; statue of, 

by Praxiteles, 308. 
Diana of Ephesus, worship of, 413 ; Temple 

of Ephesus, 464 ; worship of, 466. 
Dicaearchia, 724. 
Diogenes, tomb of, 584 n. 
Dionysius, the convert at Athens, 330. 
Dium, 296. 
Drachma, the, 416 n. 
Drepanum, promontory of, 142. 
Drusilla, wife of Felix, 664. 
Dyrrhachium, 278 n. 



E. 



Earnest-money, 487. 

Easter, 385. 

Edessa, 292 n. 

'Hyefj-dv, meaning of the term, 131 n. 

Egnatia, Via, 274. 

Egyptian corn- vessels, 685. 

" Elder," the name, 3 78. 

Elogium, the document so called, 3 n. 

Elymas Barjesus, 133. 

Epsenetus, "the first-fruits of Achaia," 581. 

Epaphras, 413, 747, 753. 

Epaphroditus, 785. 

'Enapx'ta, meaning of, 130 n., 214 n. 

"Ephesian Letters," 413. 

Ephesian magic, 413. 

Ephesians, Epistle to the, 766 ; parallelism 
between it and the Epistle to the Colos- 
, sians, 765. 

Ephesus, its geographical position, 410 ; 
description of, 461 ; its natural advan- 
tages, 462 ; foundation of the city, ib. ; 
its present appearance, 463 ; its cele- 
brated temple, 464; political constitu- 
tion of, 469 ; tumult in the city, 473 ; 
speech of the town-clerk, 475. 

Ephraim, hills of, 648. 

Epictetus, philosophy of, 321. 

Epicureans, their philosophy, 319. 



Epicurus, garden of, 320 ; notice of him 
319 n. 

Epimenides of Crete, 824 n. 

Epipolae, 721. 

'EmewcoTTOf, office of, 378, 602 n. 

Epistles of St. Paul : — First Epistle to the 
Thessalonians, 340 ; Second Epistle to 
the Thessalonians, 352 ; First Epistle 
to the Corinthians, 424 ; Second Epistle 
to the Corinthians, 485 ; Epistle to the 
Galatians, 523 ; Epistle to the Romans, 
544 ; Epistle to Philemon, 749 ; to the 
Colossians, 752 : to the Ephesians, 
766 ; to the Philippians, 786 ; First 
Epistle to Timotheus, 811 ; Second to 
Timotheus, 836 ; Epistle to the He- 
brews, 855. 

Epistles, Pastoral, on the date of the, 892 ; 
peculiar words and phrases in the, 
894. 

Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, 153, 218. 

Eponymi, the, 307. 

"Epavog , the entertainment so called, 446 n. 

Erastus, 421, 583. 

Erectheium, the, 309. 

Eski-Karahissar, 233. 

Essenes, the, 32. 

Etesian winds, 682. 

Eubcea, Island of, 299. 

Eunice, mother of Timotheus, 1 75. 

" Euroclydon," the, 700 ; etymology of the 
word, 700 n. 

Eurymedon, River, 142. 

Eutychus, restored to life by St. Paul, 
593. 

"Evangelist," the term, 615 n. 

Exorcists, Jewish, 415. 

Eyerdir, Lake of, 150. 



F. 

Fair Havens, 694. 

Famagousta, 127. 

Felix, 651 ; summoned to Rome, 667. 

Festivals of the Primitive Church, 385- 

Festus, G67. 

Formige, 729. 

Fundi, plain of, 729. 

Furies, sanctuary of the, 307. 



908 



INDEX. 



G. 

Gadarenes, demoniacs of the country of the, 

260. 
Gaggitas River, 254. 
Gaius, or Caius, 521, 583. 
Galatse and Keltae, 210. 
Galatia, description of, 209 ; foundation of, 

211. 
Galatian Church, state of the, 521. 
Galatians, Epistle to the, 523. 
Galen, 131. 

Gallesus, precipices of, 461. 
Galli, the, of Galatia, 235. 
Gallio, originally called AnnEeus Novatus, 

proconsul of Achaia, 363. 
Gamaliel, 53, 54 ; prayer of, 54 n. 
Games of Asia and Ephesus, 471. 
Gate of St. Stephen, 68. 
Gauls, settlement of the, in Asia, 210. 
Gazith, or " the Stone Chamber," 65. 
Genealogies, the, mentioned in the Pastoral 

Epistles, 394. 
Gentiles at the synagogue of Antioch in 

Pisidia, 160; addressed by St. Paul, 

160 ; their reception of the Word of 

God, 161 ; religiously and socially sepa- 
rated from the Jews, 181. 
Gibea, 50. 
Gilboa, Mount, 50. 
Gnosticism, 751. 
Gnostics, 399 n. 
Gophna, 648. 
Gordium, 212 n. 

Gospel first preached in Europe, 255. 
" Grace before meat," the, as used in the 

Primitive Church, 816 n. 
Tpafj-tiarevg, the, of Acts xix. 35, 469. 
" Grecians," 34. 
Greek tongue, 9 ; a theological language, 9 ; 

its universal spread among the educated 

classes, 15. 
Greeks, the, 7 ; social condition of, 10 ; their 

science and commerce, 11. 
Grego, Cape, 127. 
Gregory Nazianzene, St., 322. 
Grotius on the names " Saulus " and 

"Paulus," 137. 
Gymnasium, the, in ancient Greek cities, 

586 n. 



H. 



Haemus, Mount, 610. 

Haliacmon River, 293. 

Hannibal in the fleet of Antiochus, 143. 

Harmodius and Aristogeiton, statues of, 
307. 

Hebrews, Epistle to the, its authorship, 
848, 852 ; its readers, 849 ; its object, 
855 ; text of Epistle, 855. 

Helena, mother of King Izates, 117. 

Hellenist Jews, 33. 

Heresies in the Primitive Church, 395 ; in 
the later Apostolic Church, 393. 

Hermas, 582. 

Hermes, 582. 

Hermon, Mount, 79. 

Hermus River, 239. 

Herod Agrippa I., 26, 104. 

Herod Agrippa H., 652. 

Herod Antipas, 75. 

Herodians, the, 32. 

Herodion, 582. 

Herod, King of Chalcis, 653. 

Herod the Great, 24 ; interview with Au- 
gustus, 25 ; death of, 51. 

Herod's theatre and amphitheatre, 118. 

Herostratus, 464. 

Hierarchy, the Greek, 467. 

Hillel, Jewish school of, 53. 

Hospitality, Christian, 256, 257. 

Hymettus, Mount, 300. 



Iconium (now Konieh), 162; its history, 
163. 

Ida, Gulf of, 240 n. 

" Idols, dumb," recent discovery of, at Tar- 
sus, 221 n. 

Hissus River, 303. 

Hium, New, 242 n. 

Imbros, Island of, 247. 

Illyricum, 273 ; Greek, 514 ; Roman, 514. 

Informers at Rome, 831. 

Isauria, 19. 

Isbarta, 146 n. 

Isthmian games, 585 ; Stadium, note on the, 
585. 



INDEX. 



909 



Isthmus, notice of the, 357. 

" Italian Band," the, 26. 

" Italian Cohort," the, of Cornelius, 108. 

Italy, misery of, during Rome's splendor, 

12. 
Izates, King of Adiabene, 117. 



J. 

Jacob's Well, 79. 

James the Just, 191; his address to the 
conference of Christians at Jerusalem, 
192, 621. 

James, St., 118. 

Jason, 287, 583. 

Jebel-el-Akrab, 126. 

Jerusalem, state of, under the Romans, 51 ; 
conference at, between the Christians 
and the Pharisaic Christians, 190. 

Jewish dispersion, the, 15, 17 n. 

Jewish exorcists, 415. 

Jewish mode of teaching, 54. 

Jewish names, history of, 135. 

Jewish spiritual pride and exclusive bigot- 
ry, 160. 

Jews, languages spoken by, at the period 
of the Apostles, 2 ; religious civilization 
of the, 3 ; influence of, on the heathen 
world, 6 ; dispersion of, 15 ; colony of, 
in Babylonia, 16 ; in Lydia and Phry- 
gia, 16 ; in Africa, 16 ; in Alexandria, 
1 7 ; in Europe, 1 7 ; in Rome, 1 7 ; prose- 
lytes of, 17; forcibly incorporated with 
aliens, 18 ; Jews in Arabia, 18 ; in the 
east of the Mediterranean, 18; Jewish 
sects, 30 ; Jews not unfrequently Ro- 
man citizens, 43 ; state of the Jews 
after the death of Herod, 52 ; mode 
of teaching amongst, 54 ; almsgiving 
amongst, 6 1 ; numerous in Salamis, 1 28 ; 
insurrection of, at Salamis, 128 ; syna- 
gogue of, at Antioch in Pisidia, 155 ; 
spiritual pride and exclusive bigotry of, 
160; intrigues of Judaizers at Antioch, 
162 ; inflaential position of, at Thessa- 
lonica, 280 ; colony of, at Beroea, 293 ; 
in Athens, 313 ; in gicat numbers in 
Athens, 335 ; banished from Rome by 
command of the Empcxor Claudius, 335 ; 
colonies of, in Asia Minor, 336 ; charges 



of the, against St. Paul at Corinth, 364 ; 
Jews at Ephesus, 368 ; irritation of the, 
at the progress of Christianity, 588 ; 
conspiracy of, to take the life of St. Paul 
in the Isthmus, 589 ; hatred of, of the 
Roman soldiers at Jerusalem, 635 ; in- 
dignation of, at the appearance of St. 
Paul in the Temple, 627 ; slaughter of, 
in the streets of Cassarea, 660 ; Jews in 
Rome, 738. 

John the Baptist, 406 ; disciples of, 411. 

John, St., 118 ; his meeting with St. Paul, 
195. 

John, "whose surname was Mark," 119, 
124 ; leaves St. Paul and Barnabas, and 
returns to Jerusalem, 144, 196, 218. 

Jonathan the high priest, 654. 

Joses, the Levite of Cyprus, 109. 

Judaizers generally, 390. 

Judaea, history of, 652 ; geographical posi- 
tion of, 6 ; notices of, 18 ; political 
changes in, 25 ; state of, 51. 

Judas, 197. 

Julia, 582. 

Julius, city of, 52. 

Juliopolis, Tarsus so called, 43 n. 

Junius, " kinsman " of St. Paul, 581. 

Jus Italicum, remarks on the, 242 n. 



K. 



Kara-Dagh, or Black Mountain, 166 ; view 

of, 225. 
Keltae and Galatae, 210. 
"Keys, The," 129. 
Kiutaya. — See Cotyaeum. 
Konieh. — See Iconium. 



L. 

Ladik, 233. 

Laodicea Combusta, 234. 
Laodicea, Church of, 765. 
Lasaea, 696. 
Latmus, Mount, 604. 
Lebanon, 19. 
Lectum, Cape, 594. 
Legions, Roman, 655. 
Lemnos, 246. 



910 



INDEX. 



Leoni, Port (the Piraeus), 302. 

Leontopolis, Temple of Onias at, 35 n. 

Libertines, synagogue of the, 62. 

Limyra, Greek tablets at, 148. 

Linus, 835. 

Liris, River, 729. 

Lissus, the modern Alessis, 273 n. 

Lois, grandmother of Timotheus, 1 75. 

Longinus, Governor of Syria, 635. 

" Long Legs " of Athens, the, 303 n. 

" Long Walls " of Athens, 303. 

Lucius of Cyrene, 121, 122. 

Lucrine Lake, oyster-beds of, 723. 

Luke, St., his meeting with St. Paul, Silas, 
and Timotheus, at Alexandria Troas, 
244 ; they sail from Troas, 246 ; arrive 
at Samothrace, 247 ; reach Philippi, 250 ; 
left behind at Philippi, 269; visited by 
St. Paul at Philippi, 590 ; they both sail 
from Philippi, and arrive at Troas, 591. 
Leaves Troas, and arrives at Assos, 595 ; 
at Miletus, 599 ; at Patara, 610 ; at 
Tyre, 611 ; at CaBsarea, 615; at Jeru- 
salem, 619 ; writes his Gospel, 665 ; ac- 
companies St. Paul from Csesarea to 
Rome, 687 ; remains with him till St. 
Paul's death, 687, 835. 

Lycabettus, 300. 

Lycaonia, 165 ; drought of, 225 n. 

Lyceum, the, 311. 

Lydia, 1 75 ; her profession of faith and 
baptism, 255. 

Lystra, city of, 166 ; visited by St. Paul, 
167. 



M. 



Maccabees, Second Book of, authorship of, 

16, 17 n. 
Macedonia Prima, 272 ; Quarta, 273 n.; 

Secunda, 273; Tertia, 273 n. 
Macedonia, coins of, 245. 
Macedonians, liberality of the, 511. 
Maeander, Valley of the, 461 ; River, 601 n. 
Magicians, Oriental, 132 et seq. 
Mayor, good and bad senses in which it was 

used, 133, n. 9. 
.Mahometan school, description of, 47 n. 
Malea, Cape, 360. 



Manaen, foster-brother of Herod Antipas, 

121, 122. 
Maran-atha, meaning of the word, 459 n. 
Marathon, 299. 
Marius, 133. 
Marriages between the Jews and Greeks, 

228. 
Mary, 41. 

Massicus Hills, 728. 
Meals, customs of Greek and Roman, 267 n.; 

466 n. 
Megabyzi, or priests of Diana, 467. 
Melissa?, the priestesses so called, 467. 
Melita, 715, 719. 
Mercurius Propyheus, 308. 
Messogis, 461. 
Milestone, the Golden, 307. 
Miletus, 410, 598. 
Minerva Promachus, 302, 305 ; statue ofj 

309. 
Minerva Hygieia, statue of, 308. 
Minturnae, 728. 

Mithridates, King of Pontus, 213. 
Mitylene, notice of, 596. 
"Mnason of Cyprus," 109, 617. 
Mopsuestia, 220 n. 
Mummius, 362. 

Munychia, height of the, 303 n. 
Museum of Athens, the, 300. 
Mycale, 598. 
Myra, 690. 
Mysia, description of, 237 ; remarks on the 

history of, 237 n. 



N. 



Nablous, or Neapolis, 78. 

Narcissus, the, mentioned in Rom. xvi. 11, 
582. 

Navigation of the ancients, 677 et seq. 

" Nazarenes," 111. 

Nazarites, the, 367; the four, 623; vow of, 
625, 626. 

Neapolis, or Nablous, 78. 

Neapolis of Macedonia, 248. 

Nereus, 582. 

Nero, his marriage with Poppaea, 784 ; con- 
verts in the household of, 795 ; his char- 
acter, 805 ; St. Paul brought before. 805 



INDEX. 



911 



Neptune, statue of, at Athens, 305. 

Nestor, tutor of Tiberius, 99. 

♦'Nicholas of Antioch," 18. 

Nicholas, St., 691. 

Nicolaitans, or Balaamites, 398. 

Nicomedes III., King of Bithynia, 207. 

Nicopolis, 516. 

Nicopolis in Epirus, 827. 

Nicosia, 127. 

Ndfxog, meaning of, 548, n. 1. 



O. 



Olives, Mount of, 632. 

Oiympas, 582. 

Olympus, Mount, 272, 296. 

Onesimus, the slave, 748 ; meaning of the 

name, 750 n. 
Onesiphorus, 835. 
Orontes, Valley of the, 18 ; the Eiver, 114 ; 

description of the, 1 24. 
Ortygia, 721. 
Overseer, office of, in the Primitive Church, 

378. 



Pactyas, Mount, 461. 

"Painted Porch," the, 317. 

Palatine, the, 781. 

Pallas, death of, 785. 

Pamphylia, 208 ; Sea of, 142 ; description 

of, 208. 
Pangaaus, Mount, 248. 
Paoli, village of, in Pisidia, 146 n. 
Paphos, 147 ; New, history of, 140 et seq.; 

Old, 140. 
Parnes, hills of, 300, 301. 
Paroreia in Phrygia, 150. 
Participles, accumulation of, in Acts xvi. 6, 

7, 237 n.; used substantively, 534 n. 
Parthenon, the, at Athens, 309. 
" Paschal Lamb is Christ, who was slain for 

us," remarks on the passage, 433 n. 
Patara, harbor of, 608. 
Patrobas, 582. 
Paul, St., a Pharisee, 31 ; language of his 

infancy, 37 ; his childhood at Tarsus, 

39 ; his descent from Benjamin, 40, 41 ; 



Paul, St., continued : — 

his early education, 42 ; period of his 
birth, 42 ; his station in life, 46 ; his boy- 
hood, 48 ; sent to Jerusalem, 49 ; his 
study there, 58 ; his early manhood, 59 ; 
his taste for Greek literature, 60 ; his 
presence at the death of St. Stephen, 
69 ; his persecution of the Christians, 
72 ; his journey to Damascus, 75 ; im- 
portance of his conversion, 83 ; vision 
of Jesus Christ, 84 ; his call, 85 ; his 
blindness, 86 ; his recovery of sight, 88 ; 
his baptism, 89 ; his journey into Arabia 
Petrsea, 90 ; his return to Damascus, 

93 ; conspiracy to assassinate him, 93 ; 
his escape, 94 ; his return to Jerusalem, 

94 ; his meeting with the apostles, 96 ; 
he withdraws to Syria and Cilicia, 98 ; 
travels with Barnabas to Antioch, 110 ; 
carries the contribution-money from An- 
tioch to Jerusalem in time of famine, 
117; departs for Cyprus, 123; arrives 
at Seleucia, 126; at Salamis, 127; at 
Paphos, 129; his denunciation of Ely- 
mas Barjesus, 134; his name changed 
to Paul, 135; visits Pamphylia, 141 ; 
arrives at Perga, 143 ; journeys to the 
table-land of Asia Minor, 149 ; reaches 
Antioch in Pisidia, 155 ; his address to 
the Jews in the synagogue there, 156 
impression made on his hearers, 159 
scene on the following sabbath, 160 
expelled from the synagogue, 161 ; turns 
from the Jews, and preaches to the 
Gentiles, 161 ; journeys towards Lyca- 
onia, 162; arrives at Iconium, 163 ; es- 
capes from a conspiracy to crush him, 
164; reaches Lystra, 167; his miracle 
there, 169 ; worship offered to him, 170; 
his address to the Lystrians, 171 ; stoned 
in the city, 173; recovers from appar- 
ent death, 173; travels to Derbe, 175; 
revisits Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 
176; reaches Perga, 176; travels to 
Jerusalem, 187 ; his companions on the 
journey, 187; his arrival at the Holy 
City, 189 ; his address to the confer- 
ence of Christians in Jerusalem, 191 ; 
public recognition of his mission to the 
heathen, 194 ; his meeting with St. John, 



912 



INDEX, 



Paul, St., continued:-* 

195,; returns to Antioch, 196 ; rebukes 
St. Peter for his weak conduct, 199 ; St. 
Paul's personal appearance, 200 ; St. 
Peter's reconciliation with him, 201 ; he 
proposes to Barnabas to visit the church- 
es, 215 ; quarrels with and separates 
from Barnabas, 216, 217; takes Silas 
with him into Cilicia, 218 ; takes Timo- 
theus into companionship, 227 ; reaches 
Iconium, 231 ; journeys through Phry- 
gia, 233 ; arrives at Galatia, 235 ; his 
sickness, 235 ; his reception there, 236 ; 
journeys to the iEgean, 238 ; arrives at 
Alexandria Troas, 241 ; is joined by St. 
Luke at Troas, 246; they sail from 
Troas, 246 ; arrive at Samothrace, 247 ; 
reach Pliilippi, 250 ; St. Paul preaches 
the gospel for the first time in Europe, 
255 ; the demoniac slave, 260 ; St. Paul 
scourged, and cast into prison, 262 ; his 
conversion of the jailer, 267; released 
from prison, 269; leaves Philippi, 271 ; 
arrives at Thessalonica, 277 ; visits the 
synagogue at Thessalonica, 281 ; sub- 
jects of his preaching, 281 ; his own la- 
bor for the means of support, 284 ; 
leaves Thessalonica for Beroea, 292 ; 
arrives there, 293 ; leaves the city, 295 ; 
his arrival on the coast of Attica, 300 ; 
lands at Athens, 303 ; his reflections 
amidst the idolatry at Athens, 312; 
"left in Athens alone," 313; addresses 
the Athenians in the Agora, 322 ; goes 
up to the hill of the Areopagus, 324 ; 
his speech to the Athenians, 326 ; de- 
parts from Athens, 331 ; takes up his 
abode at Corinth, 331 ; his address to 
the Jews in the synagogue there, 338 ; 
rejoined by Silas and Timotheus, 338 n. ; 
writes his First Epistle to the Thessa- 
lonians, 340 ; he turns from the Jews to 
the Gentiles, 348 ; his vision, 350 ; 
writes the Second Epistle to the Thessa- 
lonians, 352 ; continues to reside in 
Corinth, 356 ; brought by the Jews be- 
fore Gallio, proconsul of AcLaia, 364 ; 
who refuses to hear the charges, 365 ; 
departs from Achaia, 366 ; takes his 
farewell of the Church of Corinth, 366 ; 



Paul, St., continued: — 

sails from Cenchreae by Ephesus to 
Csesarea, 367; visits the synagogue at 
Ephesus, 368 ; reaches Csesarea, 369 ; 
leaves Csesarea for Jerusalem, 369 ; visits 
Antioch for the last time, 370 ; departs 
from Antioch, 403 ; arrives at Ephesus, 
411; the magicians of Ephesus, 414 ; 
burning of the mystic books, 416 ; the 
Apostle pays a short visit to Corinth, 
418; returns to Ephesus, 420 ; writes 
the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 
424 ; his future plans, 459 ; Demetrius 
and the silver-smiths, 472; Caius and 
Aristarchus seized by the mob, 473 ; 
tumult in Ephesus, 4 74 ; St. Paul bids 
farewell to the Christians of Ephesus, 
476; departs from the city, 476; arrives 
at Alexandria Troas, 479 ; preaches the 
gospel there, 480 ; sails from Troas to 
Macedonia, 480 ; lands at Neapolis,-480 ; 
proceeds to Philippi, 480 ; his love for 
the Phihppian Christians, 480 ; passes 
over to Macedonia, 482 ; state of his 
bodily health, 482 ; rejoined by Titus, 
483 ; writes his Second Epistle to the 
Corinthians, 485 ; he collects contribu- 
tions for the poor Christians in Judaea, 
509 ; he journeys southward, 517; his 
feelings on approaching Corinth, 518 ; 
state of the Galatian Church, 521 ; 
writes his Epistle to the Galacians, 523 ; 
convinces the Christians ot his apostle- 
ship, 540 ; he punishes the disobedient 
by publicly casting them out of the 
Church, 540 ; sends a letter by Fhoebe 
to the B,oman Church, 542 ; his Epistle 
to the Romans, 544 ; conspiracy of the 
Jews to take his life, 589 ; flies from 
Corinth to Macedonia, 589 ; visits St. 
Luke at Philippi, 589 ; they leave there 
together, 591 ; arrive at Troas, 591 ; St. 
Paul restores the life of Eutychus, 593 ; 
leaves Troas, and arrives at Assos, 595 ; 
at Miletus, 599 ; his speech to the Ephe- 
sian presbyters there, 601 ; he departs 
from Miletus, 604; arrives at Patara, 
610 ; sails for Phoenicia, 610 ; arrives 
at Tyre, 612 ; leaves Tyre, 613 ; arrives 
at Csesareaj 614 ; meets with Philip the 



INDEX. 



913 



Paul, St., continued : — 

Evangelist, 615 ; warned by Agabus of 
danger to be apprehended at Jerusalem, 
615; sets out for Jerusalem, 617; bis 
reception by the presbyters, 620 ; advice 
of the Christians of Jerusalem to St. 
Paul, 623 ; the four Nazarites, 623 ; St. 
Paul seized at the festival of Pentecost, 
627; beaten by the mob, 636; rescued 
by Claudius Lysias, 637 ; his conversa- 
tion with Lysias, 637 ; the Apostle ad- 
dresses the multitude from the stairs, 
637 ; their rage, 640 ; sentenced by Ly- 
sias to {i receive the lashes," 640 ; as- 
serts his rights as a Roman citizen, 641 ; 
taken before the Sanhedrin, 642 ; struck 
by order of the high priest Ananias, 
642 ; tumult in the judgment-hall, 643 ; 
the Apostle taken back to the fortress, 
644 ; conspiracy to assassinate him, 645 ; 
the plot discovered, 646 ; removed by 
Lysias to Caesarea to be judged by 
Felix, 647 ; ordered to be kept in 
Herod's prgetorium, 651 ; summoned be- 
fore Felix, 660 ; charges brought against 
him, 660; his speech before Felix, 661 ; 
• remanded, 663 ; brought up again be_ 
fore the governor, 664 ; imprisoned 
again, 664 ; brought before Festus, 668 ; 
his " appeal unto Csesar," 669 ; brought 
before Herod Agrippa H., 671; his 
speech to the king, 672; departs from 
Csesarea for Rome, 686 ; puts into Sidon, 
687; reaches Myra, 690; Cnidus, 692; 
anchors at Fair Havens, 695 ; sails from 
Fair Havens, 699 ; the storm, 700 ; 
leaky state of the vessel, 706 ; St. Paul's 
vision, 707 ; his address to the sailors, 
708 ; they anchor for the night, 709 ; 
wrecked on the coast of Melita, 715 ; 
his miracles at Malta, 718; sails from 
Malta, 720; puts into Syracuse, 720; 
visits Rhegium, 721 ; readies Puteoli, 
721 ; journey from Puteoli toward Rome, 
726 ; reaches Rome, 733 ; his interview 
with the Jews there, 741 ; his occupations 
during his imprisonment at Rome, 747; 
Onesimus, 748 ; frhe Apostle writes his 
Epistle to Philemon, 749 ; writes his 
Epistle to the Colossians, 752 ; writes 
58 



Paul, St., continued : — 

his Epistle to the Ephesians, 766 ; visit- 
ed by Epaphroditus, 783 ; writes his 
Epistle to the Philippians, 786 ; he 
makes many converts in Nero's house- 
hold, 795 ; his trial before Nero, 804 ; 
charges brought against him, 806 ; ac- 
quitted, 808 ; he goes to Asia and Spain, 
809 ; writes his First Epistle to Timo- 
theus, 811 ; writes his Epistle to Titus, 
823 ; his second imprisonment at Rome, 
828; first stage of his final trial, 833; 
is remanded to prison, 834 ; writes his 
Second Epistle to Timotheus, 836 ; his 
death, 847. 

Pausanius, his visit to and description of 
Athens, 305. 

Pedalium, the, of Strabo and Ptolemy, 
127. 

Pediseus River, 127 

Pella, 272. 

Pentecost, feast of, at Jerusalem, 625. 

Perga, 142. 

Pericles, statue of, at Athens, 309. 

Peripatetics, the, 311. 

Per sis, 582. 

Pessinus, 235. 

Peter, St., 63, 107; in captivity, 118; his 
address to the conference of Christians 
at Jerusalem, 190; his weak conduct at 
Antioch, 198; openly rebuked by St 
Paul, 199 ; St. Peter's personal appear- 
ance, 200 ; his reconciliation with St. 
Paul, 201. 

Persecution of Nero, 830. 

Pessinus, capital of the Tolistaboii, 212 n, 

Petra, origin of the Arab city ofj 75 n. 

Petronius, 104. 

Phaleric Wall, the, 304. 

Pharisaic Christians at Jerusalem, 622. 

Pharisees, the, 30 ; in Jerusalem, 189. 

Phaselis, promontory of, 148 n. ; battles of, 
143. 

Philemon, 413 ; Epistle to, 749. 

Philip, son of Herod the Great, 26. 

Philip, Tetrarch of Gaulonitis, 52. 

Philip the Asiarch, 474 n. 

Philip the Evangelist, the companion of 
Stephen, 74, 615; his family, 615. 

Philippi, description of, 250 



914 



INDEX. 



Philippians, Epistle to the, 786. 

Philologus, 582. 

Philomelium, city of, 151 ; identified with 

Ak-Sher, 151, 233, 234. 
Philosophy, Greek, notice of the older, 316 ; 

later schools, 321 ; spread of, 321. 
Phlegon, 582. 
Phoebe of Cenchrege, 542. 
Phoenicians, the, 8. 
Phoenix, harbor of, 697. 
Physicians among the ancients, 270, 271. 
Pieric Valley, the, 275 n. 
Piraeus, the, 300, 302. 
Pisidia, 145 ; robbers of, 145 ; violence of 

its flooded rivers, 146 ; mountain-scenery 

of, 147, 149. 
Plataea, battle of, 143. 
Plato, philosophy of, 316, 317. 
Pliny on the Conventus, or assize-town, 

470. 
Pynx, the, 300, 306 n., 308. 
Polemo II., King of Pontus, 22, 23, 213. 
Politarchs, the, of Thessalonica, 290. 
Polycarp, martyrdom of, 474 n. 
Pompeiopolis, 19. 
Pompey the Great, 19 ; in Damascus, 24 ; 

at Jerusalem, 24. 
Pomptine marshes, 729. 
Pontus, last king of, 23 n. 
Pontus, description of, 213. 
" Pontus," origin of the name, 213 n. 
Pontus Galaticus, 213 n. 
Poppsea, 784, 808. 
losiclonium at the Isthmus of Corinth, 

588. 
Posts established by Augustus, 781. 
Praetorian guards, 655. 
PraBtorium, 780. 
Praxiteles, 308. 

" Presidents of the Games," 471. 
Priam, Palace of, 592. 
Prion, Mount, 462, 472. 
Priscilla, 336 n., 337, 368, 411, 425 n. 
Proconsuls, 129. 
Propraetors, 129 et seq. 
Proselytes, Jewish, 17. 
Proselytes, female, at Damascus, 18, 152 ; 

at Antioch in Pisidia, 161. 
Proseucha at Lystra, 175 ; the word, 253. 
Ptolemais, 613. 



Pudens, 835. 

Puteoli, 721, 723. 

Pydna, 296. 

Pythagoras, philosophy of, 316. 



Q. 



Quadratus, Governor of Syria, 654. 
Quartus, 583. 



E. 

« Rabbinism," 55. 

Resurrection of the body, 456 n, et seq. 

Rhegium, 721. 

Rhodes, notice of, 605. 

Rhodian fleet at Phaselis, 143. 

Rhyndacus River, 239. 

Roman Church, 739 ; name of founder not 
known, 740. 

Roman amphitheatre, 12 ; army, the, 655 ; 
commerce, 683 ; fleet at Phaselis, 143 ; 
power in the East, 1 1 ; growth and gov- 
ernment of, 12. 

11 Roman," meaning of the word in the New 
Testament, 251 n. 

Rome, description of, 732. 

Rufus, 784. 



S. 



Sadducees, the, 30, 63. 

St. John at Ephesus, 476. 

St. Paul's Bay, view of, 716. 

Salamis, 124, ±27; copper-mines at, 128; 

destroyed, 128 ; sea-fight at, 128 ; battle 

of, 143, 301. 
Salonica, Gulf of, 297. 
Samaria, 649. 
Samaritans, the, 33, 73. 
Samian ship-builders, 361. 
Samos, 271 n. 
Samothrace, 243, 244, 247. 
Sangarius River, 238. 
Sanhedrin, the, 52, 64, 65 ; its power over 

foreign synagogues, 75. 
Saronic Gulf, 299. * 
Sarus River, 224. 
Sav, village of, 14b n. 



INDEX. 



915 



Sav-Sou River, 146 n. 

Saul. — See Paul, St., « Saul," and " Paul," 
the words, 43, 44. 

Sceva, sons of, the exorcists, 415 ; rebuked 
by the demons, 416. 

Schools, Jewish, 56; customs in, 57; St. 
Paul an eager student in, 57. 

Schammai, Jewish school of, 53. 

Schcenus, port of, 360. 

Scio, 597. 

Secundus of Thessalonica, 290. 

Seleucia, foundation of, 112, 125; immense 
excavation at, 125 ; its excellent har- 
bor, 126. 

Seleucus Nicator, 114. 

Selge, 146. 

Seneca the philosopher, 363; brother of 
Gallio, 363. 

Sergius Paulus, 129, 131. 

" Seven Capes," the, 608. 

Sharon, Plain of, 649. 

Sheba, Queen of, 1 7. 

Ship-builders of Samos, 361. 

Ships of the ancients, 677 etseq.; rudders 
similar to those of the early Northmen, 
679; differences between and those of 
the moderns, 681. 

Side, 143. 

Sidon, notice of, 688. 

Silas, 196, 198; accompanies St. Paul to 
Cilicia, 219; scourged and cast into 
prison at Philippi, 262; released from 
prison, 269 ; leaves Philippi, 269 ; visits 
the synagogue at Thessalonica, 281 ; 
accompanies St. Paul to Beroea, 292 ; 
left behind with Tiniotheus at Beroea, 
295 ; joins St. Paul at Corinth, 338 ; ac- 
companies the Apostle to Ephesus, 
Caesarea, and Jerusalem, 368-370; re- 
mains at Jerusalem, 403. 

Silversmiths of Ephesus, 472; their shrines 
of Diana, 472 ; their fury against St. 
Paul, 473 ; pacified by the town-clerk, 
475. 

Simeon, father of Gamaliel, 53. 

Simeon, son of Gamaliel, 54 n. 

Simeon, surnamed Niger, 121. 

Simon Magus, 415 n. 

Sinuessa, 728. 

Slave-trade of Delos, 19. 



Smyrna, 410. 

Socrates, character of, 316. 

Soli, town of, 19. 

Solomon, Temple of, 628. 

Solon, statue of, 307. 

Sopater of Beroea, 290. 

Sorcery, Jewish, 415. 

Sosipater, 583 n., 589. 

Sosthenes, chief of the Corinthian Jewish 

synagogue, 365; beaten by the Greek 

mob, 365. 
Stachys, 581. 
Stadium, enclosure of the, 463 ; Isthmian, 

note on the, 584. 
Stadia in Asia Minor, 587 n. 
Stagirus, 277; the birthplace of Aristotle, 

277. 
Stephen, St., 61, 63, 64, 6B) his trial, 67; 

his martyrdom, 68 ; his prayer, 69 ; his 

burial, 72. 
Stephen, St., Gate of, 68 n. ; identity of 

with the Damascus Gate, 68 n. 
Stoa Poecile, the, 311. 
Stocks, the, 263. 

Stoics, 311 ; their philosophy, 317, 318. 
Strato's Tower, 658. 
Stromboli, 722. 
Strymon River, 272. 
Students, Jewish, 58. 
Sulla at Athens, 304. 
" Sultan Tareek" Road, 150. 
Sunium, Cape of, 300. 
Sychar, city of, 74 n. 
" Synagogue of the Libertines," 56 ; the 

first, 56 ; number of, in Jerusalem, 56 ; 

in Salamis, 128 ; in Antioch in Pisidia, 

152; ancient and modern, 153, 160; 

the, at Thessalonica, 281 ; at Athens, 

314 ; at Corinth, 338. 
Synnada, 232. 
Syntyche, 786. 
Syracuse, 720. 
" Syrian Gates," the, 220. 
Syrophoenician woman, interview of Christ 

with, 74. 



Tallith, the, 154. 
Talmud, the, 55. 
Tarsus, 20 ; coin of, 20 ; named " Metropo- 



916 



INDEX. 



lis," 20 ; condition of, under the Romans, 
21 ; not a municipium, 42 ; scenery of, 
45. 

Taurus, Mount, 19, 222. 

" Taverns, the Three," 731. 

Tavium, capital of the Eastern Galatians, 
212 n. 

Tectosages, the, 211. 

Temple, position of the, 628 ; Temple of 
Solomon, 628 ; that of Zerubbabel, 629 ; 
that of Herod, 629; the Outer Court, 
629; "Porch of Solomon," 630; the 
"Beautiful Gate," 630; the sanctuary, 
631 ; " Court of the Women," 631 ; the 
Treasury, 631 ; the Court of Israel, 631 ; 
the Court of the Priests, 631 ; the Hall 
Gazith, 631 ; the Altar, 632 ; the Vesti- 
bule, 632; the Holy Place, 632; the 
Holy of Holies, 632 ; connection of the 
Temple with the Fortress Antonia, 
634. 

Tertullus, 660. 

Tetrapolis, the, 114. 

Teucer, kingdom of, 127. 

Thais, tomb of, 584 n. 

Thales, philosophy of, 316. 

Thamna, 649. 

Thasos, 248. 

Theatre, the, of Athens, 307 ; consecrated 
to Bacchus, 307. 

Thecla, St., of Iconium, 164 n. 

Themistocles, tomb of, 303 ; his fortification 
of the Piraeus, 303. 

Therapeutae, the, 32. 

Thermopylae, 299. 

Thessalonian Letters, the, 285. 

Thessalonians, First Epistle to the, 340 ; 
Second, 352. 

Thessalonica, 277 ; description of, 278 ; the 
most populous town in Macedonia, 
278. 

Tiberias, 26 ; city of, 52; sea of, 77. 

Tiberius, 103, 133. 

Tiberius Alexander, 635 n. 

Tigranes, 125. 

Timotheus, 174, 175, 226; birthplace of, 
227 n.; becomes the companion of St. 
Paul, 227 ; his circumcision, 230 ; reach- 
es Iconium, 231 ; accompanies St. Paul 
to Galatia and to the JEgean, 236, 239 ; 



sails from Troas, 246 ; arrives at Samo- 
thrace, 247 ; at Philippi, 250 ; left behind 
at Philippi, 269; again with St. Paul 
at Beroea, 293 ; left behind at Beroea, 
296 ; joins St. Paul at Corinth, 338 ; 
accompanies St. Paul in his subsequent 
journeys, 367 et seq. ; despatched by St. 
Paul from Ephesus to Macedonia, 421 ; 
First Epistle to, 811 ; Second Epistle to, 
836. 

Titus, 187, 189, 190; visits St. Paul at 
Philippi, 483 ; his account of the state 
of the Church at Corinth, 483 ; directed 
by St. Paul to return to Corinth, 484 ; 
his character, 513 ; St. Paul's Epistle 
to, 823. 

Tongues, gift of, remarks on the, 459 n. 

" Town-clerk," the, of the Authorized Ver- 
sion of the Bible, 469. 

Triopium, the modern Cape Crio, promon- 
tory of, 605. 

Troas, description of, 591. — See Alexan- 
dria Troas. 

Trogyllium, 598. 

Trophimus, 479, 499 n. 

Tryphena, 582. 

Tryphosa, 582. 

" Tullianum," the, 263. 

Tyana, 222. 

Tychicus, 479, 748, 762. 

Tyrannus, 412. 

Tyre, 612, 613. 



Unchaste behavior condemned, 435 n. 

Unknown gods, altars of the, 315 ; origin 
of the, 315 n. 

Urbanus, 581. 

Urbs libera, constitution of, 288 ; its privi- 
leges, 288. 



V. 

Valentinus the Gnostic, 399 n. 
Ventidius Cumanus, 635. 
Venus, worship of, 139. 
Vestments, the sacred, 635. 
Via Appia, 726; Egnatia, 274. 



INDEX. 



917 



Vitellius, 76. 
Vulturnus River, 728. 



W. 



"Walls, Long," of Athens, 303. 

Women, influence of, over the religious 
opinions of the ancients, 161 ; their holy 
influence in early Christianity, 256. 

Writing-materials employed by St. Paul, 
783 ». 



Xanthus, Valley of the, 147. 



Z. 

Zabeans, the, 406 n. 

Zealot, the term, 525 n. 

Zealots, the, 32. 

Zeno, school of, 311 ; his philosophy, 317. 

Zerubbabel, Temple of, 629. 



Whole Number op Pages, including Preface, Introduction, Contents, 
Preliminary Dissertation, Maps and full-page Engravings, 1015. 



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All Dictionaries of the Bible, prepared before the recent great and 
important advances made in Biblical Science, and the numerous illustra- 
tions of the Sacred Volume brought to light by travelers and scholars 
in Bible lands, are necessarily incomplete and imperfect, and are many t 
of them rendered comparatively useless. 

This work is indispensable to every Clergyman, and necessary to 
every Christian family. All who use a Family Bible should possess 
this most valuable Dictionary. 

The sale of no two Books ever published will furnish so pleasant, use- 
ful and profitable employment, to those possessing intelligence, energy and 
perseverance, as "The Devotional and Practical Family Bible" and 
u The Bible Dictionary." The Agent will find he can easily secure an 
order for the " Bible Dictionary " from those who already possess a 
Bible, and he will find the two are admirably adapted to go together. 

Canvassing for the "Bible" and "Bible Dictionary" is compara- 
tively a pleasant and satisfactory business. 
Address 

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(3) 



THE DEVOTIONAL AND PRACTICAL 

POLYGLOTT FAMILY BIBLE, 



CONTAINING THE 



OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, 

WITH THE MARGINAL READINGS, AND A PULL AND ORIGINAL SELECTION OF REFERENCES 

TO PARALLEL AND ILLUSTRATIVE PASSAGES, ARRANGED IN A 

MANNER HITHERTO UNATTEMPTED. 

Together with a Concordance :— A Careful Index to the Bible, in which every Difficult 

Word is explained. 

ALSO, A FAMILY EECOED, MANY USEFUL TABLES AND VALUABLE TREATISES, DESIGNED TO PRO- 
MOTE AND FACILITATE THE DEVOTIONAL STUDY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

It is the belief of the Publishers that the Devotional and Practical 
Family Bible embraces more valuable and practical helps to general 
readers and students of the Scriptures than any single volume yet 
issued from the press. Superintendents, Teachers, and Scholars in Sun- 
day Schools, will find this work a most convenient and satisfactory aid 
to an intelligent and critical study of the Scriptures. 

The text is accompanied by the most complete and simple system 
of references to marginal readings and parallel passages yet adopted. 
jThe numerous tables, treatises and explanatory writings which accom- 
pany it, and of which a list is found in the general contents, embody 
the results of the life-long labors of many eminent biblical students, 
and furnish almost an Encyclopedia of biblical knowledge. 

The work is, moreover, very highly approved, and recommended 
by influential divines and pastors of churches, and is greatly prized by 
all who possess it. It embraces 

I. The Preface. 

II. Order of the Books of the Old and New Testaments. 

III. A Critical Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, 
with General Observations on the Authority and History of the Books 
of the Pentateuch ; by Eev. Joseph A. Warne. 

IY. Treatises on the Correct Interpretation of the Writings in 
which the Eevelations of God are contained ; by James M'Knight, D. D. 

V. Table showing at one view which of the Patriarchs were 
cotemporary with each other, and consequently how easy it was to 
hand down from Adam to Isaac (a period of 2,158 years) the particu- 
lars of the Creation and Fall of Man. 

YI. A Chronological Harmony of the Scripture Histories, and 
of the Fulfillment of its Predictions. 

VII. Tables of the Measures, Weights, Moneys, and Times, men- 
tioned in Scripture, with an Appendix to the second table of Measures 
of Surface described by Moses. 

(4) 



VIII. The contents of the Old and New Testaments arranged in 
a manner by which the Books, Chapters, &c, may be read as one con- 
nected History. 

IX. Chronological Tables of the Offices and Conditions of Men ; 
Chronological Tables of the New Testament ; of St. Paul's Apostolic 
Journeys ; of the Evangelists, and exhibiting the Chronology of our 
Saviour's Life ; of the Important Events of Profane History during the 
Life of Christ, and the Chronological Order of the Discourses, Parables, 
and Miracles of Christ. 

X. Illustrations of Scripture with numerous Steel Engravings. 

XI. The Books of the Old Testament. 

XII. History of the Period included from the close of the Canon 
of the Old Testament, until the times of the New Testament. 

XIII. Four Discourses on the Evidences of Christianity, and the 
Genuineness of the New Testament ; by Philip Doddridge, D. D. 

XIV. An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament, with 
a History of the several Books. 

XV. The Books of the New Testament. 

XVI. A new Geographical and Historical Table, exhibiting at 
one view all that is interesting in the Geography and History in the 
Holy Scriptures, and forming a complete Bible Gazetteer. 

XVII. A new and complete General Index of the Bible, in which 
the various Places, Persons, and Subjects mentioned in it are accurately 
referred to, and every difficult word briefly explained. 

XVIII. A Concordance of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and 
New Testaments, by which all of the principal texts of the Scrip- 
tures may be easily found out ; by Eev. John Brown. 

XIX. Table of Select Passages, arranged with a view to the De- 
votional Beading of the Bible, morning and evening, every day in the 
year. 

It will be readily seen, that no single edition of the Holy Scriptures 
has ever been given to the public accompanied by so many and such 
valuable aids to their practical and profitable reading and study as this. 

To Sabbath School Superintendents, Teachers and Scholars, this 
with the accompanying volume, is almost indispensable, and furnishes, 
in a convenient and practical form, nearly every requisite aid in their 
pursuits upon every subject and question which can arise. 

This work has been very highly commended by influential Divines 
and Pastors of Churches, and should be found in every household in 
the land ; while to aid in its sale will be both a useful and profitable 
work. 

Agents write that this work is highly satisfactory and sells readily. 

Descriptive Circulars will be forwarded to those desiring an 
agency. Address, 

NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO, 178 Elm St, Cincinnati, Ohio, 

5 Or JONES, JUNKIN & CO., 167 South Clark St, Chicago, Ills' 



IPIEOIFIjIE'S ZEZDITIOnS". 

THE LIFE AND EPISTLES 



OF 



EMBRACING 

A Graphic and Eloquent Delineation of the Early Life, Education, Conversion, Teach- 
ings, Labors, Travels, Sufferings, Perils, Persecutions, and Missionary Career of 
St. Paul, thus constituting a Living Picture of the Great Apostle himself, 
and of the circumstances by which he was surrounded. 

BY 

Hev. W. J. CONYBEAIRE, M. A., 

LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, 

AND 

!Rev, J. S. HOWSON, D. 3D. 

PRINCIPAL OF THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION, LIVERPOOL. 
'With, a Preliminary Dissertation by 

Rev. LEONARD BACON, D. D., 

PROFESSOR OF REVEALED THEOLOGY IN YALE COLLEGE. 
+++ 

This work delineates the early life, education, conversion, teachings 
and labors of a man, whose writings are now engaging more thought, 
calling forth more learned discussion, and more powerfully impressing 
the mind and heart of the age, than those of any other author, ancient or 
modern, inspired or uninspired. Jesus said of Paul, " He is a chosen 
vessel unto me," and the Scripture biography before us shows the won- 
derful care which (rod took in preparing that vessel before He filled it 
with his grace and set it apart for the Master's special use in His great 
house. Grand intellectual powers, united with a pure and loving heart, 
and a life filled with strange, heroic, and self-sacrificing adventures, 
made St Paul the most wonderful man of all the ages. No better sub 
ject could be found for a biography, nor any better men selected to pre- 
pare it. The work faithfully portrays, in a very fresh and life-like 
manner, the character and doings of one of earth's noblest heroes. 

This work contributes more to the correct understanding of St. Paul's 
Epistles, and to a thorough apprehension of his unparalleled character 
— of the communities upon which he labored, — of the countries through 
which he traveled, — of the chief characters whom he met, both friend 
and foe, — of his personal hopes and fears, — of his temporary failures 

(6) 



and permanent triumphs, — than any other one volume. The scenes of 
his early youth ; the character of the school in which he was educated ; 
the habits of private life then prevalent ; the principles which actuated 
him, and developed that intellectual character, and made him the fore- 
most reasoner of the world, are all represented in a style which lends 
a charm to the work, at once pleasing and instructive, and makes it 
truly a " People's Edition." It embodies more information concerning 
ancient and Eastern life ; carries the reader more agreeably and irresis- 
tably into the times and scenes of Paul's life ; and illustrates better 
that large part of the New Testament which he wrote than any other 
book in biblical literature. It brings more learning, and the results of 
more biblical, geographical, and ethnological research than any other 
work, to bear in making interesting the life, and elucidating the writings 
of him who was, not only the great Apostle to the Gentiles, but also 
the great Theologian of the whole Bible, — whose name is second to no 
other human name in the history of the Church of God. It throws a 
flood of light on the character, travels, missionary labors and writings 
of the great Apostle, and throws open that wonderful period of the 
world's history as no other work has ever done. The reader is borne 
along by its clear and charming style, its picturesque and vivid descrip- 
tions of scenery, and its beautiful delineations of Apostolic characters 
and labors, and at every point is delighted and instructed. It is as fas- 
cinating as any story can be, and yet it is true to life and Bible History. 
The prodigious learning and power, and beauty of style, do not consti- 
tute its highest praise. This is found in its moral and religious spirit, 
in its pre-eminent Christian candor and impartiality, in its solemn ear- 
nestness for historic truth, and its manly and unvascillating faith in the 
doctrines proclaimed by the fearless subj ect of its biography. It is every 
way a- masterly and unrivalled work, and so wholly worthy its subject 
in all the manner of its performance, that it is not saying too much to 
pronounce it a fitting tribute to the greatness of the Great Apostle. 

The preliminary dissertation by Dr. Bacon, gives it additional value, 
and helps further to understand the character of the great Apostle, and 
the scenes of the early triumphs of the Gospel. His abilities, studies 
and travel, eminently fit him for the service he thus renders. 

Send for our 16 page descriptive circular, giving full particulars, 
terms, and testimonials. Address 

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0) 






AMERICAN METHODISM: 

BY 

EEV. M. L. SCUDDEE, D. D., 

WITH AN INTlUDUCTION 

BY REV. JOSEPH CUMMINGS, D. D., LL. D., 

PRESIDENT OF WESLEYAN UNTYERSTTY. 

Illustrated by excellent Steel Engravings of all the Bishops, (deceased and living,) and of 
other Kepresentative Men of the Church. 

The Publishers are confident, from the many decided testimonials in its 
favor already received from leading men in the church, and also from the char- 
acter of the work itself, that this book will be found one of intense interest, and 
will be highly appreciated by all classes of readers — the most popular of its 
kind ever offered to the public. 

The reputation of the author as an able, pleasing, candid and vigorous 
writer, his prominent position in the church for more than thirty years, and the 
ample materials for his work in the history of Methodism itself, are pledges 
sufficient of the value of this book. 



THE VOLUME EMBEACES 

I. An account of the origin, history, rapid growth, and success of the most 
remarkable religious movement of modern times. 

II. It presents the connection of Methodism, relatively and innuentially, 
with the present state of the Evangelical Churches of Christendom. 

III. It exhibits the part Methodism has taken in /orming the character 
of this nation, and its capabilities in this respect for the future. 

IV. With the facts of its history, it reveals the providential manner in 
which the politj T of Methodism was introduced, and its philosophy and adap- 
tation as an efficient Ecclesiastical System. 

V. It shows that Methodism derives its vital force from its experimental 
life, and its Brotherly and Evangelical spirit. 

VI. It exhibits the collateral agencies of Methodism in accomplishing 
its work. 

VII. It shows what were the opposing influences with which i 
contend, how it triumphed over them, and the noble character of 
engaged in the contest. 

VIII. It is written in a popular and attractive style. 

The experience of the publishers, and their interest to make tl 
worthy of the denomination, with which the leading member of the 
connected, its artistic attractiveness in the superiority of its engravings, 
feet typography, its tasteful and substantial binding, its comprehensive and 
convenient size, and the reasonable price at which it is afforded, are all guar* 
antees that the subscribers for this book will find it all they can desire. 
^or full particulars for an Agency send for Circular. 






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